What started out as stray cast comments about offscreen tension turned into rumors about a feud between The White Lotus love interests Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood.
The White Lotus, which premiered in 2021, focuses on the employees and guests at a fictional resort as they experience a slew of personal ups and downs while on vacation. The anthology series is also known for featuring a mysterious murder — or two — that is eventually revealed at the end of each season.
The perks of an anthology means introducing a new star-studded cast each season and the third installment, which premiered in 2025, got Us invested in characters played by Goggins, Wood, Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jason Isaacs, Lalisa Manobal, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Nivola, Lek Patravadi, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Tayme Thapthimthong.
While behind the scenes photos hinted at a close bond between the costars, Isaacs surprised Us with comments about an offscreen divide.
“Some people got very close, there were friendships that were made and friendships that were lost. All the things you would imagine with a group of people unanchored from their home lives on the other side of the world, in the intense pressure cooker of the working environment with eye-melting heat and insects and late nights,” he told Vulture in March 2025. “They say in the show, ‘What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand.’ But there’s an off screen White Lotus as well, with fewer deaths but just as much drama.”
The outlet offered Isaacs the chance to elaborate, which he laughed off, adding, “Absolutely not. I became very close to some people and less close to others, but we still all had that experience together and there’s a certain level of discretion required.”
While Isaacs later tried to clarify his original point, viewers already pointed out that Goggins and Wood were no longer following each other. Speculation continued into the rest of the cast but Chelsea (Wood) and Rick’s (Goggins) onscreen deaths in the finale kept fan attention on the fictional love interests.
Keep scrolling as Us explains why The White Lotus fans not only think there were issues on set of the show — but also have suspicions about specific people:
The Key Players
Isaacs started the conversation — multiple times — with comments about a disconnect on set. Viewers then started to examine the BTS photos to see which cast members didn’t spend too much time together. The most notable combinations include Isaacs with Goggins, Isaacs with Posey and more. None of them, however, have confirmed any falling out. After the speculation, Goggins and Wood stopped following each other on Instagram despite previously documenting their time on set together.
The Gist
Shortly after The White Lotus returned for season 3 in February 2025, Isaacs stirred up questions about potential feuds.
“It was a theatre camp, but to some extent an open prison camp: you couldn’t avoid one another,” the actor told The Guardian while acknowledging “tensions and difficulties” while filming. “I don’t know if they spilled from on screen to off screen, or if it would have happened anyway.”
He continued. “There were alliances that formed and broke, romances that formed and broke, friendships that formed and broke. It’s a long period of time for people to be away from their family with an open bar and all the wildness being in Thailand allows.”
While witnessing the alleged tension, Isaacs recalled not being exempt, adding, “I can’t pretend I wasn’t involved in some offscreen drama. Dave [Bernad] has seen it before, twice, and so has Yana Grebenyuk Mike [White]. I can’t speak for them, but I imagine they think it feeds into the onscreen drama, and they might well be right. I think the heat contributed to these fissures appearing.”
He concluded: “I was in some ways used to it, but within a couple of weeks my wife [Emma Hewitt] went, ‘Some of these people are f****ing mad.’ I said, ‘No, it’s just a bunch of actors away on location, love. You’ve forgotten what it’s like.’”
How many stars can check into The White Lotus at once? Us would like to test the limit. The HBO series, which debuted in 2021, focuses on the guests and employees at fictional resorts (in various locations) as they experience a slew of personal ups and downs while on vacation. The anthology series is also […]
Why It’s a Big Deal
The commentary became a big deal when Isaacs’ quotes started to go viral. From there, fans of Rick and Chelsea’s fictional romance started to speculate about an offscreen connection between the actors following a blind item on Deuxmoi about costars who had an unfair.
The speculation was unsubstantiated and Goggins often spoke about having his wife, Nadia Conners, and their son in Thailand with him. The damage was already done, however, with online rumors continuing to spark as Goggins and Wood stopped following each other.
What People Are Saying
Neither Goggins nor Wood weighed in on the rumors. He publicly thanked Wood for her hard work in a post-finale tribute, writing via Instagram, “For being my partner … a journey I will never forget.”
Wood also spoke about Goggins after he was missing from a finale event. “I was sad that Walton wasn’t there because it was something that we did together but also it’s so f***ing Rick and Chelsea,” Wood told The Hollywood Reporter. “Like, of course Walton had to watch it alone and of course I had to watch it in the group because there is so much Aimee in Chelsea and so much Walton in Rick.”
What We’re Saying
The White Lotus is a popular series, which makes sense why some want to keep the drama and the intrigue going in between seasons. It is also important to note that Isaacs ultimately walked back his statements after they made consistent headlines.
“I told the truth, while we were there, it’s a whole community. It was a city and it wasn’t just the actors. People need to remember it was the actors and the crew and the administrators and all these people were in a little pressure cooker together. And like anywhere you go for the summer, there’s friendships, there’s romances, there’s arguments, there’s cliques that form and break and reform and stuff like that,” he shared on SiriusXM’s TODAY Show Radio series The Happy Hour in April 2025. “I’m not stupid. I look at the internet. I only read every single word written about The White Lotus and about everybody in it.”
Isaacs specifically slammed the online theories from fans.
“All these amateur Sherlock Holmes out there, they’re extrapolating, ‘Well, one person posted this.’ And nobody has the slightest clue what they’re talking about. People who think they’re onto something, and then it gets magnified because of a thousand other people. Nobody has any clue what I’m talking about,” he continued. “I’m talking about people you’ve never met before half the time, in different departments and the people in the hair and costume and in the accounts department and stuff.”
He concluded: “First of all, it’s none of your business. I’m just saying it wasn’t a holiday. Partly I started saying that is because people think we were on a seven-month holiday and believe me, it felt like work a lot of the time. It was insanely hot and there’s all the normal social tensions you get anywhere, but for all of you thinking you’ve cracked it by something you think someone has posted or is in a photo or not, you’re just so far from the truth, believe me.”
What’s Next
The White Lotus has been renewed for a fourth season but no location, cast, theme or returning characters have been confirmed. So what is there left to do until there’s more information? Speculate wildly.
