Kit Harington credits Rose Leslie for standing by him through the hardest times

Kit Harington has opened up about his marriage to Rose Leslie, describing their relationship as “very loving and tactile” and crediting his wife with supporting him “through all of the hard stuff.”

The Game of Thrones co-stars met on set and married in 2018. The couple now shares two children, and Harington told Mr. Porter that fatherhood has been a grounding experience. 

“They’re both awake to the world, and they’re kind. They are all I want from my children. I have been blessed with two who have both those attributes in spades,” he said.

Harington reflected on starting a family in his 30s, noting, “Fatherhood happened at just the right time. 

My son was born when I was 34, and I realized the other day that when he’s 20, I’ll only be 54. That’s not so old.” 

At 39, he said he feels “very grounded” and is learning to be kinder to himself: “I feel like I’ve hardly started. I feel very grounded. And I’m beating myself up less about stuff.”

The actor has also been candid about the struggles he faced after rising to fame on Game of Thrones. Harington has openly discussed battling addiction and seeking rehab, describing his past feelings of shame and self-loathing. 

“You get to a place where you feel like you are a bad person, you feel like you are a shameful person… And getting sober is the process of going: ‘No, I can change,’” he told The Sunday Times in 2021.

In a later interview with GQ Hype, Harington said he is grateful for sobriety before starting a family. “I was so lucky I got sober before having kids… The very fact that I can be proud of it is an achievement. 

Before getting sober, I would stare in the mirror and call myself a c***. I’d hate myself… So the fact that I am proud of getting sober is in and of itself a mark of being an entirely different person.”

Reflecting on his personal growth, Harington emphasized the role of Leslie in his journey: “Rose is just the most genuine soul. I’m very, very lucky. I really am. And Rose was there through all of the hard stuff… But it has truly worked out.”