In A New Interview, Caitriona Balfe Denies Dating ‘Outlander’ Co-Star Sam Heughan, Talks Celebrity Pressures
From the day Outlander hit our television screens, everyone was curious about and fell in love with Caitriona Balfe, who plays Claire Randall Fraser, and her co-star, Sam Heughan, who plays Jamie Fraser.
Much ado was made about the chemistry that the two had both on and off-screen and helped by the gossip columns that didn’t stop speculating about the nature of their relationship for even a second, many people believed that Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan were dating.
However, the duo consistently denied that they were anything more than friends, and in a recent interview with Metro UK, Balfe stated that she and Heughan were not an item.
Asked how she “handles” the separation from her co-star, and how she “handles” the people who believe they’re dating, Caitriona Balfe said that there was nothing to handle because they’re not an item.
“There’s nothing to handle. We aren’t and we’ve always said that we’re not together. It’s nice that fans believe in the story but that’s not the reality. If it’s harmless speculation, that’s fine, but sometimes people take it a little further and can get abusive to the people who are in our lives — that’s when it crosses the line. But it’s rare and in this industry you need a thick skin.”
@KristinDSantos G’night!!!! Thank you for an awesome interview but most importantly… Le Socks!!!???????????????? pic.twitter.com/gCEH1VfHrj
— Caitriona Balfe (@caitrionambalfe) July 29, 2017
Balfe, for her part, has been dating music manager and pub owner, Tony McGill, quietly, for years. McGill is frequently seen as her escort to various events that she attends for Outlander promotion.
Caitriona Balfe’s announcement that she’s not dating Sam Heughan lines up with a previous report by The Inquisitr, in which Heughan went public with his girlfriend, Mackenzie Mauzy, who is also an actress.
The two attended the Hungarian Grand Prix together, where Sam is filming The Spy Who Dumped Me opposite Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon.
Enjoying the race from our hospitality, actress @MackenzieMauzy and actor @SamHeughan are cheering for the #PinkPanthers! #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/2ZqcX7ph8h
— Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) July 30, 2017
When Caitriona Balfe talked about the way that some trolls get “abusive” to the people in her life and Sam Heughan’s life, she was speaking from experience.
According to Hall of Fame Magazine, when Heughan first began dating Mauzy, trolls took to Instagram to attack her. At one point, Mauzy endured abuse for 36 hours straight because she posted a photo of the Scottish countryside, thereby implying that she was in the country with Heughan.
Though trolls attacked Heughan’s girlfriends in the past, the attack on Mauzy was enough for him to put his foot down and snap back.
“Apparently, the 36-year-old handsome wrote on Twitter, “Shameful behaviour by many on social media recently. It’s disgusting and needs to stop. Spineless bullying. Stop. Now.” A fan commented on his post and stated that it is “a shame” to see some grown people who do not know how to be kind and respectful towards the actor and his friends. Others said that Heughan has been ignoring the bullying for years, but now is the time that he had to say “enough.”
So, it seems thanks to Caitriona Balfe and her latest proclamation, it’s safe to say once and for all that she and Sam Heughan are not dating.
[Featured Image by Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for FIJI Water]
