Be gentle with Outer Banks fans in your life, ’cause they’ve really been through the wringer lately. They had to grieve Rudy Pankow’s character, JJ, after he was killed off at the end of season 4, investigate why he and Madison Bailey appeared to literally not film together that season, and then take in the info that Rudy might’ve cheated on his ex, Teo Marcella, with his current GF, Elaine Siemek. Now, I thought all that was a lot, but I fear it’s nothing compared to this latest update. On November 24, Madelyn basically confirmed that there’s major cast drama when she unfollowed Rudy and then posted the disaster girl meme on her Insta Story right after… truly an unhinged move. I respect it. But why did Madelyn Cline unfollow Rudy Pankow? Let’s dive into her possible motivations.

Madelyn Cline And Rudy Pankow Outer Banks Drama, Explained

Why Did Madelyn Cline Unfollow Rudy Pankow?

This telling unfollow was unexpected because just one week before unfollowing Rudy, Madelyn commented a red heart on his Instagram post about “being grateful” for his time on the show. It seemed all was well in the Madelyn x Rudy universe even if all was not well in the ~Rudison~ universe. The unfollow was also shocking because Madelyn isn’t usually one to make any drama in her life public. “Madelyn has always been private when it comes to her personal life and relationships so if she decided to do something drastic that she knew people would see, then something really serious has happened,” one fan on Twitter speculated.

Sooo, maybe Rudy did something to piss off Madelyn this past week, or perhaps she’s been angry about the ongoing rumored drama for a while…

As we know, when Rudy’s character died at the end of season 4, there were immediately rumors that he’d been killed off due to cast drama. Rudy and Madison were friends at the beginning of the show, fans shipped them together onscreen and IRL, the actors seemed to grow apart, and then in season 4, it looks like they didn’t even film together. (In a cuddling scene, there are no shots with them together, and fans suspect they used stunt doubles.)

Lots of OBX fans swiftly decided that Rudy’s girlfriend, Elaine, was the root cause of the rumored Madison and Rudy conflict. People theorized that Elaine was jealous of Madison and felt uncomfy about the shipping, so she had Rudy distance himself from his costar. I checked and discovered that Madelyn doesn’t follow Elaine now either, which is tea.

If this Madison-Rudy-Elaine narrative is true, it’s possible that Madelyn is just fed up with Elaine’s involvement and Rudy’s lack of professionalism (not shooting with Madison, leaving the show, etc.)

But there’s another, totally different theory about Madelyn’s unfollow. Apparently, she and Elaine have (or had) a mutual friend, an artist named Kate McDuffie. Rudy recently flew out Kate for Elaine’s birthday, which Elaine documented on Instagram, and Madelyn appears to have unfollowed Kate too. Mind you, Kate still followers her. Fans are accusing Elaine of being a best friend stealer too now.

Frankly, I’m exhausted.