Caitríona Balfe says 'Outlander' fandom 'crazies' may have hired private investigators to prove she and costar Sam Heughan are dating in real life — even though she married somebody else in 2019

• "Outlander" star Caitríona Balfe says the show's "crazies" don't believe in her real-life marriage.
• Balfe, who plays Claire Fraser in the period drama, married music manager Anthony McGill in 2019.

The "Outlander" star Caitríona Balfe said certain diehard fans of the show didn't believe in her real-life marriage — and that they once even hired private investigators to prove she and her costar Sam Heughan were together.

In Vanity Fair's new interview with Balfe, she said a small but passionate subsection of "Outlander" fans were genuinely convinced that she and Heughan, who plays her love interest, Jamie Fraser, on the show, were in a legitimate relationship.

Balfe told Vanity Fair that the recent birth of her son had caused her to become more wary of these overzealous fans.

"When you have a kid, you become really protective. I don't want those crazies — because that's what they are — I just don't want them talking about him," she said.

According to the "Belfast" actress, there are some fans who are convinced that the child she recently had with her husband, Anthony McGill, is Heughan's, since bedsheets in the background of a baby picture were apparently similar to some in Heughan's photos. The former model also said fans called a church on her wedding day to ascertain whether her marriage to McGill was "real" and that some may have even hired private investigators to prove that Balfe and Heughan were dating.

"It's sad, because you meet the loveliest people who are fans of the show and they're super supportive and they do the nicest things — and then you have that little thing, which just taints it," Balfe said of the "Outlander" fandom.

Based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon, "Outlander" follows Claire Fraser (Balfe), a woman from 1940s Scotland who's magically transported back to the 18th century. While adjusting to life in 1700s Scotland, Claire meets and falls in love with Jamie (Heughan), a rebellious clansman from the Scottish Highlands.