A complete timeline of 'Game of Thrones' stars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie's real-life love story
HBO's "Game of Thrones" may not be known for its happy endings, but so far costars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie are living the sweetest fairy-tale worthy love story.
The actors played on-screen couple Jon Snow and Ygritte for three seasons, but they have a real-life romance as well. Harington and Leslie got married on June 23, 2018, after dating for several years. In September 2020, it was revealed that they're expecting their first child together.
Here's the complete timeline of their non-fictional love story.
SEE ALSO: 15 shows you should watch if you loved 'Game of Thrones'
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July 2011: Harington and Leslie presumably met for the first time when the second season of "Game of Thrones" began filming.
On season two, Jon Snow ventures beyond the Wall and meets Ygritte, a member a group called the Free Folk. He eventually lives among them as a spy for the Night's Watch, but he falls in love with Ygritte along the way.
August 2012: Rumors began flying about a blossoming off-screen romance between Harington and Leslie when TMZ published photos of the couple holding hands.
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Kit Harington on a dinner date with co-star Rose Leslie in London earlier this month. http://t.co/BCW97dgO
They were spotted on a date in a restaurant and the "Game of Thrones" fandom basically exploded.
September 2012 to January 2013: The two stars film season three of "Game of Thrones," including the fictional couple's steamy love scene.
This was the season when Ygritte and Jon Snow became romantically involved. Years later, Harington would admit that he fell in love with Leslie during the months they spent filming in Iceland.
March 2013: Harington tells reporters that they're just friends and says, "We hit it off very quickly when we first met."
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While promoting the third season of "Game of Thrones," Harington told Simone Boyce of Winter is Coming that his on-screen chemistry with Leslie was mostly due to their real friendship.
"We really get on as friends and we hit it off very quickly when we first met and I think that reflects on screen, because we've got a good dialogue going on off screen," Harington said.
August 2013: Even though they never confirmed they were dating, an anonymous source told The Stir that Harington and Leslie had split up.
"Rose and Kit are no longer together," The Stir reported. "Rose has a new boyfriend who is not in the public eye. She is eager to keep this relationship out of the spotlight."
May 2014: Harington says any discussion of a romance between him and Leslie is "all rumor and myth."
In an interview with The Standard, Harington spoke publicly about the rumors for the first time. "Me and Rose [Leslie] are very, very close and very good friends," Harington said. "And continue to be, actually. She's wonderful. But no, no love affair."
But Harington also cryptically admitted that he's very private:
"On a serious level, I wouldn't tell the press if I was in a relationship or not. I wouldn't ever reveal that, because it takes you down a certain road… I have no desire to be courting the press with my love life. It's not my job, it's not who I am — and I actually think it's more fun for everyone to speculate. The minute I start telling people things are true or not true, then it's just boring."
June 2014: "Watchers on the Wall," the episode on which Ygritte dies in Jon Snow's arms, airs on HBO.
This was the end of their on-screen romance, but not their real-life love story.
July 2014: Harington and Leslie attend San Diego Comic-Con together for a "Game of Thrones" panel. They were spotted arriving at the airport together.
As PopSugar reported, Harington and Leslie were seen in the Los Angeles International Airport together ahead of the "Game of Thrones" panel at Comic-Con.
August 2014: Us Magazine reports that they're back together.
"They've been back on for about three months," a source told Us. "That said, it's casual right now and they're having fun. They're not moving in together or anything like that yet."
This would mean that they rekindled their romance in May 2014.
February 2015: Harington says he's single in an interview with GQ.
Less than a year after the Us Magazine report, Harington told GQ that he was single. Here's the section of the interview written told from reporter Tom Lamont's point of view:
Harington tells me: "I'll never talk about any particular relationship I've been in. But I will say I'm single at the moment."
