Followers of Heated Rivalry can’t get sufficient of the electrical chemistry between Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams — and with that depth has come one very persistent query: are they greater than buddies? Now, each actors are setting the document straight.
Connor, 25, addressed the hypothesis head-on in a December 2025 interview with Vulture, acknowledging that the road between on-screen intimacy and actual life can really feel blurry to viewers.
“For me, it doesn’t really feel spicy in any respect — like, that’s me and my greatest buddy,” he defined. “That is the primary time in my life I’m having this many eyes on me. They’ve seen me bare, they’ve seen me kiss, they’ve seen me be in love with a person on display — it’s solely regular for individuals to attempt to switch that over to mine and Hudson’s actual life.”
Whereas Connor understands the curiosity, he’s clear about the place his focus lies — and it’s not on feeding rumors about his private life.
“I really feel honored to have the ability to carry somebody to life that so many individuals really feel seen, understood, and represented by, and I feel that transcends whoever I’m sleeping with in my actual life,” he stated.
Hudson echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that closeness doesn’t have to return with labels. Based on him, the best way he and Connor work together is rooted in real friendship — and luxury.
“I would like queer individuals telling queer tales, but in addition, there’s the component of Connor and I—we’re greatest buddies, and we love expressing that bodily,” Hudson instructed Deadline earlier this month. “You see individuals who infer or assume, and also you type of need to let that go. However then once more, I by no means wanna cease expressing the love I’ve for Connor bodily, and I’m by no means actually going to, and I feel a number of issues will be true directly.”
As for filming the present’s most talked-about scenes, Hudson admits he truly prefers the intimate moments to the athletic ones.
“I’d quite do the intercourse scenes as a result of the hockey scenes—my ft damage after which I cramp and I’m not that good, so I’ve to be very diligent with ensuring I don’t seem like a phony,” he joked. “However with the intercourse scenes, we rehearse them so closely and we knew what we have been gonna do getting into, that they’re additionally a variety of enjoyable.”
Even collection director Jacob Tierney has weighed in on the off-screen hypothesis — or quite, why he avoids it altogether.
“I don’t suppose there’s any cause to get into that stuff,” he instructed Xtra. “You possibly can’t ask questions like that once you’re casting—it’s truly towards the regulation. It’s a must to gauge any individual’s enthusiasm and willingness to do the work. Each of those guys got here in able to make this story really feel genuine and hit it out of the park.”
For now, Connor and Hudson appear content material letting the work converse for itself — and protecting their real-life relationship precisely the place they need it: grounded, real, and drama-free.
