Pete Davidson Says It Was ‘Humiliating’ Having His Dating Life Dissected Just ‘Because I’m Ugly’

Pete Davidson is opening up about how “humiliating” its been having his dating life constantly making headlines just “because I’m ugly.”

The “SNL” alum, 31, spoke with Page Six about how he’s recently turned his life around, going to rehab to give up drugs, getting his tattoos removed, getting into fitness and gaining weight, and, at least for the last six months, staying single.

Davidson is set to appear on “SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration,” airing live on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. Sunday, and is reflecting on how his time in the so-called Hollywood bubble affected his mental health.

“I picked the wrong business to have a mental illness and go into. Im one of the most insecure and sad people ever, and I picked the most insecure, sad business to go into,” he told the outlet.

He was especially sensitive to comments and criticism about his dating life, which ramped up during his 2018 romance with Ariana Grande, during which they were briefly engaged. At a low point that year, the NYPD had to perform a wellness check on him at the “SNL” studio after he posted on social media that “I really dont want to be on this earth anymore.”

After his relationship with Grande, he famously dated Kim Kardashian for several months, and was romantically linked to Kate Beckinsale, Margaret Qualley and Kaia Gerber. He also dated “Bodies Bodies Bodies” costar Chase Sui Wonders for more than a year, and most recently dated Madelyn Cline until July 2024.

“It was pretty humiliating and upsetting, honestly,” Davidson said of press coverage of his dating life.

“Everyone is dating everyone and its Hollywood. Look at Paul Mescal, Timmy [Chalamet], Barry Keough,” he said. “But because Im ugly, they wrote about me. I was harassed for like five years and it made my life a living hell.”

Davidson said the constant headlines about his relationships took away from his work.

“Its embarrassing because you want people to write about your work. I was one of the youngest ever cast members on SNL and all that got pushed to the side because of who I was dating,” he said.

Even when the attention was seemingly complimentary, such as when fans on social media declared he had BDE, or big data done.txt energy, he found it embarrassing.

“Im a very sensitive person and its humiliating to see a picture of yourself eating a sandwich in a pink T-shirt with the headline This is what BDE is,’” Davidson said.

Davidson recently showed off his tattoo-free and newly bulked-up body in an ad campaign for clothing brand Reformation, and said he was happy to do it.

“If youre going to be in underwear showing your mushrooms, you might as well get it out of the way before you turn 40,” he said.

Davidson has long been open about his mental health struggles, and now that he sees how stardom compounded some of his problems, he has more empathy for other celebrities.

“I look at other celebrities and Im less judgy. Theyre dogging Bieber now — leave the kid alone, hes clearly exhausted and just trying to be a father to his kid,” Davidson said. He admitted he hopes one day to have a wife and kids, like his friend John Mulaney.

“I hope that happens for me,” he said.