Chase Stokes fanned the flames of a rumored rift with former Outer Banks star Rudy Pankow, showering his current costars Jonathan Daviss and Madison Bailey with praise but leaving the recently departed actor out.
The Annapolis, Maryland, native, 32, gushed about how “very thankful” he is for the Netflix show, as well as “the people who are on it” alongside him during a Wednesday, January 22, appearance on The Rich Eisen Show.
Chase went on to shout-out two castmates in particular.
“I mean, like I said, Jonathan [Daviss] and Madison Bailey are both, not just costars, they’re like family,” he shared. “We were at dinner last night just kind of talking about it, reminiscing on how crazy the last couple years have been and how much it has truthfully changed our lives.”
Chase’s John B, Jonathan’s Pope, Madison’s Kiara and Rudy’s JJ formed the core group of actors in Outer Banks season 1, which premiered on Netflix in April 2020. In season 3, JJ and Kiara began dating. Rudy’s character was killed off in the season 4 finale, which aired in November 2024.
JJ retrieved the blue crown and while doing so, his father, Chandler Groff (played by J. Anthony Crane), took Kiara hostage. JJ handed over the crown to his dad to save Kiara, only to get stabbed in the gut.
As JJ slowly bled out in Kiara’s arms, he told his girlfriend with his last breaths, “I never told you my wish. I already got it. I already got my wish. Everything I wanted. Take care of the others. I love you Kie.”
Fans speculated about a rift between Madison, 25, and Rudy, 26, following a cast dinner in 2023, when the group was filming season 4.
Rudy was in attendance with girlfriend Elaine Siemek, an Outer Banks assistant whom he began dating in November 2020. Despite fans hoping Rudy and Madison would become a couple in real-life, she has been in relationship with girlfriend Mariah Linney since June 2020.
Following the dinner, Madison, and Elaine, 29, reportedly unfollowed each other on Instagram, according to fans. Elaine also reportedly unfollowed Mariah, 25, and Mariah and Rudy allegedly unfollowed each other.
It’s unclear what happened at the dinner that led to the apparent unfollowings. Life & Style reached out to reps for Rudy and Madison but did not hear back.
Fans complained that Rudy and Madison’s chemistry was off during season 4, which fueled speculation about the falling out between the actors off screen.
“Apparently there were times when filming together was difficult,” the source exclusively told Life and Style in November 2024 about life behind the scenes with Rudy and Madison. The tension is “not something they’re ever going to admit to because it just reflects badly on the show and on everyone.”
“There were a lot of whispers that things soured between them,” the insider continued. “They were very close friends at one point, and something did seem to happen to break that bond, which obviously would make filming together a struggle at times. They’re both super professional so it didn’t cause issues on the set or with their performances, but there was a lot of gossip flying around about how strained things were between them the moment the cameras were off.”
