Kristen Stewart on Rupert Sanders affair: 'The slut-shaming that went down was so absurd'

Actress Kristen Stewart and director Rupert Sanders attend the "Snow White and the Huntsman" screening, Los Angeles, on texture, partial graphic
Actress Kristen Stewart and director Rupert Sanders attend the "Snow White and the Huntsman" screening, Los Angeles, on texture, partial graphic

Kristen Stewart opened up about her highly publicised affair with Rupert Sanders in her most candid interview to date. During a chat with Howard Stern, the 29-year-old actress reflected on her relationship with the Snow White and the Huntsman director saying it "wasn't innocent," but called the backlash "absurd."

"We lived in a different time then, the slut-shaming that went down was so absurd," she said on Tuesday’s The Howard Stern Show.

In 2012, Stewart, then 22, and Sanders, then 41, were photographed kissing while he was married to actress Liberty Ross and she was dating her Twilight co-star, Robert Pattinson. The pair met on set while filming SWATH, which also featured an appearance by Ross. After the affair made headlines, Stewart was not brought back for the sequel.

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"They didn't put me in that movie because I went through such a highly publicised scandal, they were scared of touching that," Stewart said, adding, "I wouldn't say I fell in love with the director, it was kind of a weird thing ... but I definitely think that it wasn't that big of a deal, and the work is so much more important."

Actress Kristen Stewart and director Rupert Sanders attend the "Snow White and the Huntsman" screening on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Actress Kristen Stewart and director Rupert Sanders attend the "Snow White and the Huntsman" screening on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Stewart clarified that she never slept with Sanders.

"This is the most candid interview," she stated. When asked by Stern why she never publicly explained that the two didn't sleep together she replied, "Well, who's going to believe me?"

She continued, "It looked like, you make out with a dude in public it looks like you did [have sex.]"

"It wasn't innocent, that was a really hard period of my life," the Charlie's Angels star admitted. "I was really young."

Stewart also explained that she's never really been allowed to "say what happened" with her relationship with Pattinson. "Because I was so self-conscious about seeming like an attention-seeker," she said. "We were together for years, that was my first [love]."

BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 16:  Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson attend the 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2' Germany Premiere at CineStar on November 16, 2012 in Berlin, Germany.  (Photo by Luca Teuchmann/WireImage)
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson attend the 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2' Germany Premiere at CineStar on November 16, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Luca Teuchmann/WireImage)

Stewart, who called Pattinson "the best," scoffed when asked about speculation that their relationship was fake. "You really think at this point, after all these years, that's how I live my life?"

"Was there a point you would've gotten married?" Stern asked. "Do you think?"

"I don't know," a laughing Stewart replied. "I wanted to...yeah, no, I've never been in..."

"If he proposed, you would've gotten married," Stern pressed.

"I don't know," Stewart replied. "I'm not a super-duper traditionalist, but at the same time...every relationship I've ever been in, I thought that was it. I've never really been the most casual person."

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Stewart is currently seeing Dylan Meyer, 32, and while she didn't mention her girlfriend by name, the actress said she will "absolutely" propose to the screenwriter in the near future.

"I have a couple of plans that I know would be the coolest thing to do," she said. The couple met on a movie set six years ago but only started dating over the summer.

"But the first time that I told her that I loved her, we were like sitting in this random bar… I’ve known her for like six years, but we only started seeing each other like two weeks in, and it was literally like the day that I met her, all bets were off," she gushed.

"I want to make movies and kids with this girl," Stewart shared. "I can’t believe I’m so lucky. I literally drew her in a dream, and now she exists."