Is Mark Sanford back on with his on-again off-again soul mate?

Maria Belen Chapur and her fiance Rep. Mark Sanford at the Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner at the National Building Museum on June 5, 2013. (Amy Argetsinger for The Washington Post)

So are they or aren’t they?

Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) and his maybe (maybe not) ex-fiancee, former Argentinian journalist Maria Belen Chapur, continued their super annoying Dan and Serena shtick last week when the couple was spotted out and about and very much together in D.C.

For those not following the CW soap that is this congressman’s love life, a very brief preamble: Sanford and Chapur’s impassioned and poetry-producing affair was first made public in 2009 when Sanford, then governor of South Carolina, went missing for days. Aides claimed he was “hiking the Appalachian trial” which was secret code for “he’s actually in Argentina with his mistress.” Yes, Sanford was married at the time. A messy divorce followed and Sanford was nearly kicked out of the governor’s mansion. But the father of four rebounded, eventually winning a House seat after a special election. And guess who was at his victory party? Chapur, his “soulmate” and fiancee.

[“Congressman Mark Sanford and fiancee spotted on Barracks Row“]

But the fairy tale wouldn’t last long.

Last September, Sanford posted an epic 2,346-word Facebook missive announcing his break up with Chapur. (And some poor girls only get a seven-word post-it). The battle between his family (over custody) and his fiancee (set the wedding date, already!) was just too much for the 55-year-old to bear.

“No relationship can stand forever this tension of being forced to pick between the one you love and your own son or daughter, and for this reason Belen and I have decided to call off the engagement,” wrote the congressman, but in a particularly prescient move he left the door open. “Maybe there will be another chapter when waters calm …” Perhaps they finally have.

Last Wednesday, Sanford and Chapur were seen together at a private reception in honor of the 15th anniversary of John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. The pair, we’re told, seemed decidedly couple-ly, working the room together and introducing themselves to the gala’s other attendees. There was none of that “arriving in different limos and pretending not to know each other” Hollywood trickery going on. Sanford and Chapur were a pair. So what does this all mean? Are they back on? Were they ever really off? Will Lifetime make a movie about this entitled “Cyber Sonnets: An Appalachian Amor Story”?

Sanford’s office has yet to respond to our request for comment.