Pop star Harry Styles and actor Zoë Kravitz are reportedly engaged after less than a year of dating ― and some fans are focusing on the whirlwind timeline.
Though neither Styles nor Kravitz have publicly confirmed the news, Kravitz was recently spotted wearing what appears to be a diamond ring on her left hand. What further fueled online speculation is that Styles and Kravitz were in separate long-term relationships not too long ago.
Kravitz has been engaged twice before, most recently to actor Channing Tatum, but they broke off their engagement around October 2024 after three years together. Styles reportedly dated actor Taylor Russell until about 2024 and also dated actor Olivia Wilde for about two years.
For some fans, Styles’ and Kravitz’s speedy relationship timeline can be explained not by shared values and compatibility, but by “taxi cab theory,” which holds that emotionally unavailable men suddenly commit to whoever they’re dating because they’ve simply decided it’s time for marriage.
“If Harry Styles of all men is not immune to the taxi cab theory then I fear no one is,” one person wrote in a viral X post, while another wrote, “Harry Styles proposing after eight months is further proof that taxi cab theory is real and NONE of us are safe.”
This theory was popularized by a “Sex and The City” episode in which character Miranda said, “Men are like cabs. When they’re available, their light goes on. They wake up one day, and they decide they’re ready to settle down,” She then added, “The next woman they pick up, boom, that’s the one they’ll marry.”
But before you start believing all men act like that, therapists have a reality check: Getting engaged shortly after a yearslong relationship can be normal, said Anita Chlipala, a marriage and family therapist.
“Maybe all the relationships that [Harry Styles has] had have helped him figure out what he wants and what he doesn’t, and Zoe just happens to be a really good fit for him. And why waste time?” she said.
“I do believe in timing, but I don’t believe in the taxi cab theory, where it’s, ‘I’ll just take anyone, because I’m ready,’” Chlipala added.
Why Therapists Don’t Believe ‘Taxi Cab Theory’ Is Fair To Harry Styles Or Anyone Else
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In this way, the taxi cab theory perpetuates limiting attitudes about men.
“It’s a diss to men that they have such low standards or low expectations that any woman would do,” Chlipala said. “By default, every man who’s emotionally available should be in a relationship, right? But that’s not happening. That’s not what I’m seeing with my clients, social circle, or the singles I meet.”
But it’s understandable why this theory persists. Believing in taxi cab theory might also be a self-protective measure. It can be easier on your ego to believe your partner quickly moved on because of timing outside your control, rather than because they would never have been ready to marry you.
“Sure, timing plays a role, but I think most people don’t want to hurt their partner’s feelings and so they are not honest about not seeing them as a long-term partner,” Chlipala said.
Justin Dodson, a therapist specializing in working with men and couples, said a “substantial number of people” believe in this flawed theory.
“Believing it assumes all men have the same level of healthy attachment, have seen healthy relationships, and desire what someone else desires,” he said. “What I do believe is that dating is practice, and sometimes it takes multiple relationships for either gender to determine what they want.”
Being honest about what you want can mean ending a long relationship, but it can also help you find the right one more quickly. Take it from Styles and Kravitz themselves.
In 2022, Kravitz shared that her philosophy on all relationships, including romantic ones, is “learning how to show up honestly,” she told ELLE magazine. “Sometimes we can’t show up, and that’s okay as long as we know how to communicate that we love those people.”
More recently, in an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe about his new album “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally,” Styles said that watching his closest friends get married inspired the song “American Girls” and how he has recently had the time “to really look at my life from a bird’s eye view.”
In the interview, Styles shared that he had “a real honest conversation with myself about, ‘OK, in five years, what do I want my life to look like? And then how do I make changes to aim at that?’”
“I don’t want to be the guy who’s on his own but was like, ‘Oh, I really did it.’ I want to be fulfilled, and I want to be in great relationships with people. I want to have great friendships with people,” Styles continued. “I want a family. I want these things.”
