LIFE IMITATES ART: RICHARD CASTLE AND MUSE ARE OFFICIALLY TOGETHER.
Page Six
October 12, 2012

Movie premieres are known for their glamorous clothing, screaming fans, and star-studded guest lists and red carpet runners. Last night's "Heat Wave"premiere was no exception. When actress Natalie Rhodes and actor Carson Phillips, the film's own Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook, stepped out onto the red carpet, the cameras went off like lightning. Dressed in a red sequin gown, Natalie Rhodes looked like the embodiment of the book protagonist that had found her way onto the silver screen.

That is, until Richard Castle, the author of the literary "Nikki Heat" series stepped out a black town car with Katherine "Kate" Beckett, the real-life Nikki Heat on his arm.

Rumors have been floating around of Mr. Castle's involvement with his muse for over four years now, though the rumors had been denied vehemently since the publication of the Heat Wave in 2009.

Talk of the two being romantically involved surfaced yet again this past summer. Detective Beckett seemed to have taken a leave of absence during the three hottest months of the year and the two were reportedly seen in a variety of places throughout the city: grocery shopping, having dinners with his daughter – there were even reports of the two of them together at the author's beach house in the Hamptons. Richard Castle's publicist denied that they two were involved, stating that Mr. Castle was helping Kate Beckett through a personal situation.

However, there was no denying it this time. The couple looked stunning; Mr. Castle dressed in a classic, black, Armani suit and Ms. Beckett wearing a simple but long-sleeved, black cocktail dress that flared at her hips with a plunging back and shocking gold heels. The two walked the red carpet with his arm wrapped around her waist, and then Kate Beckett placed a soft kiss on the smiling writer's lips in front of hundreds of fans and cameras, pulling away from him to share a private smile.

From the look on Mr. Castle's publicist's face, we're not the only ones who didn't know, but the couple has confirmed it themselves.

Richard Castle, a New York Times Best-selling author, and Kate Beckett, an NYPD Homicide Detective and Mr. Castle's well-recognized muse, are officially a couple.

After killing off his best-selling protagonist, Derrick Storm, and fresh out of a second divorce from his Black Pawn publisher, Gina Cowell, Richard Castle began writing the Nikki Heat series. Mr. Castle, known for his diligent and in-depth research methods, began an unofficial partnership with the NYPD Twelfth Precinct's Homicide Unit to gain an insight into the life of a homicide detective and shadowing Detective Beckett and her team.

The successful series tells the story of Nikki Heat, a good-looking, hard-working, by the book NYPD Homicide Detective, and Jameson Rook, a journalist who is following Detective Heat for research on a story he's writing. With the help of Detectives Raley and Ochoa, based loosely on the other members of Detective Beckett's team, Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito, and Medical Examiner Lauren, the fictitious representation of New York Medical Examiner Dr. Lanie Parrish, it's easy to see how people would be led to believe that this was a classic case of art imitating life.

Mr. Castle released an official statement last night after the premiere, posting it on his official fansite.

"After four years of friendship and partnership, Detective Beckett and I have decided to take our relationship to the next level. We ask that the press and fans respect our privacy, as the work Kate does is sensitive and requires discretion for her to be able to complete to the best of her abilities. Our friends are pleased for us, our families are glad for us, and we ourselves are incredibly happy with the change in our relationship. We hope that my fans (and hers – yes, I know you're out there. How could you not be?) will be able to share in our excitement."

The two refused to answer any other questions later that night regarding their relationship, but it was undeniable to all present that they were happy to be there together and very much smitten with each other.

With the fictional Nikki and Jameson heating up both the big screen and the bookshelves and the muse and her author now officially 'canon', we can only hope that there's a happy ending in the works for both of them.

This is an experiment.