Were Princesses Uranus and Neptune lovers as well?

Question

In the anime series Haruka and Michiru (Sailors Uranus and Neptune) are a couple confirmed by the author Naoko Takeuchi

Takeuchi has openly admitted they are a romantic couple, and their voice actresses were instructed to play the characters "as if they are a married romantic couple."

Source: List of Sailor Moon S episodes

In the first season we learn that the Sailor Senshi (or at least the first five) whom we see are reincarnations of their past selves from the Silver Millennium. They were friends and bodyguards of Usagi's past self, Serenity, as well as princesses of their representative planets.

I am wondering, however, if Haruka and Michiru are too reincarnations of their former selves, princesses of Uranus and Neptune, and if so, whether the Princesses Uranus and Neptune were a couple as well?

Answer 1

It is made clear that the Sailor Senshi were all princesses associated with the celestial bodies attached to them. Thus, Haruka and Michiru were indeed princesses in their past life.

I do not recall ever seeing an indication that Uranus and Neptune were lovers in their past life. [I have watched Sailor Moon S and both seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal, and I have also read the Sailor Moon manga (albeit not very closely).] In contrast, a relationship between Endymion (who is later Tuxedo Mask) and Princess Serenity is well attested. Moreover, I was unable to find any discussion of this issue in fan wiki pages for Sailor Neptune, Sailor Uranus, Haruka, or Michiru.

This suggests that we simply do not know if Uranus and Neptune were lovers in their past life. That other relationships from the past (between Mamoru and Usagi, or between Usagi and the Inner Senshi) have been preserved suggests that they were.

But canon plot material does not actively suggest that they were together, and the absence of this in the wiki suggests that there is no supplementary material indicating it. We do know that the Outer Senshi led lonely lives in their past existence, which is difficult to reconcile with a serious relationship.

It is also possible that the issue is completely up in the air, in the same way the birthday dates for Fullmetal Alchemist characters are up in the air: it is possible that Naoko Takeuchi had not thought through the specifics of this, particularly since the focus of Sailor Moon is ultimately on Usagi.