What Claire Foy And Matt Smith's Relationship Is Like In Real Life

There has been a lot of chemistry between actors on-screen, but none quite as strong as Claire Foy and Matt Smith. When the two first appeared on season one of Netflix's hit series, "The Crown," it was evident they were born to play the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip.

Their chemistry wasn't just for television. Unlike many co-stars who don't get along off-screen, Foy and Smith built a strong relationship with one another, just like their characters in the show. When Foy won her first SAG award in 2017, she shouted out her on-screen husband, per Hello Magazine. She said, "You are not only a spontaneous, exciting, and an incredibly talented actor, but you are also my friend Matt. Thank you for making this job a joy and making me laugh, I love you very much." As the two went on to film the second season, their relationship only grew stronger.

For Foy, her role as Queen Elizabeth II involved a lot of work and a desire to be a good co-star for Smith. She told Vogue, "I think the most important thing is, I want to be good for Matt – and, I presume, Matt wants to be good for me." Clearly, the two have a lot of respect and love for one another in their craft, and it turns out their relationship is the same in real life. Foy and Smith are closer than ever and have developed a close-knit friendship that continues to go strong.

There's nothing that will make a friendship stronger than when one of your friends is going through a breakup. Claire Foy and Matt Smith know this because they had each other to lean on as they went through some bad splits. In 2018, Foy was the first to call it quits with her husband, per Hello Magazine. Although Smith never commented on Foy's split with her husband, he continued to be by her side at award shows. The "House of the Dragon" star even received another special shoutout from Foy at the 2018 Emmys, where she dedicated her win to him, per Entertainment Weekly.

Unfortunately, a year after Foy split from her husband, Smith went through his own breakup. In December 2019, "The Crown" actor split from his longtime girlfriend, Lily James, per Cosmopolitan. Smith's breakup with James reportedly made his relationship with his co-star stronger. According to the Daily Mail, a source revealed that "The Crown" stars had "formed a close and mutually supportive friendship." So close that Foy and Smith became the subject of romance rumors and their recent breakups only added fuel to the fire, per Yahoo. Although there was never any sort of romantic relationship between the two, the pair have become great friends, and even as their time on "The Crown" came to a close, they have continued to support one another.

When season two of "The Crown" wrapped in 2017, viewers said goodbye to Matt Smith and Claire Foy. While their friendship could have fizzled out after they finished filming, it has continued to beat those odds as they support one another in their ventures. In 2023, Foy revealed that she had been keeping up with Smith as he portrayed Prince Daemon on "House of the Dragon," although she wasn't too fond of his character, per "Happy Sad Confused" podcast. She shared, "...House of the Dragon I was a very committed friend. I disagreed with him [Smith] in many scenes which I had to then tell him I found quite disgusting to watch." You can't blame Foy for disliking his character, he played an amazingly terrible bad guy who would do anything to get what he wanted. But even if his character wasn't the hero, she still believed the series was "great."

Even after all these years of finishing "The Crown," Foy and Smith have remained close. In 2023, the pair reunited while attending the Critic's Choice Awards, and fans were ecstatic, per Daily Mail. Although we don't know what the pair talked about, a picture is worth a thousand words, and it's clear the two still have a great friendship with one another. Hopefully, fans will get to see them on-screen once more in the future.