Madelaine Petsch has publicly pushed back on long‑running rumors about on‑set romances among Riverdale’s cast, insisting she never engaged in intimate relationships with any co‑stars. The 31‑year‑old actress addressed the topic on the Call Her Daddy podcast this week, amid fresh attention following co‑star KJ Apa’s recent comments about sexual activity during the show’s run.
“May I set the record straight about ‘Riverdale,’ actually?” Petsch said on the episode after a report circulated that members of the ensemble allegedly slept with one another. “Recently, an article came out saying that we all f–ked each other on the show. I did not touch a single person on that show with a 10‑foot pole.” She repeated the denial in emphatic terms: “May I repeat that one more time? I did not f–k a single person on ‘Riverdale.’ I never touched them. That’s what happened. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.” The star reiterated that she has never mixed business with pleasure in the workplace, adding, “I don’t mix business and pleasure like that. I’ve never hooked up with a co‑star.”
Petsch also recalled a conversation with Cole Sprouse, who dated fellow cast member Lili Reinhart for several years during the show’s run. She said Sprouse advised her to draw a line between professional and personal interactions on set, and she described his guidance as “the best advice [she’s] ever been given.”
The actress’s remarks come as a separate account from co‑star KJ Apa has drawn renewed attention to off‑set activity during Riverdale’s seven‑season run on The CW. In August, Apa told Entertainment Weekly that his Riverdale peers — including Camila Mendes, Casey Cott and Charles Melton — “fooled around with each other.” He cautioned that such dynamics can bring drama, but framed it as a common reality of celebrity work environments: “There’s a lot of drama that comes on shows like that. Not to say in like a gossipy kind of way, but it’s just part of the environment, I guess — part of the deal.”
Apa, who has described himself as a once‑self‑proclaimed “virgin” before joining the show in 2017, said he eventually decided to have sex with an unnamed co‑star on set, and that the situation became “a little complicated.” He did not name the partner, but said the experience contributed to on‑set tensions and conflicts as relationships formed and evolved behind the scenes. The interview added to the ongoing public interest in the romantic lives of the teen‑drama ensemble that helped propel Riverdale to ratings prominence during its seven‑season run.
Riverdale aired on The CW from 2017 to 2023, evolving from a high‑school mystery series into a broader, often darker melodrama that traded on its ensemble cast’s public personas as much as its plot twists. The topic of off‑screen coupling has long fascinated fans and media watchers given the show’s young cast and the near‑constant media spotlight surrounding their personal lives. Petsch’s comments arrive as a corrective to ongoing chatter about cast intimacy, aiming to establish a boundary between the actors’ professional work and any private relationships that might exist off camera.
The exchange also highlights how star testimonies can diverge over time. Apa’s recollections about his own past on Riverdale have been cited as part of a broader narrative about the show’s culture and the way its cast members navigated fame, romance and professional boundaries. Petsch’s denial, delivered on a platform outside traditional entertainment media, underscores a desire to control the narrative around personal boundaries and professional conduct on set.
As Riverdale’s legacy continues to be revisited by fans and media, the discussion serves as a reminder of how much attention these teen‑aged, then‑emerging stars attracted. The show’s producers, cast contracts and on‑set policies have long insulated much of the day‑to‑day from public scrutiny, but the public’s curiosity about who dated whom on a popular, long‑running series remains high. Petsch’s comments, framed as a direct challenge to rumors, emphasize the actress’s intent to preserve professional boundaries and personal agency amid a culture that often conflates entertainment with romance.
Images accompanying this article offer a glimpse of the Riverdale era’s star power and its continued cultural footprint.
The evolving conversation about Riverdale’s cast dynamics reflects both the enduring interest in the show and the broader media environment in which relationships on and off screen are closely scrutinized. Petsch’s explicit denial and Apa’s retrospective reflections together illustrate how former co‑stars manage narratives about their experiences during a high‑visibility project that remains a touchstone for fans years after its finale.