If you’ve spent years convinced there was something going on between Rafe and Kiara before the events of Outer Banks, Madison Bailey has finally given us an answer. And, erm, she’s pointed out a pretty uncomfortable detail shippers may have overlooked. Outer Banks has returned for its fifth and final season on Netflix, picking up in the aftermath of JJ’s (Rudy Pankow) brutal death at the end of season four. The Pogues are grieving their best friend while hunting down Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane), who killed his own son and escaped with the Blue Crown. But alongside all the treasure hunting and revenge, there’s another question that has long been asked: what, if anything, is going on between Rafe (Drew Starkey) and Kiara, aka Kie? Despite spending much of the show on opposing sides – and Rafe having his own complicated relationship with Sofia (Fiona Palomo) – there’s a surprisingly huge section of the fandom that’s been shipping Rafe and Kie for years. Speculation really took off in season three, when they were kidnapped and trapped together in Barbados. But some viewers have taken this even further, theorising there may have been history between the two before we ever met them in season one. It’s not entirely impossible to see where the theory came from. Kie grew up around the wealthy Kooks before choosing the Pogues, and Rafe is her friend Sarah’s older brother, meaning their lives would have crossed before the events of the Netflix series. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Omardoodahgrimes (@omardoodahgrimes) Of course, everything changed when Kie finally got together with JJ in the third chapter, but their relationship came to a devastating end when he was killed by Groff in Morocco. His death inevitably reignited speculation about whether Outer Banks might actually go there with Rafe and Kie in its final season – particularly as the show’s own producers previously said their dynamic was something they planned to “explore” following JJ’s death. Now that season five is here, we have our answer (no spoilers here). But for any of those wondering whether something happened between the pair before the events of the show, here’s your answer… Madison Bailey has now addressed *that* Rafe and Kiara theory A number of the Outer Banks cast members spoke with Brit + Co, where Bailey was specifically asked about the longstanding theory that something could have happened between Rafe and Kie during her “Kook era”. Apparently, shippers really have been reading too much into it. “No, I don’t think that there was anything between Rafe and Kiara in her little Kook era because he was just so much older,” Bailey said. While Rafe is only around three years older, she pointed out that the difference is significant when you’re talking about teenagers. “Our age is one thing. Three years when you’re like 16, those are big,” she explained. So there you have it: according to the person who has played Kie for all five seasons, there wasn’t some secret Riara romance happening before we arrived in the Outer Banks. That said, she isn’t exactly telling the fandom to pack it up and go home either. After the interviewer acknowledged that the pairing has always been a “very hot topic” among fans, Bailey laughed and added: “I support whatever… everyone’s delusions.” For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured image credit: Netflix Post navigation Next storyPrevious story
