During the recent press run for The Naked Gun, Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson had the internet in a chokehold. Slow-motion video montages of the pair set to sappy love songs flooded Instagram and TikTok. In one clip from the July 22 London premiere, Anderson gives Neeson a sweet kiss on his cheek. In another, filmed at a red carpet in Germany on July 24, he gently helps her untangle herself from celebratory streamers as they lock eyes and laugh. The comments were overwhelmingly positive — the world at large was delighted by the duo’s obvious chemistry and hoping against hope that the dashing, widowed actor and the unlucky-in-love pop culture icon had finally found their happily ever after with one another.

They just might have. A source close to Anderson tells the 73-year-old Taken star and the 58-year-old Baywatch alum are together. “Pamela and Liam are dating,” says the source. “They had chemistry while they were filming, and their friendship naturally developed into something more.”

Neeson and Anderson played into romance rumors during their July 29 appearance on the Today show, pretending to get caught by cameras in a make-out session; when later asked about their relationship status by cohost Craig Melvin, they remained coy. “America’s here for it, [and] we’re here for whatever this turns into,” Neeson said. “It’s all still new,” adds the source, “and they’re learning how to navigate it together.”

Sparks flew when The Naked Gun — a reboot of the late ’80s/early ’90s classic comedies starring Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley — began filming in Atlanta last spring. “People did notice, but it also made the film that much better,” says the source of their instant attraction. “[Liam] has been intrigued and smitten with her since they started filming and expressed this to her.”

He hasn’t been shy with his feelings. “With Pamela, first off, I’m madly in love with her. She’s just terrific to work with,” Neeson told People in October 2024. During a SiriusXM Town Hall with Andy Cohen on July 30 — where Neeson and Anderson briefly held hands — the actor shared his first impression of Anderson: “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, she is gorgeous,’ but she had this wonderful sense of silliness and just humanity about her.”

In May, Anderson told Entertainment Weekly their chemistry “was clear from the start,” noting that they connected over a shared “love of literature and a good laugh.” Added the star: “I am in awe of him, his experience, and work ethic. I soaked him in like a sponge.”

A genuine friendship blossomed. Anderson told People in July that they often went out to dinner with the cast and that she had Neeson over to her home. “I invited him and his assistant over for romantic dinners with me and my assistant so our relationship stayed ‘professionally romantic’ during filming.” Neeson recalled Anderson baking for him in an interview with the U.K.’s Heart radio station. “Pamela’s an extraordinary baker and cook. She made me beautiful sourdough bread and muffins.”

According to the source, the costars did their best to keep things platonic on set. “Feelings were definitely happening between them, [but] they both felt it was important not to blur any lines during production,” explains the source, noting that it was after the movie wrapped that their relationship truly shifted. “They started spending more time together [and getting] more personal… introducing their children and having dinners,” says the source. “They realized the connection went deeper.”

At first glance, they may seem like an unlikely couple. Irish-born Neeson is an Oscar-nominated actor with more than 100 movies under his belt. Anderson found fame as a Playboy model and was best known for her bombshell looks and ill-fated marriage to rocker Tommy Lee.

But they have more common ground than one may think. Both are parents to two grown sons (he’s dad to Micheál, 30, and Daniel, 28, with his late wife, The Parent Trap actress Natasha Richardson; she shares Brandon, 29, and Dylan, 27, with Lee). They’ve embraced the quiet life in recent years: Neeson spends most of his time in Millbrook, a village in New York’s Hudson Valley, while Anderson lives on Vancouver Island, Canada, where she was born and raised. “They’re very private people who’ve lived public lives, so there’s a shared understanding there,” says the source, who adds that the stars are both “incredibly humble” despite their fame. “They have similar personalities and understand each other.”

Neither are strangers to heartbreak. Anderson has been married five times (to rockers Lee and Kid Rock, pro poker player Rick Salomon — they wed twice — and her former bodyguard Dan Hayhurst; they split in 2021). Neeson lost the love of his life in 2009 when Richardson, his wife of 14 years, died tragically in a skiing accident. (The actress was just 45 when she fell and hit her head while taking a lesson during vacation.) “They say the hardest thing in the world is losing someone you love,” Neeson wrote on Facebook in 2016. “My wife died unexpectedly. She brought me so much joy. She was my everything.”

In late 2024, he told People he’d sworn off love. “No, in a word. I’m past all that,” he said when asked if he was dating. But his connection with Anderson has been undeniable, and she’s brought a spark back into his life. “Liam is quiet and introspective, and Pamela brings this fun curiosity that he enjoys,” says the source, adding that they balance each other really well. “Pamela loves Liam’s dry sense of humor and the fact that he’s such a gentleman. Liam admires how unapologetic Pamela is. She’s not trying to impress anyone…They’re a good match.”