Rose Leslie is looking back on how her “Game of Thrones” love story with Kit Harington became real.
According to PEOPLE, Leslie and Harington knew each other before working together on the show, but their dynamic changed while filming in 2011. Leslie joined the series as Ygritte, the love interest of Harington’s Jon Snow.
“We found ourselves in such a beautiful bubble,” Leslie said of their time in Iceland. She explained that HBO rented an abandoned hotel for the crew, leaving roughly 80 people together in the remote location.
The setting became even more memorable when the Northern Lights appeared. Leslie recalled heading to a nearby hill and standing underneath what she called a “beautiful dome of light.”
“So there were elements of it being very romantic,” she admitted.
Kit Harington Says Iceland Is Where He ‘Fell in Love’
Leslie isn’t the only one who remembers Iceland as an important part of their love story.
Harington previously said the three weeks they spent filming there were when he fell for his future wife. In a 2016 interview with L’Uomo Vogue, he called the Northern Lights “magical” and explained how playing Leslie’s onscreen love interest brought them closer.
“If you’re already attracted to someone, and then they play your love interest in the show, it becomes very easy to fall in love,” Harington said.
Their relationship wasn’t immediately public. According to ELLE, the pair were first romantically linked in 2012 after they were spotted together in London. They remained private about their relationship for years and reportedly went through an on-and-off period before making their official red carpet debut as a couple in 2016.
Harington later admitted that he initially wasn’t looking for another serious relationship when Leslie joined the show. He had recently gone through a breakup and planned to be single, but that quickly changed.
“I remember coming back to my flatmate and going, ‘Oh my God, I think I’ve met the one,’” he recalled.
Rose Leslie and Kit Harington Went From Co-Stars to a Family of Four
By 2017, Harington and Leslie were living together, with the actor referring to Leslie as his “best friend.” They announced their engagement that September and tied the knot in Scotland in June 2018.
Their connection to “Game of Thrones” remained a meaningful part of their story. After the series won Outstanding Drama Series at the 2018 Emmys, Harington said meeting Leslie was the most important thing the show had given him.
“I met my wife on this show,” he said at the time. “In that way it gave me my future family.”
That future family eventually grew to four. Leslie and Harington welcomed their son in 2021 and a daughter in 2023.
The couple has continued to keep much of their marriage and family life private, although Harington offered another rare glimpse into their relationship in a January 2026 interview with Mr Porter. He described the two as loving and affectionate and said they make a point of telling each other how they feel.
“Rose is just the most genuine soul,” Harington said. “I’m very, very lucky. I really am.”
