Winona Ryder Says Dating Sucked For Her Too

In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar promoting the upcoming sequel to Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder reflected on how her younger self—and all of us, really—resembled her iconic character, Lydia Deetz:

“In my 30s, I had two disastrous relationships that were—they weren’t wrong, but this was before you would ever think to Google someone,” she said. “When I look back, I’m like, ‘What the hell was I thinking?’ I was dating the type of person who only lets you know a few weeks in that they’re in a relationship with someone else. And you’re just like, ‘What the f**k?’”

(In her 30s, Ryder was linked to Beck, Page Hamilton (of the band Helmet), filmmaker Henry Alex-Rubin, and Rilo Kiley guitarist Blake Sennett.)

Extremely disappointing to learn that absolutely nothing has changed in the dating scene. I can and do Google people, but I’m still coming up dry. But there’s hope for the hopefuls, as Ryder has been with her boyfriend, Scott Mackinlay Hahn, for 14 years. And she still doesn’t regret the messy times.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to live this life—however intense and overwhelming it got, it’s NOTHING compared to what it is now with the internet and social media.” Girl, preach. “I just find myself feeling tremendous empathy towards people who have sacrificed so much.”

Did you hear that, girls? Winona’s been there, and she’s rooting for us, just like she was rooting for Jenna Ortega, who says Ryder was her “guiding light” when she made it big.

“She definitely helped me feel less alone,” said Ortega, adding that achieving fame quickly as a young person is an “isolating experience and a scary one.”

“Being able to speak to somebody who had witnessed that firsthand, maybe even more, was a great source of comfort for me, and I can’t thank her enough for that.”

Winona Ryder is, was, and always will be for the girls.