With the release of the second season of Shadow and Bones on March 16. 2023, the fans are swooning over General Kirigin/The Darkling played by the 41-year-old British actor, Ben Barnes.
While the series is marked as Barnes’ career-defining role, the actor is also acclaimed for performances in renowned movies and series like Westworld, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Punisher, to name a few earning him numerous accolades and awards.
Thanks to his charming personality, striking appearance, and a trail of brilliant performances, stardom and popularity have followed him a long way, enough for the legions of curious fans to know more about the actor’s personal life.
Even though Barnes has quite impressive names added to his purported dating life over the years, the actor — not unlike his many celebrity cohorts — has successfully kept his personal life under wraps to date.
The rising interest in Barnes’ romantic life sometimes prompted the question of the actor’s marriage. The truth is that Barnes has never been married but he was linked to various women in the past.
Who has Ben Barnes dated?
Here’s a list of women Barnes dated or was rumored to date in the past.
Tamsin Egerton
Egerton and Barnes were romantically linked back in 2009 after they were spotted together in Australia. As per Daily Mail, the duo was intimate with each other and ‘hooked up’ a couple of times.
Egerton, who at the time was well-known for playing Guinevere in the series Camelot, denied the rumors saying that it was her roommate with whom she was trying to set Barnes.
Felicity Jones
In 2014, rumors circulated that Barnes was dating the British actress Felicity Jones after the pair were seen together at the Britannia Awards where they were posing for a photo. Thereafter, the rumored couple was also seen at an airport in Los Angeles which caught the media and public attention.
As per Daily Mail, Barnes offered to stay with Jones until their Limo arrived and they were also supposed to be on the same flight. Neither party confirmed nor denied the ongoing speculations at the time. Shortly thereafter, the rumors died as the pair were never seen together.
Amanda Seyfried
Visiting my friend @AmandaSeyfried on the set of #Ted2 @WhatTedSaid – Very cool to see @SethMacfarlane at work! #tbt pic.twitter.com/EIr1kSQ7n6
— Ben Barnes (@benbarnes) September 10, 2015
Speculations about Ben Barnes’ dating life also included his The Big Wedding co-star Amanda Seyfried, who, as per the ongoing rumors, was frequently spotted holding hands with Barnes. Neither Seyfried nor Barnes gave any confirmation about their relationship status at the time.
In 2015, the Shadow and Bones star paid a visit to Seyfried on the set of her movie Ted 2 and later, was seen posting his picture on Twitter holding the teddy bear from the movie with the tweet caption addressing the actress as ‘my friend’. Not much was covered about the pair later.
Meganne Young
The Chronicles of Narnia star was also believed to date South African actress, Meganne Young who is well-known for playing Rachel in the 2018 movie The Kissing Booth. In April 2017, the 31-year-old actress posted a picture of her and Barnes on Instagram where she was hugging the actor from behind.
Barnes was wearing black shades and a black vest and could be seen sitting while Young wrapped her hands around his neck. Both of them appeared to be smiling in the photo which invited a lot of speculation about the nature of their relationship.
While many maintained that there was nothing more than friendship between them, there were various sources that stated that the pair dated each other for a year. In August 2018, Young commented on Barnes’s pictures on his birthday saying,
“Old birthday pictures for an older birthday boy. Happiest of birthdays to this gorgeous man // one of the most sweetest, kindest, gentlest souls I have ever been lucky enough to cross paths with […].”
While this seems enough to fan the flames of the rising doubts, a lack of confirmation from both sides subdued the rumors.
Julianne Hough
Ben Barnes is also believed to have dated Dancing With The Stars‘ Julian Hough, who filed for a divorce in the same year from husband Brooks Laich. As per reports from E! Online, the pair was seen enjoying ice cream at Salt & Straw in Los Angeles after which they moved toward the parking lot smiling.
One witness on the scene even said that the pair seemed “very friendly” and “very flirty” on their ice cream date. A couple of sources covered the subject of Hough and Barnes’ romance. As per the account of Life & Style:
“They’ve officially been an item for two months and he has been flying to and from L.A. to be with her in New York. When they’re not together, they FaceTime every day. They’re so adorable together. Everything about the relationship is so easy and Julianne can be her true self with him. She’s never been happier.”
In the very same year on Aug. 18, Barnes was seen leaving Julianne’s apartment, sparking the fans’ curiosities. Despite the seemingly intriguing love story, neither Barnes nor Hough commented on the rumors. It was later confirmed by People that the duo’s occasional meetings were nothing more than friendly encounters as both of them were friends for nearly eight years.
