The Outer Banks Cast Actually Loves This Unexpected Fandom Ship

If there’s one thing the Outer Banks fandom is going to do, it’s obsess over favorite ships. Some fans are lucky enough to have their favorite couples be in a canon relationship on the series, but for others, each new episode is a hunt for crumbs of their ultimate imagined pairing. One of these noncanon ships that’s gained a surprising amount of popularity is Rafe and Barry. And if the show’s cast members have their way, the fan-beloved relationship could become a real thing.

“My favorite fan theory is that Rafe and Barry are actually lovers,” Madelyn Cline tells Elite Daily at the Poguelandia fan event. “Barry/Rafe, that’s a theory we really like,” showrunner Jonas Pate adds. Madison Bailey went so far as to manifest some marital bliss for the two buddies: “Maybe a Rafe and Barry wedding,” Bailey suggests. “It’s crazy, but it’s really not that far out of the realm.”

Rafe and Barry have been close friends since the first season of Outer Banks. Barry was first introduced as Rafe’s drug dealer, and they’ve frequently teamed up to pull off dangerous schemes together. Though they’ve had several rough patches (Barry once turned Rafe in to the police, and Rafe later backtracked on their deal to kill Ward), the two always seem to come back together.

Cline, Pate, and Bailey’s enthusiasm for a Rafe and Barry romance echoes comments Drew Starkey, who plays Rafe, has made in the past. “Rafe and Barry, 100%, through and through,” Starkey said when asked of his favorite OBX ship in 2023. “It works. We balance each other out.”

Unfortunately for the Rarry shippers, it doesn’t sound like there will be much interaction between the two characters in Season 4. “They’re taking a breather. I think they need a bit of space,” Starkey said in a recent MTV interview. “Distance makes the heart grow fonder. But I’m still rooting for them. Anytime they get together, they’re just right back to it. I miss him; he’s endgame.”

Reporting by Rachel Chapman.