Madison Bailey & Drew Starkey Do Not Support Kiara & Rafe Shippers
"Kiara wouldn't be Kiara if she was with Rafe."
The Outer Banks fandom is known for its passionate shipping. Romances change so fast on the show, so fans can’t help but imagine which two characters would make the perfect couple — even if they haven’t really shown interest in each other. The prime example is Riara, a recently popular fan ship of Rafe and Kiara. It’s a bit of a surprising pairing considering they’re bitter enemies, and both Madison Bailey and Drew Starkey have confessed that they don’t think it’s a good idea at all.
The unexpected Rafe and Kiara ship first sprouted in Season 3, when the two characters were kidnapped and forced to work together to escape their hostage situation. Since then, there have been countless TikTok edits and screenshots fawning over their presumed chemistry, which picked up even more when Season 4 premiered. While fans may be here for Riara, the actors playing the roles are decidedly not.
“I truly don’t know what it is,” Bailey said in a recently viral video interview. “I feel like if you like and love both characters, then it doesn’t really make sense. Kiara wouldn't be Kiara if she was with Rafe.”
In line with Bailey’s statement, fans have pointed out that Rafe has been life-threateningly violent towards Kiara in the past.
Starkey had the same perspective as Bailey when asked about the Rafe and Kiara ship in an Oct. 9 People interview. “Madison and I were like, 'Wait, what? No, that doesn't make much sense,” Starkey said. “Yeah, I mean, we talked about this before. I think it'd be especially unfair to Kiara, you know? I think she deserves a little better than that.”
In Season 4 of Outer Banks, Kiara is still going strong with JJ, while Rafe is navigating a new relationship with Sofia.
So, unfortunately for the Riara shippers, it sounds like this imagined couple is going to have to stay non-canon.
