"Outlander" star Sam Heughan was recently spotted with MacKenzie Mauzy, which is something that disappointed a lot of the show's fans who had hoped that he and co-star Caitriona Balfe would become a couple in real life.
According to Just Jared, attending the Oscar Weekend Kick-Off Party was the first time Heughan and Mauzy, who played Rapunzel in "Into the Woods," stepped out as a couple.
The on-screen chemistry between Heughan and Balfe and the intimate scenes they had on "Outlander" fueled rumors that the two are secretly a couple in real life. It reached the point where there were speculations that Balfe was pregnant with Heughan's child, which, incidentally, is where the current storyline of "Outlander" is at.
Despite all these rumors, the two have repeatedly stated that they were just friends. While they said that they appreciated their fans' response to their pairing, they also said that they are not together in real life. Balfe is reportedly dating Tony McGill.
"We're not together," Balfe said in an interview with E! News. "I'm sorry to break people's hearts. They like to maybe replicate the Claire and Jamie story," she continued, referring to their characters on Outlander. She did say, however, that she and Heughan are "great friends."
She added, "I think it would be difficult for us to work together and be together," to which Heughan teased, "We could try."
Fans of the pairing continue to hope that they would end up together, arguing that the public appearance of Heughan and Mauzy was just a publicity stunt. They added that the two were only seen at that single event in February and were not spotted together after that.
Heughan and Balfe were recently spotted in South Africa, where they filmed scenes for "Outlander." They also filmed in Scotland prior to that.
The third season of "Outlander" is slated to premiere this September on Starz. It will feature Claire (Balfe) and Jamie (Heughan) attempting to build their own lives after they were separated from each other when the former traveled back to 1948 to return to her old life, while the latter was left behind in the 18th century. The third season will have 13 episodes.
