The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus: Daryl and Leah Relationship Is “Not Really What It Seems to Be”

Does Daryl (Norman Reedus) really belong with Leah (Lynn Collins)? According to Reedus, the newest romantic relationship on The Walking Dead isn’t “really what it seems to be.” In Sunday’s 1018, “Find Me,” it’s revealed that Daryl had a mostly secret romance with Leah during the years he was out in the woods trying to find Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). Instead, he finds Leah and her dog — named Dog — and at one point before the events of Seasons 9 and 10, Daryl leaves the now-missing Leah a note telling her: “I belong with you. Find me.”

“It was interesting because I’ve been fighting having something like this happen since day one,” Reedus told Entertainment Weekly about Daryl’s first romantic storyline in ten seasons. “And I was like, ‘Please don’t hook me up with anybody. Everyone’s going to yell at me about it!’”

Despite the reactions to Daryl and Leah from Walking Dead fans, some of it negative, Reedus teases there’s more story still to come.

“I woke up this morning to a lot of messages being like, ‘How could you be with her? What’s wrong with you?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, it’s not really what it seems to be,’” Reedus said.

“We had a little talk about it. I was super nervous. And you never know what to expect with those things,” Reedus added of Daryl’s first-ever on-screen love story. “So I just wanted to stay true to Daryl, and depending on what happens next, you kind of have to play it a certain way or otherwise something else might not work later. So I tiptoed around them as much as possible.”

Collins has already hinted her character will return after disappearing on Daryl, but Reedus is the first to confirm Leah’s story “will go other places.” Whether that means Leah returns in the upcoming final season or the spin-off series coming down the road remains to be seen.

“I wanted to handle it with very gentle gloves on. I know what people think. I know what I hear. I know what my character would think about it,” Reedus said. “And I don’t know if I was a hundred percent ready for it, but it’s got more to it. I’ll say that.”

Follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter for all things TWD. New episodes of The Walking Dead extended Season 10 premiere Sundays at 9 pm ET/8c on AMC.