Okay, everyone says it’s true, but did Rob and Kristen really have a thing?  Did they date? Are Rob and Kristen dating now?

Oh boy.  This is the one everyone has been asking for and the Pattinson Anonymous team is feeling brave.  We’ve strapped on our high-tech protective gear and we’re ready to do battle and take the slings from both the shippers and the naysayers.  There’s a heap of evidence, but we’re willing.  We shall delve into the world of amore, and hopefully we will live to tell the tale.

Since the release of Twilight and the fandom that followed, there have been many rumors and reports circulating about Rob and Kristen’s on-screen chemistry and a possible off-screen relationship. The rumor seemed to get started when stories about how Rob was cast began getting press.  In Entertainment Weekly’s July 18, 2008 cover story on Twilight, director Catherine Hardwicke talked about Rob’s audition. 

So Pattinson flew to meet with Hardwicke at her home in Venice, Calif. His audition consisted of a love scene with Stewart on Hardwicke’s bed. ”It was electric,” Hardwicke says. ”The room shorted out, the sky opened up, and I was like, ‘This is going to be good.”’

Clearly the two leads of the movie had chemistry on screen, but did the chemistry extend off screen as well?  Fans pored over hundreds of pictures of the two of them together at premieres and events.  Interviews were dissected and analyzed in an effort to find evidence from a glance or smile between them confirming their off-screen pairing.  Much ado about nothing…or cold, hard evidence?

The Evidence

During the neverending Twilight Press Tour, many fans watched as Robert stated in several interviews that he had a “crush” on Kristen.  Reporters also latched on to a story about Rob asking Kristen to “marry him” on set…and Rob responded in typical joking Rob style in this interview with Extra (at 2:10).

Extra:  Now, the chemistry between you and Kristen is amazing.  What did you do to kind of perfect that, ‘cuz I read that you followed her around for days and you proposed to her; is this true?

Rob:  Oh yeah, we were gonna get married for a long time. (laughs)

Extra:  What about her boyfriend?

Rob:  Pffft.  Who cares?

Rob  freely admitted he admired Kristen and that the two had onscreen chemistry in a Novemer 21, 2008 interview with Premiere:

“She’s basically the reason I did the movie. When I read the book, and there are these moony descriptions of Edward as this God-like figure, I thought there was no way I could play him, really. But when I got into the room with Kristen, there was just a certain chemistry. And she’s just very smart. She’s really the best actress of her generation.”

Kristen seemed equally enthused to be working with Rob on the film, as she discussed his casting in and Q&A session with Vanity Fair.

Edward, played by Robert Pattinson, and Bella share a very intense love in this film. How was it working with Robert?

Well, I basically cast him. We did one day of auditions and a bunch of guys came in. Catherine Hardwicke, the director, afterwards was like, “What do you think? This is such a hard choice.” I was like, “Are you kidding me!? It’s such an obvious choice!” It couldn’t have been better. It was sort of perfect.

The duo’s playful and comfortable demeanor during a steamy photo shoot and video for the Vanity Fair Twilight article caused some waves on the internet, too.

By this time Twilight’s popularity seemed assured, and Rob and Kristen’s draw to help sell magazines and garner internet hits had not gone unnoticed. 

This lead to a slew of articles as the two became targets of the tabloid rumor mill.  Various magazines cited anonymous sources and internet blind items were everywhere.  Magazines like Life and Style ran various covers on the couple’s “romance”.  But the stars were soon clarifying that this chemistry was left on the set.  Rob told OK Magazine:

“Kristen is amazing, and your first impulse is to ask her for her phone number. But then I forced myself to remember that ninety percent of what you do on screen is acting and make things up.

I enjoyed the process of creating these characters with her. We would spend all night talking about our scenes and the next day we would defend out points of view. That creative energy made us have a very special bond.”

And Rob complained a bit about Summit refusing to just deny the relationship in an interview in the December 14, 2008 edition of TimesOnline.

“They’re so ridiculous at the film company,” he says. “They keep refusing to deny it. They just say, ‘No comment.’ And we’re like, ‘We’re not.’

And Kristen, who has been in a long-term relationship with fellow actor Michael Angarano for several years, set the record straight on the Robert rumors when speaking with Nylon.

It’s just totally false … Rob and I are good friends. We went through a lot together, so we feel very close. But if we go out in public, every little detail is scrutinized, like the way I stand next to him.” She explained that although they aren’t dating, they do share a certain camaraderie. “And it’s, like, I know this guy really f—ing well,” she said. “It’s only natural that we’re sort of leaning on each other, because we’re put in the most f—ing psychotic situations.”

Since Pattinson isn’t her paramour, Stewart did say that there is one “awesome” guy in her life. “He’s older than me — he’s 20 now — but when you’re 13 and he’s turning 16, it was always sort of an out-of-reach thing,” she explained about her relationship with actor Michael Angarano. “Then you get a little older, and you realize, ‘Oh, What the f— am I thinking? I can have you, like, lickity.’

And by March of 2009 the rest of the Twilight cast were putting their two cents in, too, as they spoke with E!’s Mark Malkin.

Edi Gathegi, who plays Laurent, tells me the cast and crew have pretty much ignored the gossip. “I can’t even think of those two together at all,” he told me during his recent stop in Los Angeles for the launch of Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight: Director’s Notebook. “Kristen has a boyfriend! It’s onscreen and that’s it.”

Ashley Greene added:

“Their chemistry is fantastic, but no, they are not in a romantic relationship,” Greene said at the Twilight at Midnight DVD launch event at Hollywood’s Hot Topic store. “They are good actors [is] basically what it comes down to.”

The Verdict

Phew!  Have you noticed that there are a ton of interviews with these two out there?  We did and we dug through them.  And we found…nothing.  There’s no real evidence that Rob and Kristen are anything but what they claim to be:  friends.  Pattinson Anonymous believes based on the evidence that Robert and Kristen have not dated and are currently not a couple.  This one is BUSTED.

Kristen and her boyfriend Michael have been photographed together in the past few months and he accompanied her to many of the Twilight premieres. And Robert said in his interview in the April GQ issue that he’s not even sure he wants a girlfriend right now.

So shippers, step back and put down your weapons.  We are aware of the many magazine articles and tabloids that promote this relationship.  There are so many we could not address them all.  But they do not provide credible evidence for their stories or for their “unidentified sources”.

Kristen is still with her boyfriend, Michael, who recently went up to Vancouver for a visit.

As for Rob’s self-reported “crush” on Kristen?  Well, we sort of believe him when he says he did have a crush on Kristen while filming, but his overall comments do reflect a great fondness and respect for Kristen as an actress.  Yes, the two definitely have chemistry on screen…

…and that is what we here at Pattinson Anonymous call good acting!

You can read our updates on this story here and here.

Tags: dating, girlfriends, kristen stewart

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 28th, 2009 at 12:59 am and is filed under Busted, Relationships. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.