What Outlander Stars Claire & Jamie's Relationship Is Really Like Off-Screen

For "Outlander" fans, Jamie and Claire Fraser are the ultimate iconic couple. Of course, when people start cheering for an onscreen couple, it only makes sense that they'd wonder if their chemistry is the same behind the scenes. This certainly applies to actors Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe, who play the Frasers. In reality, things aren't quite as steamy for this duo offscreen as they are in the time travel TV series. Yet, fans who hope that the pair has a great relationship when cameras aren't rolling definitely won't be disappointed to learn the truth.

Back in 2020, "Outlander" was heading into its fifth season when Heughan opened up to Inquirer about what Jamie and Claire are really like when they aren't in character. This pair spent quite a bit of time together over the course of filming the series, so it's no surprise fans longed for the two to end up together just like the characters in the Hallmark movie Heughan made before his "Outlander" success.

"Poor girl," Heughan joked about just how much time Balfe had to spend by his side. For him, though, it seems working with his onscreen wife was a pleasure. "She is such a wonderful woman — intelligent and creative," he explained. And while the co-stars might not be an item like so many fans wish they were, they have still developed a strong relationship that goes far beyond that of average colleagues. "More than anything, she's a good friend," he said of Balfe.

Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe have a very different relationship than the one Jamie and Claire Fraser share. In some ways, however, Heughan and Balfe know each other much like a married couple would. "I shouldn't say it, but I know when she is p***** off," Heughan told Inquirer with a laugh. "She does a little foot tap. So, if I see her tap her foot, I'm like, here we go. I can see it," he noted. Balfe may not know Heughan can tell when she's getting annoyed, but she's well aware he knows her very well. In 2018, Balfe spoke to Parade about the differences between her and her "Outlander" character. "I'm not quite as stubborn and strong-willed as Claire, although Sam and other people who know me very well would maybe agree to differ with me on that!"

Heughan did, in fact, seem to disagree with that assertion, noting that Balfe's strength and tenacity are some of the qualities that make these co-stars so different to the Inquirer. "I am quite relaxed sometimes. I let things go. She's very strong and likes to get things done. That probably winds her up," he explained. But the actors' differences actually make their relationship stronger rather than driving a wedge between them. According to Heughan, Balfe "forces me sometimes to socialize when I don't want to. She's a social animal. It's wonderful to be part of, and always welcomed into, her world."

Working closely with someone for more than a decade would bring any pair of colleagues closer. However, the chemistry between Jamie and Claire Fraser was there right from the start. In 2023, "Outlander" executive producer Maril Davis and Caitriona Balfe appeared at The Women of Outlander ATX TV Panel. Davis recalled the first time she saw Balfe and Sam Heughan bring their characters to life. "I remember it like it was yesterday ... that friendship and that chemistry has always been so evident and they just work so well together and you see it on the screen and you see it in real life and that relationship," Davis explained (via Express). 

And their chemistry has only gotten stronger over time. "We've always hoped that they would stay that way and that they would continue that friendship and it has and it's grown," she added. Balfe chimed in to note, "Weirdly...we've never had a falling out." Though, she added, "We've definitely irked each other."

While they may have gotten on each other's nerves at times, this has never gotten in the way of the promise they made each other when they met. "We made a decision before we ever started filming... we both said, 'We've got to have each other's backs. If we don't support each other, who knows what kind of mess this could be?' And we've done that from day one," Balfe told Parade. According to her, "We're each other's biggest supporters."