We all know about Claire’s love for Jamie and her marriage to Frank in both the Outlander books and the show. Does she only have two husbands?
Caution: If you’re not a book reader, there are some book spoilers in this post.
Frank and Jamie. Those are the names of Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser’s husbands, right? She only has the two.
Well, this is certainly the case in the first book. Mrs. Graham even tells her that she will have two husbands at the same time when reading Claire’s palm. However, there is a sort of husband being missed out on.
Claire technically has three husbands when you read all eight current Outlander books.
Claire marries Lord John Grey in the Outlander books
Claire marries Frank when she’s young. When she falls through the stones and is in danger, she has to marry someone, and that someone is Jamie. It works in Dougal’s favor to make Jamie a less likely contender for Castle Leoch after Colum’s death.
Claire goes back to the 20th century and she is still married to Frank. They stay together for 20 years before Frank dies and Claire goes back to Jamie.
However, there’s a moment in later Outlander books where Claire believes that Jamie has died. She needs protection again, and it’s Lord John Grey who steps in to help. The two get married, and they even consummate that marriage. It would have legally been required.
Jamie isn’t dead, though. The marriage isn’t valid because Claire is still married to Jamie. It’s only when Jamie turns up two months later that Claire and John learn the truth. Technically, the marriage isn’t valid since Claire committed bigamy, but there aren’t any consequences for Claire.
So, technically, Claire has three husbands in the Outlander books. However, there is only one man for her: Jamie.