Rudy Pankow And Madison Baileys characters – JJ and Kiara – are a couple Outdoor benchesbut fans are convinced they aren’t exactly close in real life. After it was revealed on Thursday, November 7, that JJ died during the show’s Season 4 finale, speculation about Rudy and Madison’s relationship has gone viral.

Many fans have pointed out a JJ and Kiara scene in Season 4 that appears to use stunt doubles. The clip shows the characters cuddling, with Kiara resting her head against JJ’s chest, but the two are never shown together in the same shot. “The camera goes out,” one fan commented, along with a video of the scene in question.

“This is just insane,” another X user wrote. “The fact that Rudy and Madison refused to shoot it together and had to use stunt doubles just shows how unprofessional their work is. And they weren’t supposed to do anything big in that scene, just a little bit of cuddling. However, there is no confirmation that the duo actually “refused” to film PDA scenes together.

JJ and Kiara didn’t get together until season 3, but fans were rooting for them as a couple from the start. Fans have theorized that the couple’s respective significant others are Madison’s girlfriend Maria Linney and Rudy, 26, is dating the former OBX executive assistant Elaine Siemek – were not happy with how passionate viewers were about wanting JJ and Kiara to get together.

Both actors have come to defend their girlfriends amid the criticism they have received. “I think a lot of people can weave a story into what they want to believe and take it out on someone who doesn’t deserve it,” Rudy said. Cosmopolitan ahead of the show’s Season 4 premiere. “That is a shame and difficult. That’s why I expressed my opinion: no one should have to experience something like this.”

The actor referenced his 2021 Instagram post in which he stood up for 28-year-old Elaine when fans gave her a hard time. “I’m here to address the disrespect and harassment that someone I love experiences every day,” Rudy wrote. “It has gotten to the point where lies are being spread and accusations are being made that go beyond the normal ‘hate’. Not only is she not who she is accused of, she is and actively is the opposite. Accusing someone you don’t know of being abusive and manipulative is not okay, especially if you don’t know the relationship personally.”

Around the same time, Madison, 25, directly addressed fans who accused Mariah, 25, of causing a wedge between her and Rudy. “I’m seeing all these posts that Mariah doesn’t like Rudy, which, I mean, that’s not true,” she said on Instagram Live. “That’s just not true. She likes them both. I got on the phone with Rudy this morning because of your f–king bulls–t.”

The actress said she was really ‘surprised’ by someone who claimed Mariah only dated her for influence and called out Outdoor benches fans who wanted her to date Rudy. “We’ve never had a romantic relationship and you all say, ‘They belong together.’ No, we don’t,” Madison insisted.

Fans now think JJ was merely murdered Outdoor benches because Rudy and Madison didn’t want to work together anymore, but the show’s creators have said it was always the plan for the beloved character to die.

“We were pretty sure early on that this was where it was going,” Shannon Burke told Cosmopolitan. “We thought one of the Pogues was going to die near the beginning of Season 1 and we were pretty sure it was going to be JJ. We just weren’t sure when we would play that card. We knew this would be JJ’s season. This is JJ’s story. And we realized pretty early on, ‘Okay, we’re going to play this card now.’”

JJ died in Kiara’s arms and both actors reflected on what it was like filming the tough scene. “This character is a huge loss and everyone will feel it,” Madison admitted. Rudy added: “I knew everyone was on board to bring everything and I felt that with everyone. Madison and I took it, and I know we crushed it. It was emotional, but I think deep down everyone was on the same page. ‘Let’s make an impact.’ And we did that.”