Outlander brought Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe together in a setting that required a lot of chemistry.

And the on-screen pair, who portrayed James MacKenzie and Claire Beauchamp Randall, showed a great connection.

This connection immediately set off dating rumors between the two.

But, did they actually go out with one another in real life? Or was it all just when they were in character?

About Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe’s Of-Screen Relationship

Even though fans have always wanted the co-stars to be a thing in real life, they are not. 

But they do share an amazing relationship that isn't romantically oriented.

Balfe and Heughan are great friends in real life. Their friendship didn't start off amazing, though.

When the pair first met for the show, things were less than comfortable. Heughan, during an interview, said that both of them were "a little shy and nervous" at first.

He also talked about how the proposition of Balfe being his "telly wife" for the next five to six years was a little unsettling at the onset.

Balfe, however, said elsewhere that their chemistry, in a sense, developed pretty quickly. That was because he "put her at ease" swiftly.

She also has a fondness for him. When asked what her favorite things about him were, she gushed, "Sam's just so kind. He's a really good friend. He always checks in."

She also opined that he had the biggest heart and a small ego.

"I feel very lucky. Sam and I have an amazing bond, we're really great friends," she added.

Playing her character alongside Heughan, and the show in general, also made her more romantic in real life.

Heughan, too, has similar feelings about his co-star.

He admitted to Pop Sugar that they get on very well and he was lucky to have someone so talented and nice as his friend.

The actor even missed Balfe when they did not get to shoot scenes together. "[It] is kind of like losing someone in your family. A loved one. It's very strange, and I don't enjoy it." he said.

He always looked forward to working with her.

Balfe even affected his life (in a good way). As she was, according to him, a "social animal," she forced him to socialize and always welcomed him into her world.

She even came to his defense when gay rumors about him were going around on the internet.

Caitriona Balfe’s Married Life with Husband

While Balfe and Heighan's on-screen relationship was creating all the rumors, she was quietly leading a secret love life with someone else in reality.

Balfe married her longtime boyfriend Tony McGill, a Scottish band manager, in 2019. They started dating around January 2015 and got engaged in late 2017/early 2018.

The couple had their secret nuptials on August 10, 2019, at St. Mary's Church in Somerset, the UK.

And in 2021, the family of two became a family of three.

The couple announced they had welcomed their first kid, a son, on August 18, 2021. They are, however, yet to reveal his name.

So, who is Sam Heughan dating now? Well, he keeps his romances close to his heart.

Nothing much is available about his dating life, but he has been linked with MacKenzie Mauzy, Cody Kennedy, Abbie Salt, and Amy Shiels in the past.