AceShowbiz - Olivia Wilde is eager to "protect" her romance with Harry Styles. Starting dating last year, the 38-year-old actress and Harry, 28, are determined to keep their relationship out of the spotlight.

Olivia - who has Otis, eight, and Daisy, five, with her former fiance Jason Sudeikis - explained, "I'm not going to say anything about it because I've never seen a relationship benefit from being dragged into the public arena."

"We both go out of our way to protect our relationship; I think it's out of experience, but also just out of deep love."

Olivia directed Harry in her new psychological thriller movie, "Don't Worry Darling", and the pop star relished the experience of working with her. Harry shared, "As a director, Olivia is incredibly focused. She communicated what she was looking for from the cast with both clarity and respect."

"I think transitioning from acting into directing has made her a director who knows how to get the best out of everyone."

Harry stars in the movie alongside Florence Pugh and Chris Pine. Olivia insists she relished the experience of working with Florence, despite rumours of tension between the pair. She told Variety, "We were all brought so close by the bubble of the production."

"She was really a great supporter of [Harry] as someone who was newer to a film set. And he was such a great supporter of hers, as someone who understood it was her film."

Olivia's personal life has been thrown into the spotlight since she split from Jason and started dating Harry. And the actress admits it hasn't been easy to cope with the extra attention.

She said, "The last two years, my family has gone through this kind of restructuring and a revolution that should be a totally personal experience. And it's not. The most painful element of it has been women shaming me for making a decision that was for my own health and happiness."