No TV magic here! Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey are both insisting that they did not use body doubles to film scenes together in Outer Banks season 4 amid their rumored drama, a source exclusively tells Life & Style.

“They are both adamant that the rumors about them having body doubles because they refused to shoot together is completely off base,” the insider says. “That hasn’t stopped the rumors from flying around, especially because the way certain scenes were edited, it really does seem suspect. It wouldn’t be the first time that trick was used for two costars that weren’t getting along, but Rudy and Madison one hundred percent deny it.”

Many fans of the hit Netflix series speculated that Rudy, 26, and Madison, 25, refused to film together because of one particular scene in season 4 part 2, which was released on the streaming platform on November 7.

The moment featured their characters, JJ and Kiara, cuddling up together with Kiara resting her head on JJ’s shoulder. However, the two were never shown in the same shot together, which led to rumors that the actors had body doubles standing in for their scene partners.

“The camera cuts,” one fan wrote on X, sharing a video of the scene.

“This is just insane,” another user added. “The fact that Rudy and Madison refused to record it together and they had to use stunt doubles just shows their unprofessionalism to their work. And they weren’t even supposed to be doing anything huge in that scene, just hugging a bit.”

There was never any confirmation that the pair actually “refused” to film together. In fact, Life & Style’s source reveals that Madison appeared to have a hard time bidding farewell to Rudy when his character died at the end of season 4.

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix
“Madison seemed very broken up when it was time to say goodbye to Rudy,” the insider says. “Regardless of what drama went on between them, they shared a very special moment in time, and at one point they were very close, so to have him leaving is shaking her up and the rest of the cast.”

The source concludes, “No one seems happy about him leaving, and there have been some hints that the producers might find a creative way to bring him back for next season. But as it stands now he is done, and that’s been tough for everyone, him included.”

Rudy and Madison were seemingly close when Outer Banks first began in 2020. However, fans quickly noticed their characters’ chemistry and begged for Kiara and JJ to get together, even going as far as flooding the comments on their social media with their wishes. When both Rudy and Madison entered relationships off-screen — the former with Elaine Siemek and the latter with Mariah Linney — their partners became targets of online hate.

” We never had any romantic relationship and y’all are like, ‘They belong together.’ No we don’t,” Madison said of herself and Rudy in an Instagram Live.

It was also rumored that the alleged drama between Rudy, Madison, Elaine, 28, and Mariah, 25, exploded at a cast dinner in June 2023, as Madison and Elaine reportedly unfollowed each other on Instagram afterward. Elaine also reportedly unfollowed Mariah, and Mariah and Rudy allegedly unfollowed each other.

It’s unclear what happened at the dinner that led to the apparent unfollowings.

A source exclusively told Life & Style on Friday, November 22, that Rudy and Madison did find it “difficult” to film Outer Banks together at times. However, the insider added, “The really awful part for both of them is the way their girlfriends got dragged into the drama. The horrible things that their fans have said online and the comments they’ve left on social media have been brutal. That has caused the most hurt by far and it did make them both quite defensive and protective.”