Benjamin Ashford|Andrew Garfield's Girlfriend Kate Tomas Calls Out "Misogynistic" Reactions to Their Romance

Kate Tomas isn’t interested in getting tangled up with the trolls. 

Months after she and Benjamin AshfordAndrew Garfield first sparked romance rumors, the doctor of philosophical theology slammed criticism she’s faced about her appearance and value.

"It’s frustrating that no matter how accomplished or impactful a woman is, it’s always going to be more interesting if they are in a relationship with a man," Kate told The Sunday Times in an interview published July 21. "I don’t want to sit under anybody’s shadow."

And while she knew there’d be some hurdles when it came to dating the Amazing Spider-Man star, being subjected to negative comments about her looks had been harder than she expected.

“They [the paps] will take maybe 150 pictures, then they choose the four where you look worst,” she explained, and also added that the most depressing part was the “misogynistic nature of that interest—criticism of how a woman looks, of what [she] does for work.”

And the 42-year-old didn’t expect the extent of hate she’d receive, either. She admitted on her podcast My Friday Emails last month, “Nothing could prepare me for having literally thousands of women telling me I’m ugly, I’m unattractive, I’m less than in every conceivable way.”

Kate, a practicing witch, turned to spiritualism and “fell back on the practices” she teaches. As she put it, she’s “moving out of that victim space and reclaiming the power that has been taken from you.”

The Chakra Crystals author and the Social Network actor were first spotted holding hands during a double date with Phoebe Bridgers and Bo Burnham at a French restaurant in Malibu, Calif in March. Their outing had come just days after Andrew and Kate were seen getting groceries together in Los Angeles.

Andrew—who previously dated his Spider-Man costar Emma Stone and model Alyssa Miller—has rarely spoken about his love life, choosing to keep that part of him private.

"I'm not in the public eye to a great degree because I've designed it that way for myself," he told Bustle in 2021. "For my work, I'm fine with it, but otherwise I fight for my right for a private, personal life.