Fans of "Outlander" have been hooked on the show since the drama premiered on Starz last year. Apart from the unique storyline and beautiful cinematography, one factor that has drawn viewers in is the chemistry between lead actors Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe, who play the show's protagonists Jamie and Claire.
Online, Heughan and Balfe would often engage in playful banter on Twitter, and many have wondered whether the two are dating in real life.
Speaking with Kristin dos Santos of E! News while promoting the show's second season, Balfe and Heughan set the record straight on whether they are dating or not.
"We're not together," Balfe said. "It's funny. We've always said from the get go that we're incredibly great friends…We're not together. I'm sorry to break people's hearts."
The actress added that people were probably trying to replicate Claire and Jamie's story based on Diana Gabaldon's novels as they hoped for a relationship between her and her co-star, but she said that it would be difficult for them to work together if they were dating in real life.
Heughan joked that they could try, before adding, "I think it's strange, isn't it? Because I think people buy into the show and us saying it's not real, they feel like they've been duped."
Dos Santos pointed out that one reason why fans probably thought that they were dating for real is because they were so believable as Jamie and Claire and that they got along so well in real life.
"It's like, 'You acted it. You lied to us!' And I'm like, 'Well, sorry!'" Heughan said, as Balfe laughed.
While the actors have denied that they are dating, fans are still hoping that the two might get together eventually, as there have been some TV couples who ended up dating and some have even gotten married to each other.
Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer worked on "True Blood" and they started to date while working on the HBO show before getting married in 2010. They are now parents to twins, a boy and a girl. Meanwhile, "Once Upon a Time" stars Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas also ended up dating in real life in 2011 and they were married in 2014. In November 2015, the two announced that they are expecting their second child.
