Why Wednesday's Jenna Ortega Says She Isn't Interested in Dating Right Now

Jenna Ortega doesn't need someone to keep on dancing.

The Wednesday star, 20, recently got candid about her dating life, revealing that she's single.

"I almost don't even find myself interested," Ortega said on the March 6 episode of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, "but I think a big part of it is self-esteem. Like, I don't think I'm ready to be that vulnerable or trusting with someone." 

But that's not to say she hasn't given dating a shot in the past. "I was in a relationship for a couple of years," she continued, "but I stopped when things got too hectic."

As the actress put it, "it had nothing to do" with the individual she was seeing but rather she felt like she couldn't manage both a relationship and the demands of her career.

"If there's one thing I'm going to focus on, which is probably something I need to change," Ortega said, "it's gonna be my work."

The Scream VI star acknowledged she gives so much to her work that she sometimes isn't able to meet her own personal needs. So to add someone else to the mix, she said, "I just don't think it'd be fair to somebody."

This isn't the only time Ortega has expressed these sentiments.

"Maybe I am too obsessed with my work, but the idea of relationships stresses me out," the Yes Day alum told ELLE for its April cover story, released March 7. "And also being that vulnerable with someone and having to get to know someone that well and having someone see you for all that you are...My brain knows that I don't need to think about that right now."

Indeed, vulnerability is something Ortega said she's still trying to navigate in general.

"I am so fearful of disappointing the people in my life, or even people in public," she added. "I want to live up to people's expectations, which is something that I need to get over, but I'm also scared that, I don't know, maybe someone will get to know me too well and realize that I'm not all that." 

She even admitted it can be hard for her to take compliments. "The kind words that I hear that they say about me through other people are unbelievable to me," she shared. "I feel like just the people in my life see me in a way that I don't really see myself."