I can't imagine how hard it must be to date a celebrity. Whether you're already famous yourself, or you were a "nobody" before meeting your star partner — it's got to be tough. But, for those who have been there, done that, there are lessons to they can impart on the significant others of all kinds of celebrities. Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas, spoke out about what it was like to date royalty recently, and she has some great advice. Bonas, born to Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon, grew up in the aristocracy, so she knew a little of what royal life was like. However, nothing could have prepared her for the media hailstorm that was dating Prince Harry.
The pair was together for two years before they split amicably in April 2014. One year later, after she had some time to reflect on that crazy part of her life, Bonas talked to The Sunday Times about the secret to surviving a royal romance. Although her advice comes from her experience dating a royal, her words of wisdom could easily work for anyone dating someone in the spotlight. Basically, it boils down to ignoring the negative, keeping things in perspective, and, above all, honoring your feelings.
"All that stuff is not real," she said of tabloid gossip. "It's really important to remember that all of it is noise, noise that can be very loud at times... But if I ever feel like, 'Oh, my life!' or get upset by silly things like a photographer, or if someone has written something nasty that's upset me, I just think, 'Worse things happen at sea,'" she said referencing the old British idiom.
Bonas says her mother also imparted some wisdom on her when she first began dating the prince. It's advice that's stuck with her and remains important to this day, no matter who she's dating. "Be true to yourself and do whatever makes you happy," Bonas quoted her mother. "If you're not happy, then stop. There's no point in carrying on."
It has to be difficult to date someone in the public eye, knowing that you'll become a target for paparazzi and false gossip. But, like Bonas says, it's just noise, and the most important thing is to make sure you're doing what makes you happy — everything beyond that just doesn't matter.
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