Game of Thrones stars' offscreen love lives

By Gena Oppenheim 8:19am PDT, Apr 9, 2019

Explicit sexual scenes have gotten fans up close and personal with the cast of characters on the hit HBO series "Game of Thrones." But what about their real-life love lives? With the return of the eighth and final season on April 14, 2019, let's take a closer look at the romantic lives of the actors and actresses who play our favorite fantasy characters on television… Starting with Kit Harington (Jon Snow) and Rose Leslie (Ygritte). The onscreen couple reportedly started hooking up offscreen about a year after the series debuted then had a long on-off relationship. In June 2017, Kit revealed he and Rose had moved in together. The couple got engaged in September 2017 and tied the knot in June 2018 with several of their "GoT" co-stars in attendance. So cute! Now keep reading for more "Thrones" love lives dish…

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Danish hunk Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays knight Jaime Lannister on "Game of Thrones," has been happily married since 1998. His wife, Nukâka, is a Greenlandic singer-actress and a former Miss Greenland. One of the couple's two teenage daughters, Filippa, has already started to follow in her parents' footsteps: She appeared in a Danish indie film shown at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, "The Girl and the Dogs."

In September 2017, 6-foot-9 actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsso — who plays Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane on "Game of Thrones" — met 5-foot-2 waitress Kelsey Henson at a bar in her native Canada. She was a "GoT" fan and asked for a photo — and things turned romantic after that. The couple married in his native Iceland in October 2018.

Sophie Turner — who was cast as Sansa Stark on "Game of Thrones" when she was just 13 — was already getting enough attention for her role on the HBO show before she started dating musician Joe Jonas in late 2016. But ever since her hot Hollywood relationship went public, it's raised her profile even more. "You do feel like you're living in a fishbowl," she told Marie Claire of having the spotlight on her love life. Still, she told the mag, "I'm very happy." The adorable couple got engaged in October 2017 and plan to marry in the summer of 2019.

When she's not playing priestess Melisandre on "Game of Thrones," Carice Van Houten is busy being a mom. Up until announcing that she was pregnant in 2016, Carice had been quiet about her relationship with Australian actor Guy Pearce, who split from his wife of nearly two decades in 2015. But once baby Monte was born in August 2016, the cat was pretty much out of the bag.

On "Game of Thrones," Tormund Giantsbane is obsessed with Brienne of Tarth. In real life, the Norwegian actor who plays the warrior Wildling, Kristofer Hivju, is in love with journalist-director Gry Molvær. The longtime couple, who share two kids, married in 2015.

Emilia Clarke's "Game of Thrones" character, Daenerys Targaryen, was once married on the show and is now coupled up with the King in the North, but she's all about living the single life off-camera. The gorgeous English actress has been linked to celebs including "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane and her "Terminator Genisys" co-star Jai Courtney. She dated director Charlie McDowell in 2018, although the pair reportedly split in early 2019. All of the romance speculation aside, the last we heard from Emilia herself was that she's happy being on her own. "I'm just chilling," she told Glamour in 2016. "I've got a good thing going."

Nathalie Emmanuel won't say if she's single or not these days, but 2018 photos of her walking arm-in-arm with rumored boyfriend Alex Lanipekun seemed to confirm that they were a couple. Nathalie previously had a track record of dating co-stars: She linked up with Devon Anderson when they worked together on the British soap "Hollyoaks," which she left in 2010. The "GoT" star commented on her difficulty finding the right partner during an interview in April 2017. "It's difficult to find people when you're always moving 'round, or who aren't intimidated by your achievements," she said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." "It's tough to find people who are super-secure and encourage you to fly."

Gwendoline Christie's character, Brienne of Tarth, has been very unlucky in love, with several betrothals having fallen through. But in real life, the English actress is in a happy, long-term relationship. She's been with British fashion designer Giles Deacon, who created Pippa Middleton's wedding dress, since 2013.

Alfie Allen, the actor who plays Theon Greyjoy on "Game of Thrones," made a splash with girlfriend Allie Teilz, a DJ who's previously dated Joaquin Phoenix, in June 2017. The pair turned heads when they were spotted smooching in the ocean — both topless — while on vacation in Formentera, Spain. The same month, they were seen having a blast together at England's Glastonbury Music Festival. Allie was the first lady friend we'd seen Alfie with since his split from Jaime Winstone a couple of years ago. Clearly, their love was meant to be: The pair welcomed their first child together, a daughter, in October 2018.

Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister on "Game of Thrones," has a very stable personal life outside of his work on the fantasy show. He's been happily married to Erica Schmidt, a theater director, since 2005. The couple are parents to a daughter born in 2011 and a second child born in 2017.

Jacob Anderson, who plays warrior Grey Worm on "Game of Thrones," started dating fellow Brit Aisling Loftus, an actress best known for her work on "Mr. Selfridge" and "War & Peace," back in 2011. The couple has stood the test of time: They married in 2018.

We know that Lena Headey's character, Cersei Lannister, had a marriage lacking in the romance department on "Game of Thrones," but in real life, she's been luckier in love — although there's been plenty of drama too. She was linked to "GoT" co-star Jerome Flynn (who plays Bronn) in 2014, but there was reportedly so much lingering bad blood that the two had to be kept away from each other on set while shooting the HBO hit. In 2011, the famously private star split with musician husband Peter Loughran, with whom she has a son, Wylie. A few years ago, she was romantically linked to "GoT" co-star Pedro Pascal (who played Oberyn Martell) — he's seen here with Lena in a 2013 Instagram pic — though it remains unclear if they were really ever more than friends. In 2015, she gave birth to daughter Teddy, but at the time stayed mum on the father's identity. In July 2017, The New York Times confirmed that her new fiance — childhood friend and filmmaker Dan Caden — is Teddy's dad. Lena and Dan tied the knot in 2018.

On "Game of Thrones," Maisie Williams plays Arya Stark, but offscreen, she's just a regular young woman seemingly in love with a cute, non-actor boy named Ollie Jackson (pictured). Though she's admitted to dating him for a couple of years, she didn't reveal his identity and start to post adorable pictures with him on Instagram until February 2017. But in early 2019, it appeared Maisie had moved on after she was spotted holding hands with communications director Reuben Selby in February — leading to speculation that she and Ollie had gone their separate ways. The "GoT" actress has yet to comment on the rumors.

On "Game of Thrones," Aidan Gillen's character, Petyr Baelish, longed for an unattainable woman — then married her sister. While he's not actually dueling for women's hearts in real life, he's had some romance ups and downs offscreen. Aidan has two teenage children with ex-wife Olivia O'Flanagan, from whom he split in 2014 after 13 years of marriage. The next year, he stepped out with his current girlfriend, Irish singer Camille O'Sullivan.

Iain Glen — who plays Ser Jorah Mormont on "Game of Thrones" — split from his actress wife of 11 years, Susannah Harker, in 2004. The exes share one child. The Scottish actor got together with actress Charlotte Emmerson (seen here) in 2005. They've since welcomed two daughters.