After months of speculation, The White Lotus stars Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood are putting all feud rumors to rest—once and for all.
The buzz around a supposed falling out started shortly after season three of the hit HBO show wrapped. Goggins and Wood, who played the complicated and emotionally raw couple Rick and Chelsea, were fan favorites onscreen. But behind the scenes? Fans noticed some curious activity—namely, Goggins unfollowing Wood on Instagram. That small act ignited a wildfire of gossip, with some even suggesting the two had stopped speaking entirely.
The chatter only escalated when Goggins publicly laughed at an SNL parody that poked fun at The White Lotus, including jokes about Wood’s teeth—a moment she had previously spoken out about. Goggins commented on the skit, writing, “Hahahahahhahaha Amazzzingggg,” and the internet immediately assumed he was throwing shade.
Now, both actors are setting the record straight.
Speaking to Variety, Wood opened up about the intense experience of filming the show while essentially living in isolation together in Thailand.
“We’d never lived on a set. This is the first time we were all experiencing basically a reality TV show,” she said. “I think we both struggle with work-life balance anyway, so it’s hard because there’s not even separation in distance.”
Goggins also addressed the speculation around his absence from the show’s finale watch party. While many cast members reunited to celebrate the final episode, Goggins was notably missing—because he was busy shooting Fallout for Prime Video.
“I probably wouldn’t have gone anyways,” he admitted. “I wish I would have been able to watch this with you. It was so cathartic and so painful, and I regret that. I really do.”
As for the infamous Instagram moment, Goggins wasn’t having it.
“Then the next day, I made a vicious swipe against my friend?” he said, referring to the reaction to his SNL comment. “I’ve been posting for 14 f-cking years, and if I’m gonna say something, but I’m gonna say it to your face. I don’t use social media in any way, and I’m not a mean guy.”
When asked directly if there was a feud, Goggins didn’t hesitate.
“There is no feud. I adore, I love this woman madly, and she is so important to me,” he said passionately. “This is Goldie Hawn. This is Meg Ryan. She can do anything, and she will. You watch what the next 20 years of her experience will be. I’ll be on an island, I think Greece. But she’s special. There is no feud. She is love and I know that I am that to her. We care about each other very deeply.”
Wood chimed in on the whole Instagram drama, adding, “I think it’s such a comment on where we’re at culturally. Why is everyone obsessing over Instagram? That is irrelevant. We don’t give a sh-te about Instagram. Why not have conversations about the story and Rick and Chelsea and enjoy it?”
Goggins offered even more insight into why he unfollowed her in the first place. “If I may add, just to put this to bed? The following or unfollowing. I’m a grown-ass man. My catharsis in this experience was different than other people’s, because of my history in this place. I knew what we had gone through, and I knew how close that we had gotten, and I needed to begin to process saying goodbye to Rick and Chelsea. And I knew that that was going to take a while for me, so I let her know, this is what I’ve gotta do. And she was extremely supportive about that.”
He added, “I needed to just back away from everyone. I haven’t spoken to anyone. I couldn’t handle it. Judge me or don’t. I don’t give a f-ck what you think. This is my process. Rick means everything to me, and Chelsea means everything to me. And so that’s what I needed to do for me to process all of this.”
And if you’re still side-eyeing that unfollow? Goggins had a final word: “It’s all so ridiculous. It’s just a part of me just saying goodbye to this character so that now Aimee and I will be friends for f-cking ever.”
In case you were wondering—yes, they’re back to following each other on Instagram.
