Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) and Belle (Emilie de Ravin) might be driven apart by the former's thirst for magical power in the coming weeks on ABC's Once Upon a Time.

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Carlyle recently spoke with TVLine about Rumple and his obsession with the magical Sorcerer's hat and how it might put a test on his relationship with Belle.

"He definitely loves her and wants to be with her, but the hat existed long before she came along and will probably exist long after she's gone," Carlyle observed. "This quest is so massive for him. This addiction is huge. [It] drives Rumplestiltskin more than love."

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The Sorcerer's hat appeared in prominence in the first episode of Season 4. Once Upon a Time co-creator Edward Kitsis spoke after the episode about how that hat would affect Rumple in a potentially dangerous way.

"We're going to learn a lot more [about the hat]," Kitsis teased back in late September. "That's going to be part of something that we tell for a while, but clearly he wanted it badly enough that he was willing to go back on his pledge, because he can resist everything but temptation."

Kitsis also confirmed at the time that the hat was the same one featured in Disney's classic animated film Fantasia, during the segment with Mickey Mouse.

Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Watch the promo for the next episode of Once Upon a Time below:

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Once Upon A Time, Television, ABC