Outer Banks star Madison Bailey has sparked split rumors with longtime girlfriend Mariah Linney.
Eagle-eyed fans were left questioning the status of the couple’s relationship after they noticed that the actress and the former basketball player, both 26, had seemingly unfollowed each other on social media. They are also no longer tagged in photos on each other’s respective Instagram pages as of Tuesday, April 22, according to Us Weekly.
Fans also believed that Madison had hinted at the split in a post on Threads on April 17. The Time Cut star wrote, “Turns out laundry’s not hard at all.”
According to fans online, Madison was seemingly referencing an interview she once did with her Outer Banks costars in which she reportedly said that Mariah did laundry and dishes for her. The North Carolina native’s followers took the post as a hint that Madison may be single now and doing these chores on her own.
“Hope your okay Ms. Bailey. Sending love your wayyy,” one user replied, while another fan wrote, “I’m so sorry Maddie I wish I could give you a big hug.”
“You’re a girlboss you don’t need no one for nothing,” a third person commented.
Madison and Mariah began dating in 2020 after they met on TikTok. A few days after the couple went public, Madison discussed being pansexual in a June 2020 Mental Health Q&A with Lacy Hartselle.
“I feel zero shame, and I don’t feel that way because nobody’s ever really shamed me for it and I know a lot of people have had lot of hate and lack of support,” she said. “I know so many, countless stories of queer people that did not have support. But if you’re asking me personally, that’s just my experience with it. It was worth it. I feel lighter, I feel happier that I can just be so open and honest. It feels nice.”
Additionally, Madison said in a TikTok video, “I have very accepting friends, a very accepting family, an industry that’s very welcoming and very accepting. Being open and honest feels so good! To be so transparent, especially in an industry when a lot of people want to be in my personal life, it’s nice that I can be like ‘Here’s my personal life. You can have it. It’s fine.’”
Madison and Mariah have both previously been entangled in rumors about alleged drama with Madison’s Outer Banks costar, Rudy Pankow, who played her onscreen love interest. The characters weren’t dating during season 1, when both Madison and Rudy, 26, began dating other people in real life, which led many passionate fans to direct hate toward Mariah and Rudy’s girlfriend, Elaine Siemek. It has been speculated that this caused a rift between Madison and Rudy.
A source exclusively told Life & Style on April 2 that the drama could throw a wrench in plans for an Outer Banks spinoff.
“After trying to downplay the rumors for so long, Rudy pretty much threw [a] Molotov cocktail on the whole situation and now the drama is exploding all over again,” the insider said after the actor appeared to unfollow Madison and costar Madelyn Cline on social media. “Obviously, he wouldn’t have unfollowed them if things were really totally fine, the way people in his camp have tried to claim.”
The source added, “They really do need a spinoff. That being said, if the cast is too much of a headache, they very well might decide it’s not worth it and go a different direction.”
