Harry Potter star Evanna Lynch had a secret nine-year relationship with her co-star

The star behind Luna Lovegood was having her own romance that was kept under wraps behind the scenes with a fellow cast member.

Evanna Lynch won hearts all over the world with her portrayal as Luna Lovegood when she joined the behemoth franchise that was Harry Potter back in 2007.

While many fans wanted Luna to end up with Matthew Lewis's Neville Longbottom, or even Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter, her character was never romantically involved with any of them in the story.

That wasn’t true of Lynch however, who had a relationship with a star who joined the franchise in the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

In this installment, as well as Lynch, we were also introduced to actor Robbie Jarvis, who played a character only briefly seen on screen, despite being key to the story.

Fans all over the world loved Evanna Lynch's portrayal of Luna Lovegood (Warner Bros)

Jarvis was cast in The Order of the Phoenix as none other than James Potter - though don't be alarmed if you don't recognize him immediately. Jarvis actually played a younger version of Harry's father, and was only featured briefly during a flashback scene in the film.

In the short scene, Jarvis' character can be seen laughing as he uses a spell to disarm a young Severus Snape and proceeds to bully him with other Hogwarts students.

Though Jarvis didn't spend long on screen, his time on set was enough for him to form a bond with Lynch that ended up lasting almost a decade.

After first meeting during filming, the pair secretly dated until 2015, when they decided to go public with their romance in a series of Instagram posts.

Lynch captioned a picture of Jarvis on social media in May 2015 with the words: "Happy 29th Birthday to this little babe!! Sweetest boy! Off to see a show together #happybirthdayrobbie."

Jarvis played a younger James Potter in Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros)

Photos were also shared to Instagram from a trip to Hobbiton in New Zealand, where the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed.

Lynch and Jarvis decided to go their separate ways in 2016, though they did remain close friends.

Speaking at the premiere of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Lynch said: "We're both vegans, so we go to a lot of vegan events together. So yeah, we're good friends."

In 2020, Jarvis made clear that their friendship continued into the new decade when he posted a picture of Lynch in honour of her birthday.