Inside 'Yellowstone' Stars Hassie Harrison and Ryan Bingham's Real-Life Romance

We’ve all heard that expression, “art imitates life.” Well, that certainly seems to be the case for actress Hassie Harrison and her new singer/songwriter/actor beau Ryan Bingham.

Harrison and Bingham both star on the hit series Yellowstone, the Kevin Costner-led western drama that will be making its broadcast TV debut this fall on CBS (Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT), after airing exclusively on the Paramount Network cable channel and streaming on NBCUniversal's Peacock.

The 5-season series follows the drama of the Dutton family, owners of the largest ranch in Montana, the Yellowstone Ranch. Harrison portrays a barrel racer named Laramie, who was initially the love interest of Forrie J. Smith’s character, Lloyd, before turning her attention to Bingham’s character, Walker, a handsome ex-con who works as a hand on the Dutton ranch.

The couple made their real-life romance Instagram official in April 2023 when Bingham posted a photo of the couple embracing in front of a campfire with the caption “More than a spark” and a flame emoji. Harrison responded, “I love you, cowboy.”

Get to know Hassie Harrison

The vivacious blonde, 33, is a native of Dallas, Texas whose credits include Tacoma FD and The Iron Orchard. Hassie Harrison was bit by the acting bug early in life. Her mom was heavily involved in children’s theater when Hassie was young, and she began pursuing her passion at an early age.

By 15, she was in college and studying at the European Cinema in Copenhagen, Denmark. She earned roles early in her career on Hart of Dixie, The Astronaut Wives Club and Southbound.

Harrison joined the Yellowstone in 2020 for their third season to play barrel racer Laramie. The cast is mostly male-dominated, but Harrison does not seem to be intimidated by her fellow costars. In an interview with Outsider, Harrison says, "It’s awesome! I feel really lucky that all these guys are so cool. There’s a lot of razzing… I get razzed a lot, but I think they might have hired the right girl who can stand her own ground and just have fun!”

"When I first saw Yellowstone, I fantasized about working in Montana, riding horses, and staring up at the mountains while having a coffee from John Dutton's porch, but I figured that would never happen," Hassie Harrison told Meaww. "Then one day, I got that impossible call that made all of us chase this crazy dream in the first place."

For Harrison, playing the role of a cowgirl was a no brainer. "I grew up in Texas around this cowboy culture so I knew I had an easy way into this character. Getting to be a part of a modern-day western and bring Taylor Sheridan's words to life is something larger than I'd even let myself dream." She also never imagined she'd find true love.

Learn more about Ryan Bingham

Originally from Hobbs, New Mexico, Bingham, 42, started on the rodeo circuit in his teens as a bull rider and initially began playing music for his friends after rodeos. His interest in music blossomed and he began playing bars and honky tonks. He signed his first record deal with Lost Highway Records in 2007.

After two critically acclaimed albums, he connected with famed producer T Bone Burnett who was working on the soundtrack for the 2009 film Crazy Heart, starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Collin Farrell.

Bingham co-wrote and performed “The Weary Kind” and also had a small role in the film. “The Weary Kind” went on to win Bingham an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Critics’ Choice for Best Song in 2010. The next year it earned Bingham and co-writer, Burnette, a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Bingham’s star continued to rise as he won The Americana Music Association’s Artist of the Year honor in 2010. Bingham’s music and acting careers intersect on Yellowstone where he has performed some of his original songs, including fan favorite “Wolves.”

He joined Yellowstone in season one as Walker, a ranch hand on the Dutton Ranch. He started off working with the show through his music career, writing some songs for the series. Later on, Yellowstone writer Taylor Sheridan asked him to join as a cast member.

In an interview with Popculture, Bingham said, "I originally met Taylor a few years back when he wrote and directed a film called Wind River. He contacted me about writing a song for the film. I never seemed to come up with anything for the movies at that time that fit, but we always kept in touch and remained friends."

Bingham continued, "And when this show started up, he contacted me again about possibly writing some songs and using some of the songs that I already had, and after hanging out for a while, he learned that I had a history with rodeo and the cowboy thing. And so he said, 'Heck, I got to write you into this show.' And so that's how that all started."

Hassie Harrison and Ryan Bingham's love story

Harrison and Bingham met on set and hit it off, but these days, both actors and writers are on strike in Hollywood, which is giving Harrison and Bingham time for an extended vacation and the two seem to be enjoying their time together. Bingham recently posted a photo of him and Harrison gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes at a Colter Wall concert.

The couple also made headlines this week when Harrison posted, “Highly recommend taking your cowboy to the beach” and posted a cute pic of her in a pink bikini and Bingham in green trunks, a floral shirt and cowboy hat.

In addition to well wishes from fans, some of the couple’s Yellowstone co-stars chimed in with Kelly Reilly, who portrays tough-as-nails Beth Dutton, leaving heart emojis and Finn Little, who plays Carter, serving up some practical advice, “Sunnies & Sunscreen…get into it @hassieharrison.” (Click through to read how actress Kelly Reilly admits: “I don’t want to play another Beth Dutton”)

Fans are looking forward to seeing the lovebirds return on the season 5, part 2, of Yellowstone, which will be the final episodes of the series. In the meantime, they can catch Harrison on TruTv’s Tacoma FD, which began its fourth season on July 20, and Bingham is preparing to release new music. His upcoming EP, Watch Out for the Wolf, released on August 11th.

Love Yellowstone? Keep reading!

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Deborah Evans Price believes everyone has a story to tell and, as a journalist, she considers it a privilege to share those stories with the world. Deborah contributes to Billboard, CMA Close Up, Jesus Calling, First for Women, Woman’s World and Country Top 40 with Fitz, among other media outlets. Author of the CMA Awards Vault and Country Faith, Deborah is the 2013 winner of the Country Music Association's Media Achievement Award and the 2022 recipient of the Cindy Walker Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Western Artists. Deborah lives on a hill outside Nashville with her husband, Gary, son Trey and cat Toby.