Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon Gay? 'Walking Dead' Plot Rumors Debunked Ahead of New Episodes

Easily one of the most popular characters in "The Walking Dead" TV series, Daryl Dixon has never been featured with a solid romantic interest. There have been hints and near-misses with both Carol and Beth, but nothing ever was confirmed.

This has led to speculation among fans of the series over whether Daryl – a character who is not derived from the comic books but was created specifically for the AMC series – could actually be gay.

In a recent interview with Conan, Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl, said, "If that's the story [that his character is gay] they gave me, I would rock that story. I'm not afraid of it."

Reedus further said he had discussed the idea of Daryl being gay early on with the executive producer then, Frank Darabont. Darabont had actually asked Reedus if he was open to the possibility, and Reedus had said, "Hell yeah, let's do it." However, Darabont left the show after Season 1.

Creator Robert Kirkman also talked about Daryl's sexuality in the past, and he mentioned that Daryl being gay had indeed been discussed. If ever there was an opportunity in the show to explore this, they would, he said. But later on, he confirmed that Daryl was straight. They would have had no issues following the gay storyline, but the decision was made not to go with it.

The show has, however, introduced its first two openly gay characters in Aaron (Ross Marquand) and Eric (Jordan Woods-Robinson) this season. The show also introduced lesbian character Tara (Alanna Masterson) last season.

Despite reports of the opposite, rumors about Daryl being gay still have failed to die down, and with the coming episodes seeing Daryl and Aaron spending a lot of time together, those rumors are sure to escalate again.

Meanwhile, Reedus recently shared some teasers on the upcoming episodes, saying to ETOnline, "There's something that's going to happen — and I can't tell you what it is — but somebody turns out to be not who you think they are, and it's an interesting turn of events."

Back to Daryl and Aaron, there are talks that Aaron will try to convince Daryl to become a recruiter for Alexandria, since he knows how to take care of himself out there and he knows the good people from the bad. Aaron will spring this on Daryl when he invites him for dinner at his house and shows his garage full of motorcycle parts. Fans know that Daryl has a sweet spot for motorcycles, so this might just be the beginning of a good friendship. Whether it becomes a romance is still up in the air. We know Reedus is open, we know the producers are also open, but at the end of the day, the story goes where the story needs to go and people just have to wait and see.