Rita Ora Says She and Taika Waititi “Clicked Straight Away”: “I Had Butterflies”

Rita Ora wasn’t always sure that her relationship with Taika Waititi would work, though all the signs were there from the start. “We clicked straight away,” Ora recalled in a July 10 interview with The Line of Best Fit. “We just really connected on our families and our work ethic. It was like there was no one else at the party, and then it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, the sun’s coming up. What’s going on?'” Still, the pair didn’t get together until years later. “We remained really good friends, but I had butterflies – it was a surprise, but I felt comfortable. Safe,” she continued.

Eventually, though, they found their way to one another – and seem to work well creatively in addition to romantically. Waititi directed Ora’s music video for Ora’s song “Don’t Think Twice,” which Ora said “is about not thinking twice and just jumping in, romantically. You only live once,” she added, “so it’s really about seizing the moment, and not being held back by thoughts of what might or might not happen.”

In January, Ora confirmed her marriage to the “Thor: Love and Thunder” director, who has two children from a previous relationship, after sparking rumors of their nuptials in August 2022. She showed off her emerald wedding ring during a Feb. 1 appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.”

While it’s unclear when exactly Ora and Waititi’s romance first began, the two went public with their relationship in April 2021. Since then, they haven’t shied away from flaunting their love at red carpet appearances, award shows, and in sweet social media posts, though they still prefer to keep it out of the spotlight when they can.

The two generally didn’t speak much about their romance in its early days, and it took five months for Ora even to confirm their marriage, but now it seems they may be open to sharing more details about their relationship. In May, Waititi complimented his wife in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I love working with her,” Waititi said, reflecting on collaborating with Ora on the “Don’t Think Twice” video. “It’s just a good laugh. It’s nice being married to and working with someone who’s extremely talented. We’ve got a similar sense of humor and we listen to the same stuff.”

Previously, during a Feb. 6 appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” Ora said of their marriage, “I can’t believe I can say it. It’s so interesting to me because I loved the whole experience but I kept it super private for a little bit, just kept it to myself. So it’s nice to share it and just be open about it. It feels great.”

The singer, whose new album “You & I” drops on July 14, teased that she and Waititi, 47, met each other “long before we decided to ruin everything,” revealing that they were friends for six years before their romance blossomed. According to Barrymore, the couple “refound each other” later in life when Ora was working on “The Voice” in Australia and Waititi was working on his Marvel film.

“I don’t even know how to explain. Everything just went . . .” Ora said, motioning her hands colliding with one another. “It genuinely just went like that,” she added, snapping her fingers. “I mean, honestly, he put his hand on my back and then – low back – and that’s when I knew, this is a different type of stroke.”

Ahead, read everything we know about Ora and Waititi’s relationship timeline.

Related: The Stars Rita Ora Dated Before Marrying Director Taika Waititi