JK Rowling Hates You and Your OTP

Let's talk about J. K. Rowling spitting all over my happy little Potter world.

According to NPR Rowling confessed in a recent interview that she regretted pairing my beloved ginger-headed Ron Weasley with Hermione Granger.

Rowling is quoted as saying, "I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment.  That's how it was conceived, really.  For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron."

Why?  Why would say that?  I think we can all agree that it would have been way too predictable if Harry and Hermione had ended up together.  That would have been boring.  The hero always gets the girl.  Let's face it there's nothing particularly charming or alluring about Harry.  He was the boy who lived and brave and cared for his friends.  The same could be said for Ron, except for the boy who lived part.  Ron was funny and a little klutzy.  Neither Ron nor Harry excelled in school. So realistically neither was a great match for Hermione but in the Potter world it works.

Let's face it Ron and Hermione were a compelling piece of drama unfolding.  It was a nice side story.  The fact that they were so different made it interesting.  Watching them grow up together and sort out all of those confusing dramatic angsty feelings was fun.  Ron getting jealous of Viktor, Hermione frustrated with his immature attitude.  Had it been harry it would have been boring.  They would have gotten along with little bumps in the road, except for the whole Voldemort deal.  It would have been cute watching them be shy at first but ultimately plain and uneventful.

Putting aside the typical hero gets the girl plot, why would an author speak ill about such beloved characters nearly seven years after the novels stopped?  Perhaps Rowling is trying to distance herself from the series that made her famous and wealthy.  If she wanted to anger and alienate fans then she may have succeeded.

From LA Times, "I know, I'm sorry," she said in the interview.  "I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I'm absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that.  It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility.  Am I breaking people's hearts by saying this?  I hope not.”