What's Really Going On With Walton Goggins And Aimee Lou Wood? Their Rumored Feud Explained

Walton Goggins, Aimee Lou Wood, and the rest of the cast of "The White Lotus": Season 3 have reeled in viewers with their dramatic portrayals — but, apparently, they're also at the center of some very real-life drama. Word on the street is that not all of the actors got along well on set. Speaking to The Guardian about this, "The White Lotus" star Jason Isaacs confessed, "It's something I'll be processing for a long time. It was a theatre camp, but to some extent an open prison camp: you couldn't avoid one other. There are tensions and difficulties, I don't know if they spilled from on screen to off-screen, or if it would have happened anyway."

In the same interview, Isaacs went on to share that many of the off-screen drama had to do with social dynamics among cast members. "There were alliances that formed and broke, romances that formed and broke, friendships that formed and broke," he said. Although Isaacs did not go so far as to name names, the biggest "White Lotus" fans began to wonder who exactly was at the heart of this drama. Some viewers speculated that co-stars Wood and Goggins were at the center of it all. The reason? The pair's combined interviews and social media activity have indicated that their friendship has undergone its fair share of ups and downs. 

Rumor has it that Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood are embroiled in a feud; however, back when they first started working together on "The White Lotus," the duo seemed to get along swimmingly. Goggins had a particularly intense reaction to meeting Wood for the first time. As he once told The Telegraph, "The very first time that we met was in Thailand, even though we began texting before that. ... And when we had lunch together for the first time, we were three minutes into the conversation when I think we both knew that, 'Oh, this person is, on some levels, a soulmate.'" Goggins appeared to admire Wood on a professional level, as well, declaring, "I'm such a fan of Aimee's."

Wood also seemed to enjoy Goggins' company on set — even if she did find a less charged way to say so. Chatting with Elle UK about her friendships with her co-stars, Wood recalled, "I had fun with everyone while filming 'The White Lotus,' but I am a Scorpio Moon and Lesley Bibb and Walton Goggins are Scorpio Suns. We were the Scorpio three, we have a group called 'Jackson Brown' because we used to just sit and listen to Jackson Brown and drink cocktails and eat fries." This indicates that there was indeed a time when Goggins and Wood had a great relationship — despite the later rumors would surface.

When it came time to wrap up filming for Season 3 of "The White Lotus," Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins still seemed to be fast friends. The co-stars publicly applauded each other for their excellent on-screen performances. Goggins even went so far as to share nearly a dozen photos of himself and Wood on Instagram. In the caption, he wrote a tribute to Rick and Chelsea — the couple he and Wood played in the series. "To me, ours [Rick and Chelsea's] was a love story. It was only ever a love story, hindered by unresolved, childhood trauma. ... Thank you Aimee Lou for being my partner ... a journey I will never forget."

Although Wood did not make a similar tribute to Goggins on her social media feed, she did continue to speak about him in a positive light. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Wood was asked about Goggins choosing not to watch the season finale at an event with his castmates. "I was sad that Walton wasn't there because it was something that we did together," she replied. "But also it's so f***ing Rick and Chelsea. 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."

Although Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins initially appeared to have a good relationship, it's possible that the two had a falling out. After all, many cast members experienced some level of cabin fever during filming. Living on the set of the hotel did not, ultimately, prove easy for everyone. As Jason Isaacs put it in his interview with The Guardian, "It's a kind of crucible, a five-star gilded cage. There's no question that sometimes it is absolutely fabulous, and sometimes it's 'Lord of the Flies.'"

Interestingly, Wood seemed to agree with Isaac's assessment — even hinting towards some element of drama in a conversation with The Times. "There was a bit of leakage," she said, detailing how the actors and their characters started to become enmeshed. "We were all accidentally Method. It has happened every season. Everyone has lost their marbles a little bit," she continued. The extent to which this statement applied to Wood and Goggins' friendship, however, remained unclear. 

As if Aimee Lou Wood's comments about life on set were not troubling enough, internet sleuths uncovered another alarming fact: Wood and Walton Goggins had stopped following each other on Instagram. Interpreted by many as a sign of trouble, this unfollowing shows that, at the very least, Wood and Goggins were perhaps not as close as they once were. As one keen-eyed fan wrote in "The White Lotus" subreddit in April 2025, "i feel like no one is talking about the falling out of them? They unfollowed each other on [Instagram] a couple weeks ago, Walton posts White Lotus stuff and tags everyone in the photos except Aimee Lou Wood."

This observation was made all the more unusual by the fact that Goggins had previously spent months commenting on Wood's posts. In July 2024, when Wood shared photos of herself on Instagram, Goggins commented, "A natural born [fox emoji] inside and out." Wood responded to Goggins' words warmly — with a pink heart and a fox emoji of her own. The pair had what appeared to be another positive interaction a month later when Wood posted a promo for her show, "Daddy Issues," on Instagram. Goggins commented, "Next level this is. I could watch you all day. So excited to watch." Once again, Wood appeared to have received this praise gracefully, replying with three red hearts and a fox emoji.

It's no secret that the comedy show "Saturday Night Live" is full of awkward moments. However, in April 2025, "SNL" made a total faux pas by creating a sketch that mocked Aimee Lou Wood's smile. In what was intended to be a "White Lotus" parody of the Donald Trump administration, "Saturday Night Live" actors made fun of Wood's teeth. At one point in the sketch, comedian Sarah Sherman — who was clearly pretending to be Wood — asked, "Fluoride? What's that?" This comment clearly implied that Wood's dental care was somehow not on par.

Despite the mean-spirited nature of this skit, one person found it terribly funny. Walton Goggins liked the sketch so much that he shared it to his Instagram Stories (via Page Six). Following a link to the scene, the actor wrote that the performance was "smashing!" He also reportedly went to the comedy show's Instagram page to share his praise in the comments, writing "Hahahahahhahaha Amazzzingggg." All in all, Goggins' overwhelmingly positive reaction to a performance that mocked Wood's appearance called into question whether or not Goggins and Wood are really friends at all. 

As if Walton Goggins' decision to applaud the "SNL" skit was not unsavory enough, he did so at a terrible time. In fact, Goggins praised the skit after his former co-star, Aimee Lou Wood, publicly condemned the show for its poor sense of humor. Writing on her Instagram Stories, Wood said that the comment about her teeth was "mean and unfunny" (via Vogue). She then went on to muse why "Saturday Night Live" had not made a joke that was "cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap."

Goggins' choice to publicly praise a sketch that Wood had already condemned shows just how out of sync the two actors had become. Rather than support his co-star and make a statement against the tasteless sketch, Goggins laughed at the jokes as if they were no big deal, blatantly disregarding the feelings of his so-called "soulmate."

Many signs definitely point to the possibility that Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins are in the midst of a feud. However, some fans believe that the duo's issues actually originated with a different type of passion. Reddit discussions show television viewers have been quick to claim that Wood and Goggins had a romantic relationship. And although Goggins is one of the many "White Lotus Stars" with partners, some fans believe that infidelity was at play.

At the end of the day, however, rumors are just rumors. There is no evidence of any romance — past or otherwise — between Goggins and Wood. Even "Harry Potter" cast member, Jason Isaacs, felt compelled to put a stop to the gossip following his explosive interview with The Guardian. "First of all, it's none of your business," he told the public on an episode of the SiriusXM podcast "The Happy Hour" (via Today). "Nobody has the slightest clue what they're talking about," he added.