Kristen Stewart declared she is “really in love” with girlfriend Alicia Cargile as she officially confirmed their relationship for the first time.

The Cafe Society actress began a low-profile romance with her former personal assistant in early 2015 before breaking up in October.

Kristen Stewart(ELLE UK/ Liz Collins)

The pair rekindled their romance at the Cannes Film Festival in May this year after Kristen had a brief relationship with French actress and musician Soko.

The 26-year-old told ELLE UK that she would no longer hide their relationship because it made her look like she was ashamed.

She said: “I think, right now, I’m just really in love with my girlfriend.

“We’ve broken up a couple of times and gotten back together, and this time I was like, ‘Finally, I can feel again’.”

Kristen Stewart(ELLE UK/ Liz Collins)

Kristen, who previously dated her Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson, added that her decision to speak openly about Alicia had made her “so much happier”.

She said: “When I was dating a guy I was hiding everything that I did because everything personal felt like it was immediately trivialised, so I didn’t like it.

“We were turned into these characters and placed into this ridiculous comic book, and I was like, ‘That’s mine. You’re making my relationship something that it’s not’. I didn’t like that.

Kristen Stewart(ELLE UK/ Liz Collins)

“But then it changed when I started dating a girl. I was like, ‘Actually, to hide this provides the implication that I’m not down with it or I’m ashamed of it’, so I had to alter how I approached being in public.

“It opened my life up and I’m so much happier.”

Speaking about her previous struggles with anxiety, she said: “I went through so much stress and periods of strife. I would have panic attacks…I literally always had a stomach ache. And I was a control freak and I couldn’t anticipate what was going to happen in a given situation, so I’d be like, ‘Maybe I’m going to get sick.’”

“It’s kind of remarkable. I just grew out of it, but that’s not to say I don’t get worried.”

Read the full interview in ELLE UK, on sale on August 3.