Hudson Williams opened up in a recent Wonderland interview about the clear boundaries he and his Heated Rivalry co-star Connor Storrie established early on to protect their individual careers and keep their real-life friendship private.

He explained that while they deeply care for each other, they consciously avoid being seen together constantly in public (like at fashion shows or events) to prevent it from turning into a "branding" thing or making them feel attached at the hip. They even coordinate to attend different events if both are invited to the same one.Key quote from Hudson:
“Connor and I are aligned. We want to be different artists. We don’t want to be the Olsen twins. We want to be Connor and Hudson, with different filmographies and different deals. As much as we love each other, our friendship doesn’t need to be public. [...] We’re stubborn, selfish artists who want to be our own people. We’re like, ‘I love you. I don’t want to do everything with you.’”
He referenced a quote from director Jacob Tierney: “Shane and Ilya are for the public. Connor and Hudson are for themselves.” (Shane and Ilya being their characters on the show.)This approach has sparked mixed reactions online:
  • Many fans and commentators praise it as healthy and mature — protecting their authentic friendship from becoming performative or a marketing tool, while allowing each to build separate careers.
  • Some Heated Rivalry fans feel it's a direct message to stop "shipping" the actors themselves (as real people) rather than just the characters.
  • A portion of the responses saw the Olsen twins reference as unnecessary shade or overly ambitious (given they're mainly known from one major project so far), with comments like "ain’t nobody was wondering what their ugly ahh was doing" or questioning why they'd compare themselves at this stage.
Overall, it's being viewed as a smart, intentional move to prioritize long-term artistic independence over short-term fan-service visibility. Their on-screen chemistry clearly translates to strong off-screen friendship, but they're drawing a firm line to keep it real and private.