Damian Hardung Dating Talk Won’t Die — Even After Harriet’s Emotional Clarification

Ever since Maxton Hall — The World Between Us hit Prime Video in May 2024, fans haven’t been able to get enough of Damian Hardung and Harriet Herbig-Matten. Their on-screen chemistry as James and Ruby lit up timelines, shipping threads, and — inevitably — the Damian Hardung dating rumor mill.

Now, even after Harriet publicly clarified their relationship status, the speculation around Damian’s love life hasn’t faded — and fans aren’t letting it go. What did the actors say about the dating rumors? Keep reading for the details.

Harriet officially addressed the relationship rumors during a January 2025 interview on the G Spot podcast (via Us Weekly). Her answer was clear: “We are not together and we weren’t together either.”

Still, fans aren’t entirely ready to let the idea go. The show's slow-burn romantic tension and the pair’s natural ease during press appearances have led to months of debate. Some fans believe they’re simply too comfortable with each other to be “just friends.” Others point out that it’s entirely possible to build that kind of intimacy as co-stars, especially in a show packed with emotionally charged scenes.

Harriet herself opened up about what it was like to be on the receiving end of that attention during the same podcast. “When you always read these comments about how we are so together, I started to get pressure that it had to be true,” she said. “So I was like, ‘Only when that is the case, I will do people justice and then they will be happy.’ I thought that for a long time.”

Eventually, she says, she had to learn how to distance herself from the public version of who people thought she was — someone whose off-screen life mirrored her on-screen character. “There’s Ruby and there’s Harriet, who is promoted … But that is not the real Harriet that I am in my private life.”

The reaction online has been complicated. Some fans have accepted the explanation and just want the actors to be happy, together or not. Others remain convinced there’s more to the story — especially those who’ve followed the pair closely on social media or seen them interacting off-camera.

In Reddit threads and comment sections, people debate everything from body language to rumored sightings. Some say they “act like a couple,” while others argue that their bond is simply the result of two talented people building trust in a shared creative space. More than one commenter has pointed out that German actors tend to be extremely private — and that fans may never get a straight answer no matter how deep the speculation runs.

Still, the emotional pull is understandable. For viewers who connected to James and Ruby’s love story, seeing that magic spill into real life would be the ultimate bonus. It’s the same energy that’s driven fan interest in pairings from The Summer I Turned Pretty to Twilight. And like those shows, Maxton Hall has built a world where the line between fiction and reality feels thin — even when the truth is spelled out.

Part of what keeps people curious is how unforced the connection between Damian and Harriet seems. There’s no overdone publicity push, no rehearsed couple energy. It just feels ... Real. Even when both have denied a relationship, the belief lingers that their closeness must mean something more.

For now, it seems like they’re just co-stars who worked well together and got caught in the fan storm that comes with a hit romantic series.

Whether they’re simply great friends or something more, one thing’s clear: Maxton Hall viewers are emotionally invested — and the dating rumors aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.