Attention on Personal Life Felt ‘Unsafe’

Ana de Armas wants the public to focus on her work and not on her personal life.

The Blonde actress, 34, was romantically linked with her Deep Water costar Ben Affleck (who is now married to Jennifer Lopez) back in March 2020. A source later told PEOPLE in January 2021 that the pair had broken up, saying that de Armas “doesn’t want to be Los Angeles–based” anymore.

The Knives Out star told Variety in a new cover story that the paparazzi and online attention on aspects of her life, such as her relationships, was concerning to her.

“I have never been someone that wants any attention that’s not about my work. So when the attention is not about my work, it is upsetting, and it feels disrespectful, and it feels inappropriate, and it feels dangerous and unsafe,” she said. “But, especially in this country, I don’t know how you can find protection. I don’t know how you can stop that from happening, other than leaving.”

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The Cuban actress, who also worked in Spain, explained, “When I was living in Madrid, I was a very well-known actress and had press and paparazzi after me. It’s something that you learn, unfortunately.”

De Armas, who is currently dating Tinder executive Paul Boukadakis, said she is “just interested in my work,” not making her private life public.

“I want to be remembered for that. The other side, I’m not interested,” she said. “Some people have a better time making peace with that. Some people even like it. I’m in the group of people who would prefer not to have that.”

In July, de Armas described the attention on their relationship at the time as “horrible” and said it played a part in her not wanting to continue living in Los Angeles. She now lives in New York City.

“That’s one of the reasons why I left L.A.,” de Armas, who’d lived there for seven years, told ELLE. “Going through it [myself] confirmed my thoughts about, ‘This is not the place for me to be.’ It became a little bit too much. There’s no escape. There’s no way out. … It’s always the feeling of something that you don’t have, something missing. It’s a city that keeps you anxious.”

Blonde is on Netflix Friday.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that de Armas was referring to Affleck.