Madison Bailey

Ahead of 'Outer Banks' Season 3, star Madison Bailey discusses her upbringing, her relationship with girlfriend Mariah Linney, and her love for love.

“There’s so much celebration and love in the queer community,” says Bailey, adding, “I’m not denying that there is a journey to get there. “For people to know that I’m someone that they can come to who is a safe place means the world. Both because of Linney’s ability to “make the rest of the world fall away,” as she wrote in an but I’m lowkey a sad f*ckin girl,” she [recently wrote on Twitter](https://twitter.com/madisonbailey/status/1603121843539677184).) “My parents set such a good example for love and what it means to love people unconditionally.” “I’m going to make a mistake, I’m not by any means the most perfect candidate,” she concedes. “There’s so much love to go around and so much more love that needs to be in circulation,” Bailey says. She’s the daughter of a successful restaurant owner but has a passion for environmentalism and an adventurous spirit that has earned her a spot as an honorary Pogue. The pair met when Bailey [slid into Linney’s DMs in 2020](https://www.elitedaily.com/dating/madison-bailey-relationship-history), asking her to [“chat and chill.”](http://elitedaily.com/dating/madison-bailey-relationship-history) That June, they [hard launched their relationship](https://www.j-14.com/posts/outer-banks-madison-bailey-mariah-linney-relationship-timeline/) on both Instagram and TikTok. “I was extremely aware of what the fans wanted, so I wasn’t really caught off-guard when I saw it in the script this year,” Bailey says of things heating up between Kiara and co-star Rudy Pankow’s character. After high school, Bailey pursued both acting and modeling — she’s currently a Fenty Beauty spokesperson — and following a turn on the CW’s Black Lightning playing Wendy, a teenager with the ability to control the air, in 2020 Bailey landed a spot on the show that would serve as her breakout: Netflix’s Outer Banks. [first same-sex couple](https://people.com/tv/niecy-nash-and-jessica-betts-make-history-first-same-sex-couple-on-essence-cover/) to appear on the cover of Essence magazine. And the importance of these two women of color being photographed amid such a tender, intimate embrace — for all the world to see — isn’t lost on Bailey, who identifies as pansexual.