I'm about to move on when he continues: "Relationships as an actor are incredibly difficult. With someone who's not an actor, because they never get to see you; and with someone who is an actor, because you're ships in the night a lot of the time. I mean, ideally, if you keep acting in the film world, you're a traveling salesman. And your options are: sacrifice a lot of your career to make sure it's not unfair on the other person, or find someone who is willing to be your travelling circus. That's where I stand, and I'm trying to address it at the moment."
August 2015: A "Game of Thrones" fan sneaks a picture of the couple at an airport together looking cozy.
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Celebrity news site Lainey Gossip reported this tidbit: "According to the person who took the photo (who, evidently, was practically piggy-backing Jon Snow on the escalator), they were also holding hands."
January 2016: After paparazzi photos emerge of Harington and Leslie kissing in public, their costar Emilia Clarke appears to confirm the relationship.
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ET reporter Nancy O'Dell got the scoop from Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen).
When asked about the kissing on the SAG Awards red carpet, Clarke said: "My goodness! You know, we like to spread the love on our show. It's a beautiful thing. She's one of my best friends, so it's good."
April 2016: Harington and Leslie step onto the red carpet together and go public with their relationship for the first time.
The 2016 Olivier Awards was the first event at which Harington and Leslie were clearly attending as boyfriend and girlfriend.
May 2016: Harington says in an interview with Vogue that he "fell in love" while filming "Game of Thrones" in Iceland.
When asked by Vogue Italia what his favorite memory of filming "Game of Thrones" was, Harington recalled the time spent in Iceland for season three.
"Because the country is beautiful, because the Northern Lights are magical, and because it was there that I fell in love," he said. "If you're already attracted to someone, and then they play your love interest in the show, it's becomes very easy to fall in love."
August 2016: Rose Leslie says on a talk show that she and Harington use FaceTime a lot.
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Since both actors had been busy with their own projects, Leslie said FaceTime was the key to communicating via long distance. This was one of the first times she spoke about their relationship with reporters.
May 2017: Harington and Leslie begin apartment-hunting as they plan to move in together.
In an interview with Esquire, Harington confirmed their real-life love and plans for living together.
When he declined to elaborate on their love story, Harington told Esquire it was because "it's as much her relationship as it is mine and I can't speak for both of us. But yeah, we are very, very happy. So that's what I'll say about that."
July 2017: The couple attended the "Game of Thrones" season seven premiere together and rumors fly that they're engaged.
After gossip sites begin reporting that Harington had proposed to Leslie, a spokesperson denied the rumor, saying "they are not engaged."
September 2017: Months after reps said Harington and Leslie weren't engaged, new reports emerged saying they were.
On September 26, new reports sprang up saying Harington had proposed to Leslie after they moved into a new house together. People Magazine reported the news citing an anonymous source, along with The Sun.
"They're yet to set a date, but told friends and family last week that they've got engaged," a source told The Sun.
Then the engagement was formally announced. On September 27, Harington and Leslie's engagement was published in London newspaper The Times.
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There's going to be a Game of Thrones wedding pic.twitter.com/8UGGMCh9GH
The official announcement was made the old fashioned way — in the newspaper:
Mr KC [Kit Catesby] Harington and Miss RE [Rose Eleanor] Leslie
The engagement is announced between Kit, younger son of David and Deborah Harington of Worcestershire, and Rose, middle daughter of Sebastian and Candy Leslie of Aberdeenshire.
June 2018: The happy couple was officially married at a ceremony in Scotland.
For more photos from the big day, read Insider's report on the true royal wedding "Game of Thrones" fans had been waiting for.
January 2019: Harington tells GQ Australia that he loves that someday the couple's children could watch their parents meet on "GoT."
"I have no idea if we will, but say me and Rose do have children. They'll know. They'll be able to see the genesis of their parents getting together. Which is quite a wonderful thought, really," he said.
September 2020: In a cover story and accompanying photoshoot for the UK's Make Magazine, Leslie reveals that she and Harington are expecting their first child together.
Leslie showed off her growing belly in the magazine's summer 2020 issue, which was published in late September. It's unclear if the couple is expecting a boy or a girl.