Emma Watson is "so happy" people feel "empowered" by describing themselves as "self-partnered"

She said: "I'm so happy people feel empowered."

The 29-year-old actress had no idea her "throwaway comment" would spark such a huge conversation.

Speaking to E!'s 'The Rundown' on Snapchat, she said: "I literally said it as a throwaway comment thinking it would go no further. And then I woke up the next morning and my phone's blowing up and I don't know why and it's all my friends messaging me being like, 'self-partnered?' This thing's gone crazy."

However, Emma insisted someone doesn't have to be single to be self-partnered.

She explained: "It's much more about your relationship with yourself and the feeling of not somehow deficient in some way cause you're not with someone."

One person who has embraced Emma's term is her former 'Harry Potter' co-star Tom Felton.

Admitting he hadn't seen the original interview with the actress, Tom said recently: "I like it! It's the first I've heard of it, but it's great. I'm in the same category to be honest with you, quite happily self-partnered.

"I think in this day and age it's not a necessity to be with someone just for the sake of being with someone, so I like the idea of self-partnering.

"I think you need to love yourself before you can love anyone else, so that's a start."

Emma used the phrase when she admitted to Britain's Vogue magazine that it had taken a "long time" to be comfortable with being single.

She said: "I never believed the whole 'I'm happy single' spiel. I was like, 'This is totally spiel.'

"It took me a long time, but I'm very happy [being single]. I call it being self-partnered."