--- ---  # Kristen Stewart Opens Up About Choosing to Come Out  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Mar 8, 2017 5:14 PM UTC  Kristen Stewart attends Charles Finch and CHANEL Pre-Oscar Awards Dinner at Madeo Restaurant on February 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Kristen Stewart attends Charles Finch and CHANEL Pre-Oscar Awards Dinner at Madeo Restaurant on February 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.Presley Ann Slack/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Mar 8, 2017 5:14 PM UTC After publicly announcing for the first time that she [had a girlfriend](http://people.com/movies/kristen-stewart-opens-up-about-girlfriend-alicia-cargile/) this summer, [Kristen Stewart](http://time.com/4456629/kristen-stewart-robert-pattinson-girlfriend-alicia-cargile/) has revealed why she decided to open up about her sexuality. “It just seemed important, and topical,” she said of [coming out](http://time.com/4388202/coming-out-identity/) during a recent interview with [_The Sunday Times_](http://www.thetimes.co.uk/magazine/culture/kristen-stewart-film-personal-shopper-twilight-robert-pattinson-rgfwrc76r)_._ The former _Twilight_ star — who recently joked that she is, “like, so gay,” on [_Saturday Night Live_](http://motto.time.com/4660577/kristen-stewart-donald-trump-saturday-night-live/) — spoke about why she chose to begin sharing more details of her love life with fans. “Considering I had so many eyes on me, I suddenly realized \[my private life\] affects a greater number of people than just me,” she said. “It was an opportunity to surrender a bit of what was mine, to make even one other person feel good about themselves.” Stewart also discussed why her view on media attention was different during her high-profile relationship with Robert Pattinson. “If \[my sexuality\] didn’t seem like a relevant topic, like something that needed help, I would have kept my life private forever. But then I can’t walk outside holding somebody’s hand, as I’m followed everywhere,” she said. “When I was dating Rob, the public was the enemy — and that is no way to live. It wasn’t this grand statement, ‘I was so confused! Now I’ve realized who I am!’ I have not been struggling.” Kristen Stewart on Coming Out and Robert Pattinson Interview ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4695261/kristen-stewart-on-coming-out/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4695261/kristen-stewart-on-coming-out/"},"headline":"Kristen Stewart Opens Up About Choosing to Come Out","datePublished":"2017-03-08T17:14:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:41:43.183Z","description":"\"I have not been struggling\"","url":"https://time.com/4695261/kristen-stewart-on-coming-out/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","Kristen Stewart"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6eb114757f4c1334/6988bd8ecf40a8ad7ec46c19/kristen-stewart-coming-out1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6eb114757f4c1334/6988bd8ecf40a8ad7ec46c19/kristen-stewart-coming-out1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kristen Stewart Coming Out","caption":"Kristen Stewart attends Charles Finch and CHANEL Pre-Oscar Awards Dinner at Madeo Restaurant on February 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.","creditText":"Presley Ann Slack/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4695261/kristen-stewart-on-coming-out/","name":"Kristen Stewart Opens Up About Choosing to Come Out"}}]}] ```