Emilia Clarke stunned our screens with her stint as Daenerys Targaryen in the fantasy drama TV series Game of Thrones. She eventually starred in other initiatives, featuring enigmatic and enjoyable performances in endeavors like Me Before You (2016), Terminator Genisys (2015), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Last Christmas (2019), etc.
As a Hollywood head-turner, her personal life has been widely reported. This has resulted in the general masses having witnessed several headlines produced on the star’s dating life over the years.
Read more: Emilia Clarke and Iman Vellani Both Had the Same Complaint When Working for the MCU!
As of now, it is presumed that the actress is single and not publicly dating.
She has, nevertheless, been in relationships with notable personalities in the industry, even though some alleged associations were a by-product of gossip-mongering rumors. Let us gander at some of these names and see how these reported romances transpired and eventually concluded.
1. Emilia Clarke And Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane, creator and star of the well-known animated sitcom Family Guy, was one of the people the GOT star dated. Their union, however, was short-lived. The two reportedly began seeing each other in 2012. The following year, their romance would conclude. Back then, a source told E! News that their relationship couldn’t be sustained under long-distance circumstances.
While MacFarlane was stationed in California, the actress was filming her acclaimed fantasy drama in Europe. Emilia Clarke confirmed the status of the association in a 2016 Glamour interview, where her answer to the question of what the cons of dating someone who’s in the public eye are was the following:
“… A con is you have strangers giving you love-life advice like, “I’m a big fan of the show, and I’m not sure what you’re doing with that guy,” which I didn’t react well to. That happened in New York when Seth and I were together. This guy started [giving me] advice: “Can I get a selfie? And by the way…” Unh-unh, bro.”
When asked about her romantic situation during the same interview, the actress said she was at ease being single.
Read more: Emilia Clarke’s Game of Thrones Co-star Blasts Series Ending!
2. Emilia Clarke And James Franco
This pairing was a by-product of headlines speculating a rumored romance between the two. Spider-Man alum James Franco and Clarke were spotted visiting an NYC art fair together in 2013. This sighting was enough to drive gossip sites into theorizing about their relationship. There were even those who claimed they were engaged! Dispelling the rumors of their espousal, Clarke told The Observer:
“It’s hilarious. He [Franco] is, of course, beautiful. But … there’s only a handful of women who could form an engagement after two meetings, and I’m not one of them.”
There was nothing more to their alleged relationship than frivolous conjecture and hearsay.
3. Emilia Clarke And Jai Courtney
Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke worked together on 2015’s Terminator Genisys. Rumors of their purported relationship spread like wildfire, with publications claiming that the duo’s romance commenced on the sci-fi actioner set. However, Courtney dismissed the speculations when he confirmed during a 2015 interview on KIIS 1065’s Kyle And Jackie O Show (via Daily Mail) that he was single.
“No, I don’t [have a girlfriend]… Your research is like three months old.”
A few months before this, Clarke suggested to Marie Claire (via Metro) that she was too preoccupied with her career to engage in love. “I just realized that’s not how this life [will] work. It [her career] makes [romantic relationships] absolutely impossible,” she affirmed.
This put an end to yet another purported association.
4. Emilia Clarke And Cory Michael Smith
May December star Cory Michael Smith and Clarke starred together in the Broadway production of Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The rumors of a burgeoning romance between the two surfaced in 2014. However, it is impossible to determine whether these claims were factual, given the lack of credible sources validating them.
Per Page Six, sources close to the Game of Thrones alum emphasized the co-stars were just friends. The same report mentions that Smith and Clarke were spotted at a Vanity Fair Oscars party holding hands and slow dancing. Take that as you will.
Read more: Emilia Clarke Lays Down Strict Ground Rules For Fans Asking For Selfies
5. Emilia Clarke And Charlie McDowell
According to Cosmopolitan, Clarke and McDowell’s relationship is believed to have begun in 2018. When the British actress posted an image of herself and another unidentified person on Instagram, with dark silhouettes reflected on a beach, the craze surrounding their romance took off. The caption read, “Well, that was a birthday I won’t be forgetting in a while.”
Charlie McDowell was said to have uploaded the same photo with the message, “Happy Birthday, E.” In a later post on Clarke’s Instagram, she credited the film director for a picture of her on the beach. This, to many, implied a confirmation of the pairing’s romantic rendezvous.
This, too, was short-lived. It was noted in 2019 that the screenwriter wasn’t following the actress on Instagram anymore.
The same year, Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell were sighted arm in arm, which led to dating rumors about them. The couple’s successful love story culminated in their 2021 marriage.
6. Other Rumored “Romances”
The Game of Thrones alum was frequently linked with her co-stars Jason Momoa and Kit Harington—although these were only a by-product of fans’ wishful thinking. Some sources even alleged a purported blossoming romance between Clarke and Jared Leto (via Express) after the two were seen interacting at an award show. The interaction, as we know now, didn’t lead to much. It was just the usual fodder for gossip sites.
She was also linked to assistant director Tom Turner a few years ago.
Presently, the uber-successful actress is single—at least in the public eye.
