During HBO's "Game of Thrones" convention panel, the actor gave a rare insight into how he fell in love with his costar when he was 23 years old.
HBO
On Sunday afternoon, "Game of Thrones" star Kit Harington took the stage at HBO's official fan convention for all-things Westeros. During a Q&A section, a fan asked the Jon Snow actor about the chemistry he had with costar Rose Leslie, who played Jon's first love Ygritte beginning in season two of "Game of Thrones."
"We first met having a costume fitting," Harington said while laughing. "I remember she offered me a ginger biscuit and I went, 'Yes please!' I remember coming back home and saying to my best friend like, 'Oh God, I think I found the one.'"
An audible "aww" came from the crowd as Harington smiled at the memory.
"There is nothing better in life than falling in love with the person you are in love with on-screen," he continued. "It's just astonishing. Sorry to be smushy. But you fall in love and you never get that initial giddy feeling back, but you'll have moments when you fall in love with each other again. The other day I reminded her of it — every time we think about it we grin."
Jon Snow and Ygritte meet in "Game of Thrones" season two when the young Night's Watch man goes beyond the Wall and meets a group of wildlings. He falls in love with Ygritte despite their opposing loyalties, and Ygritte eventually dies in Jon's arms during a battle in season four.
In real life during this time, Harington and Leslie kept their relationship under wraps as reports of their dates made the rounds.
The couple made things red-carpet official in 2016. They were married in 2018, and in early 2021 Leslie gave birth to their first child.
"I'd love to work with her again," Harington said, reiterating that their on-screen chemistry is great.
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A few minutes later, another fan asked Harington about falling in love with Leslie at the same time Jon Snow was falling in love with Ygritte in the TV show.
"When did you start to fall more in love with Rose than Ygritte herself?" the fan asked.
"Wow. Quite early on, I think," Harington said. "Sometimes when you find the person you're meant to be with you try and push each other away for a while."
Though he didn't go into detail, Harington seemed to acknowledge the early reports of their relationship being off-and-on from 2012 to 2015.
"That's what we did for a bit, we were like 'not yet!'" he continued with a laugh. "But yeah the Ygritte thing... I just saw Rose. The funny thing about Rose is that she's so good and so sweet and so lovely and then she lets her fierceness out in her characters. So you're having a lovely chat with your girlfriend and then suddenly she's biting your face off in a scene."
For more on Harington and Leslie's relationship, read Insider's timeline of their real-life love story here.
