Austin Butler has addressed the talk that he's in a romance with Emily Ratajkowski.

Romance rumours were sparked after the two were photographed on a dinner date in New York City.

"The true answer is that I have a lot of friends, and we're friends and we had dinner, and that we're friends," the actor shared with Vanity Fair, insisting that he is currently single.

Butler also admitted that the public's interest in his personal life once felt so stifling that he "just wanted to hide", but that his perspective has since changed.

"I'm going to live a constricted, small life because I'm afraid of what other people are going to say or what they're going to think?" he asked.

In early September, Butler and Ratajkowski were snapped looking cosy while grabbing food and drinks at the Waverly Inn in the West Village.

Deuxmoi reported that the duo was "very giggly and cute" during the outing, and TMZ reported that they chatted for about two hours.

Butler and the model/actor were first linked in August when they were seen at the afterparty for the NYC premiere of his movie "Caught Stealing."

The Elvis star was also rumoured to be dating his Caught Stealing co-star Zoë Kravitz at the time.

Butler's last public relationship was with model Kaia Gerber. The former couple broke up in January after three years of dating.

Ratajkowski, who shares a four-year-old son with her ex-husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard, was last linked to musician Shaboozey in August last year.