"It was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace." Why everyone is talking about Rebel Wilson.

A week after announcing her new relationship to the world, it has been alleged Rebel Wilson was threatened with being 'outed' just a day before she made the announcement. 

The Senior Year actor made her relationship 'Instagram official' last week by posting about her partner, fashion and jewellery designer, Ramona Agruma.

"I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince... but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess," she captioned a photo of the smiling couple.

While Wilson has only just officially announced their relationship, the couple have been pictured together at various events, most notably on the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party in March.

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A post shared by Rebel Wilson (@rebelwilson)

Speaking to People Magazine in May, Wilson confirmed she was in a new relationship.

"We spoke on the phone for weeks before meeting. And that was a really good way to get to know each other," she shared.

"It was a bit old-school in that sense - very romantic. I think going through the process of finding more self-worth, I think that what you want in a partner is elevated, so it's great to have someone who feels like an equal partner and to be in a healthy relationship.

"There were times - I'm not saying with all my exes, they're great - but there were some times that I was probably putting up with stuff that I shouldn't have. So it feels different to be in a really healthy relationship."

Speaking on the Betches podcast U-Up? in May, Wilson shared that she was "happily in a relationship" after being set up by a friend.

"I was on and off on the Raya app, but this was a friend setup," she said. [The friend was later revealed to be actor Hugh Sheridan]. "He had known both of us for at least five years and he thought we would hit it off - and then we did!"

While the response from the public was overwhelmingly positive, many fans were were less than thrilled with a column published in newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald, in which it was revealed the paper initially had the "scoop" on Wilson's same-sex relationship. 

In it, the journalist wrote that the paper had made the "big mistake" of emailing her team, giving Wilson a 48-hour deadline to give comment about the relationship.

"Considering how bitterly Wilson had complained about poor journalism standards when she successfully sued Woman’s Day for defamation, her choice to ignore our discreet, genuine and honest queries was, in our view, underwhelming," the journalist wrote.

i am so beyond disgusted at this. turns out rebel wilson only came out to avoid being forcefully outed and now that newspaper is pissed at her for ruining their scoop?? so they wrote this mess?? i am so angry and so sorry for rebel, no one deserves this. pic.twitter.com/PTnTqzr9VI

— theresa 🌈 (@sapphoslibrary) June 11, 2022

This is thoroughly depressing. People should be able to come out when they are ready. It can be fraught with emotion, stress and even danger. Do better! Good luck @RebelWilson https://t.co/V72Rhbcmfo

— Kelly Simmons (@KellySimmo1) June 12, 2022

I’ve just read this @smh piece 3 times to make sure that I wasn’t misreading. The publication messaged Rebel Wilson saying they would out her in 2 days - and is now complaining that she chose to announce her relationship with a woman herself. Quite astonishing. pic.twitter.com/qiPZkYFmka

— Megha Mohan (@meghamohan) June 11, 2022

In case you were wondering how Pride Month is going, the @smh got in touch with Rebel Wilson to say they’d be outing her in the next few days, so when Rebel came out herself the journalists are throwing a tantrum that she robbed them of an exclusive.

— Dr. Bodie A. Ashton (@manwithoutatan) June 11, 2022

Wilson responded to one fan on Twitter, admitting it was a "very hard situation" but she was "trying to handle it with grace".

Thanks for your comments, it was a very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace 💗

— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 12, 2022

The journalist at the centre of the controversy has since released an apology in a new column, writing: "I got it wrong. I allowed my disappointment to cast a shadow over the piece. That was not fair and I apologise.

"Celebrities have huge influence in our culture. We still have to ask questions, sometimes very difficult ones. It would be much worse to write gossip items about the unscripted events in their lives without them having a chance to have their say. 

"But we need to make it clear that a deadline is not an ultimatum."

Listen to Mamamia's daily entertainment podcast, The Spill, which features Rebel Wilson's announcement. Post continues below.

Following the global backlash, SMH's editor Bevan Shields released a statement categorically denying they had any intention to 'out' Wilson's same-sex relationship.

"Like other mastheads do every day, we simply asked questions and as standard practice included a deadline for a response," he wrote.

"I had made no decision about whether or what to publish, and the Herald’s decision about what to do would have been informed by any response Wilson supplied."

Many high-profile Australians have weighed in on the situation via Twitter.

Bevan
Your paper has no god-given right to know anything about the private life of anyone
I don’t claim to speak on behalf of Rebel Wilson
But for LGBTQIA+ people the consequences of what is nothing more than a hissy fit over who gets to print gossip can have devastating effects https://t.co/mzrpHTsoU5

— Magda Szubanski AO (@MagdaSzubanski) June 13, 2022

Bevan, reading this response slowed down my central nervous system. How you brought yourself to publish this is beyond me but I hope there’s at least one thing in your life that you’re more genuine and honest about.

— Kirsty Webeck (@KirstyWebeck) June 12, 2022

Bevan, I’d LOVE to live in a world where dating a man & dating a woman come with the same social, political, and career-related reaction. We don’t. Straight people may not understand how LOADED disclosing orientation can be. Happy pride. https://t.co/ObDye8NS4x

— Amanda Deibert🏳️‍🌈🌻🌻 (@amandadeibert) June 13, 2022

Rebel Wilson on being a "late bloomer".

Speaking to People in May, Wilson admitted she was a "late bloomer" in her personal life.

"It's not an exaggeration to say no one was really interested in dating me, especially in my 20s," she said. 

"I had a snaggle tooth. I was a catch if people really got to know me, but there was nobody really interested. 

"But in a way that allowed me to not only have this amazing career and come up out of Australia, out of nowhere, and get two degrees and then come to America and crush it. 

"Would I have been able to do that if I had a serious relationship? Probably in my love life I was meant to be a late bloomer, anyway."

Prior to her new relationship announcement, there were rumours Wilson was dating tennis star Matt Reid, but she has kept her love life and relationship status relatively private over the years.

She dated Jacob Busch, the Anheuser-Busch heir, for six months, but they broke up in February 2021.

The couple shared photos from trips to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and Aspen, Colorado, but Wilson confirmed the breakup when she declared herself a "single girl" on Instagram in February 2021.

Rebel and Jacob. Image: Getty. 

In 2017, Wilson was briefly linked to stuntman Aden Stay after they were spotted having dinner together in Los Angeles. Wilson brought Stay as her date to the MTV Movie Awards in May 2017, but never confirmed their relationship officially.

According to Elite Daily, Wilson was also spotted multiple times with actor and producer Mickey Gooch Jr. The duo were photographed together in New York in August 2017, and they were also seen in May 2019 at the Cannes Film Festival, but their relationship was never officially confirmed by Wilson.

In May 2021, while not openly in a relationship, Wilson posted about her personal struggles with fertility.

Speaking on the topic for the first time, Wilson briefly shared that she received some "bad news" about her fertility.

"I got some bad news today and didn’t have anyone to share it with... but I guess I gotta tell someone. To all the women out there struggling with fertility, I feel ya," she wrote on Instagram.

"The universe works in mysterious ways and sometimes it all doesn’t make sense... but I hope there’s light about to shine through all the dark clouds."

Feature Image: Instagram/@rebelwilson.

This article was published on June 10, 2022 and updated with new information on June 13, 2022.