“OITNB’s” Taylor Schilling just got super real about her love life

Taylor Schilling plays Piper Chapman on Orange is the New Black — one of Netflix’s most-watched original shows. Because the show is so insanely popular, Schilling has had to come to terms with all of the attention. And part of that attention consists of total strangers being extremely interested in her dating life — something that never happened before she became, you know, super famous.

In an interview with People, Schilling explained that the sudden interest in her personal life has taken a lot of getting used to.

“It’s so weird. It’s so out of thin air.”

She said that right now she’s not in a relationship, but “if I was in a relationship I was happy with, I’d love to talk about it. But I don’t like to date. It takes a lot for me to be into somebody. By default I’m a monogamist. I want a partner in crime.”

A totally reasonable desire.

As for rumors that she was dating Portlandia star Carrie Brownstein, she said, “I have absolutely nothing to hide.”

But she’d much rather talk about her work than her dating life, which makes complete sense.

“It’s an astonishing experience,” Schilling said of OITNB‘s success. “There’s a baked-in level of fear and insecurity I have about wanting to be liked, wanting my work to be liked. Now, I feel like Sally Field accepting that Oscar. People like me! It’s a concrete validation that I’m on the right path.”

OTNB premieres this Friday on Netflix!