Who is Outer Banks star Rudy Pankow’s girlfriend Elaine Siemek – and do the pair have beef with Madison Bailey? The photographer and showrunner’s assistant met the Netflix actor on set in 2019

The internet has been running wild with rumours of a supposed feud between Outer Banks stars Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey lately.

After Netflix released season four’s bombshell ending, which (spoiler alert) resulted in JJ’s death, fans took to social media to share their theories. According to JustJared, netizens believe that some drama must have occurred behind the scenes to write off such a key character, with many suggesting that Pankow and Bailey – whose characters are love interests on the show – may have had a falling out in real life.

Per JustJared, the dispute allegedly stems from a cast dinner last year, when Pankow and Bailey’s girlfriends – Elaine Siemek and Mariah Linney – were also present. Speculation is rife that something happened during the meal, because Bailey and Linney reportedly unfollowed Pankow’s girlfriend, Siemek, after the get together. She also reportedly removed them from her profile.

However, a source has told People magazine that the speculation isn’t true. What’s more, the show’s co-creator Shannon Burke told Cosmopolitan that Pankow’s character’s death was always in the works. “We were pretty sure early on that this was where it was going. We thought that one of the Pogues would die almost in the very beginning in season one, and we were pretty sure it was going to be JJ. We just weren’t sure when we were going to play that card. We knew this would be JJ’s season – this is JJ’s story. And we realised pretty early on, like, OK, we’re going to play this card now.”

So, who is Rudy Pankow’s girlfriend, Elaine Siemek – who seems to be caught up in the middle of the fan theories?

What does Elaine Siemek do for a living?

According to her own website, Elaine Siemek, 28, is a film photographer with a passion for taking environmental portraits.