Charlize Theron explains why she turned down relationship during pandemic: ‘I just feel so out of practice’

Charlize Theron has spoken candidly about her hesitations when it comes to romantic relationships, with the actor revealing that she feels “so out of practise”.

The Snow White and the Huntsman star, 47, opened up about her dating life, and the relationship she nearly entered during the pandemic, in a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar.

According to Theron, who said she is currently single, she met someone during the pandemic who was interested in “doing this thing with me”.

However, the actor said she ultimately turned down the opportunity with the unnamed individual because she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be in a relationship, and because she felt so “out of practice”.

“During Covid, somebody was interested in doing this thing with me,” she said. “It was just a deep dive into a relationship. And I was just like, I don’t know if I wanna … I just feel so out of practice.”

As for who she considers the great loves of her life, Theron, who is a single mother to daughters Jackson, 10, and August, seven, said it is her children.

Theron also said she measures her fulfilment in life by the opinions of her children, with the actor claiming that “nothing gets close to” when her daughters praise her pasta as better than anyone else’s.

This is not the first time that the actor has shared details about her romantic life, as Theron told Drew Barrymore in 2020 during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show that she hadn’t dated anyone in more than five years.

“I’ve been on a few dates, but I haven’t dated anybody for over five years,” she said at the time, prompting Barrymore to reply: “Me too!”

As for why she hadn’t pursued any romantic interests, Theron told Barrymore that she was in a place in her life where prospects needed to “come with a lot of game”.

“I feel like I’m in a place in my life where you gotta come with a lot of game,” she said. “Not the kind of game that we think of. The kind of game that’s like: ‘My life is really good, so you better be able to bring that and maybe better,’ because I just won’t accept anything less.”

At the time, Theron also noted that her priorities shifted when she became a parent, and that she could “honestly” say that she didn’t feel lonely.

“I can honestly say this, on my life, I don’t feel lonely,” she said.

While Theron admitted to Harper’s Bazaar that she feels “out of practice,” she has had long relationships before, as she and Sean Penn began dating in 2013 before separating in 2015. Theron also dated Stuart Townsend, who she met on the set of their 2002 film Trapped, before the pair ended their relationship in 2010.

However, Theron previously revealed that she never plans to get married. “I never wanted to get married. That’s never been something that’s important to me,” the Oscar winner said on The Howard Stern Show in 2020.