Rumor: House of the Dragon's Matt Smith and Olivia Cooke are dating, but the "evidence" is weak

As part of the House of the Dragon fandom, I will admit that I live and breathe all things Westeros; I follow the cast and the discussions fellow fans have across social media. So when new rumors came about that two of the stars might be dating, it was time to put my detective hat on. And although the response has been incredibly divisive, I don't think it's worth freaking out just yet. Word on the street is that Olivia Cooke and Matt Smith are an item, but there's nothing to actually prove that.

Though Cooke and Smith, who play Alicent Hightower and Daemon Targaryen in the Game of Thrones prequel respectively, don't share much screen time, they seem to be friends in real life. That's just based on the promos the cast has done for the show, along with some paparazzi photos of the two actors seen out together. So where are the dating rumors coming from? Well, it all started with a blind item sent to celebrity gossip site Deuxmoi.

After seeing a roundup of tips shared on the Deuxmoi Instagram page, House of the Dragon fans were on high alert when reading a mention of "two British actors who star on this very successful HBO show" now "officially dating." There's no other indication of who these actors could be, but many believe it must be Cooke and Smith. And once the rumor was shared on social media, it spread like wildfire even though there was little in the way of context or evidence.

Here's the full blind item, shared by a fan on X:

So, yes, the "evidence" is very flimsy. But that hasn't stopped fans from spreading the gossip, with some disappointed by the possibility that Cooke and Smith could be dating, while others are already making fancams of the co-stars. Some fans are even speculating the blind item could be about two other co-stars on the show, with one suggesting it could be Steve Toussaint (Corlys) and Eve Best (Rhaenys). As you can tell by now, this is all just baseless gossip that shouldn't be taken seriously.

Deuxmoi has even responded to questions about Cooke and Smith during an Instagram Q&A, and it seems like they have no reason to believe it's happening. When someone asked if they'd heard anything about Cooke dating Smith or her other co-star, Fabien Frankel (Criston), the account asked, "Can someone explain if there is concrete evidence why she's maybe dating either?" Basically, even Deuxmoi is saying this is far-fetched:

Another interesting part of the blind item is the subject line, "Team Switzerland." This could mean the person sharing the tip is remaining neutral, or it could mean that the two co-stars have something to do with Switzerland, like they've filmed there, for instance. House of the Dragon does not film in Switzerland, and while I'm not sure if any other popular HBO show does either, I just can't find a connection between the country and these two actors.

Though there have been more concrete rumors surrounding Cooke and Smith's romances, they both seem to prefer to keep that part of their lives private, understandably. So if they are secretly dating, we might not ever find out! I'd totally support their relationship, because why not? They're both extremely talented people working on one of my favorite shows. But for those rooting for them, I wouldn't count on any real confirmation anytime soon.

House of the Dragon has been renewed for season 3, which will likely premiere in 2026.

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