Katie Cassidy and Stephen Huszar’s Relationship: From ‘A Royal Christmas Crush’ Costars to Real-Life Romance

Prince or not, Katie Cassidy fell for Stephen Huszar while working side by side on Hallmark Channel’s A Royal Christmas Crush.

The costars — who play architect Ava and Prince Henry, respectively, in the 2023 rom-com — knew their connection couldn’t be denied after meeting in March 2023 on set in Canada.

“We obviously [were] professional and kept it that way. However, I felt as though it’s almost like there was this layer because he and I kind of knew this secret thing that nobody else knew,” Cassidy exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2023 while promoting the film. “And we could let our guard down when our characters were supposed to and allow space to fall into one another. I almost feel like that added a certain type of element to it. We just couldn’t help it.”

Despite having an instant attraction, Cassidy told Us she was hesitant to work closely with another “pretty Canadian [and] really attractive” actor “named Stephen.” She previously starred opposite Canada native Stephen Amell, whom she called a "brother," on The CW’s Arrow from 2012 to 2015 as Laurel Lance/Black Canary and later Black Siren from 2016 to 2020. (Huszar, for his part, is a Canadian actor known for his role as Luke Tatum on Hallmark’s Chesapeake Shores.)

Cassidy, however, pushed her reservations aside and found herself under Huszar’s spell in part due to their mutual connection to crystals. The twosome officially hit it off during one of their A Royal Christmas Crush scenes before going public with the relationship in May 2023.

“I remember there’s this one scene in the barn where I literally am looking at him, and that was the moment for me. I’m not kidding you. I’m, like, leaning on the table and he’s saying his lines and I just like, I think I like almost fell over,” Cassidy recalled to Us, sharing that she and Huszar later realized they first began falling for each other “30 seconds apart’ while filming the “same scene.”

Scroll down to see Cassidy and Huszar’s love story from the beginning:

March 2023

Cassidy and Huszar began filming Hallmark’s A Royal Christmas Crush. The pair documented their winter wonderland adventures via Instagram, with Cassidy sharing behind-the-scenes moments from the snowy setting.

May 2023

Cassidy sparked romance speculation when she tagged Huszar in several vacation snaps all over the world, including a picture of a full moon in Fiji and a solo photo standing on a dock in Monaco.

June 2023

“Welp, cats out of the bag …,” Cassidy wrote via Instagram, confirming their relationship. “Happy Monday! 😂❤️😍.” Later that month, she teased their Hallmark project via social media and pointed out that Huszar is “so handsome” in the movie.

July 2023

The pair’s first Hallmark collaboration, A Royal Christmas Crush, premiered as part of the network’s “Christmas in July” programming.

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“When chemistry is there, it’s just there,” Cassidy exclusively told Us ahead of the film’s release, noting that sparks flew early into filming. Huszar, for his part, explained to Us, “It’s certainly important to keep it professional. As we did, but, you know, feelings come up.”