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Billie Eilish Is Amped to Be Dating Jesse Rutherford

Photo: MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

Last month, Billie Eilish ushered in autumn by giving us a little kiss with Jesse Rutherford, the lead singer of the band the Neighbourhood, all but confirming rumors that they were dating. And now, in her sixth annual Vanity Fair video interview, Eilish has officially and enthusiastically confirmed that she is indeed in a committed relationship with the guy who sang “Sweater Weather.”

It’s a union that has raised some eyebrows: Eilish is 20 and Rutherford is 31, and they seem to have known each other since Eilish was 16. Amid the speculation about their age difference, a 2019 NME interview has resurfaced where Eilish raved about the Neighbourhood, saying it was the first gig she ever went to and recalling meeting Rutherford the previous year. “I love him so much, oh my God!” she said. “He’s so good, bro.” The couple leaned into the whole age-difference thing by dressing as a baby (Eilish) and an old man (Rutherford) for Halloween. They followed that up with a red-carpet debut in Gucci pajamas.

Eilish herself seems pretty thrilled to be dating Rutherford. In Vanity Fair’s video, Eilish answered the same series of questions that the publication has asked her on-camera since she was 15, including “Do you have a boyfriend?” Between a series of bashful smiles, she said, “Yeah, I do,” adding, “it’s really cool and I’m really excited and I’m really happy about it.”

Actually, Eilish’s ability to snag a hot indie-band boyfriend is, in her own estimation, a major accomplishment. Besides, you know, her seven Grammys and her Oscar and headlining Coachella. “I managed to get to a point in my life where I not only was known by a person I thought was the hottest fucking fucker alive,” she said, “but pulled his ass. Are you kidding me? Round of applause for me. Jesse Rutherford, everyone.” Following a literal round of applause from herself and the video crew, she reiterated, “I pulled his ass. All me. I did that shit. I locked that motherfucker down.”

When asked what makes her happy in a relationship, Eilish said that her love language is “physical touch” and that she needs “to be touching skin all the time.” More generally, though, she also wants “freedom,” “love,” “attention,” and “equal admiration.” She said that she’s “really inspired” by Rutherford, and “he’s inspired by me.” Sounds like a woman who has plenty of agency in her relationship and maybe should be left alone?

Billie Eilish Is Amped to Be Dating Jesse Rutherford