Outer Banks star Madison Bailey and girlfriend Mariah Linney have sparked split speculation after nearly 5 years of dating.
Bailey and Linney, both 26, sparked rumors earlier this month when eagle-eyed fans noticed they were no longer following each other on social media. They also appeared to no longer be tagged in Instagram photos of each other on their respective pages.
Us Weekly has reached out to reps for Bailey and Linney and hasn’t heard back.
The former couple started dating in 2020 after they met on TikTok. Bailey previously discussed her pansexuality after going public with Linney.
Related: ‘Outer Banks’ Cast: See the Hit Netflix Show’s Stars Then and Now
Outer Banks fans have watched the cast change on and off screen since the series first debuted. The hit Netflix series, which premiered in 2020, introduced viewers to a coastal town in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which is divided into wealthy and working-class sides. Meanwhile, a group of teenagers accidentally find themselves at […]
“I have very accepting friends, a very accepting family, an industry that’s very welcoming and very accepting,” she shared via TikTok in May 2020. “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.’”
In a follow-up video, Bailey made it clear she felt “zero shame” about the romance, adding, “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. 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.”
Bailey urged others to open up about their sexuality. “If you’re gay, tell everybody that you’re gay. It’s worth it,” she added. “I was saying this the other day I was like, to be honest, I don’t believe in straight people. They’re as real as unicorns to me.”
The actress rose to stardom after being cast as Kiara on Netflix’s hit series Outer Banks. The show, which debuted in 2020, follows the conflict between two groups of teenagers in a coastal North Carolina town. The social divide is introduced through the Kooks a.k.a the wealthy residents and the working class, who are also known as the Pogues.
More recently, Outer Banks was renewed for a fifth and final season, which came amid a major character death. Rudy Pankow, who played Bailey’s onscreen love interest, exited the show in November 2024 after his character JJ was killed off.
Rumors circulated about Pankow and Bailey no longer being on good terms and how that could have potential led to the decision to remove JJ from the show. The speculation, however, hasn’t been substantiated.
Bailey previously got emotional while reflecting on Pankow’s journey on — and exit from — Outer Banks, saying in a November 2024 video from Netflix, “We all read the character on the page and we know what you brought to it. And you turned it out and really made something of it and paid respect to the depth of the character while bringing a lightheartedness that the show desperately needed.”
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