It’s no secret that we here at J-14 are totally obsessed with Riverdale, and we can’t help but get caught up in all the wild fan theories out there. Between Cheryl Blossom being a witch and Joaquin being the secret son of FP Jones and Alice Cooper, the predictions fans come up with range from extremely convincing to downright absurd. There are honestly too many theories to count – but for the purposes of this post, we’re focusing on Archie Andrews and Cheryl Blossom.

archie saving cheryl

While we’ve previously analyzed why there are so many redheads in Riverdale (all the way down to pinpointing which characters carry the recessive gene) – this time, we’re breaking down the wild rumor that Archie and Cheryl are related. Although there does not seem to be any Andrews or Blossom family history on record supporting the case, the fact that both Archie and Cheryl are redheads just seems to be enough evidence for some viewers to be convinced – including Archiekins (er, KJ Apa) himself.

“I’ve wondered that before,” KJ admitted in an interview with Glamour.

Although he has dabbled with the idea, Madelaine Petsch seems to think it’s a pretty silly claim. She’s a real redhead IRL – and yes, and she knows plenty of redheads that aren’t her family members.

“I personally think no. I know plenty of other redheads that I’m not related to personally,” she said. “The town of Riverdale just has a lot characters with red hair, which is something other TV shows simply don’t do.”

PREACH. Riverdale is just giving us what other series aren’t – super hot gingers. Oh, and there’s also the fact that they’re just going off the OG characters. In other words, the hair color of the cartoons are simply just being translated on screen. Archie and Cheryl may be able to pass as relatives on TV, but they most definitely weren’t family members in the comic books. Who’s to say they’re not going to drop a bomb on us though?

Madelaine added, “It is Riverdale. My whole theory now is it’s Riverdale. Anything can happen!”

You can say that again, girl. OK, so let’s say they do end up to be related. Here’s what we know about each of their families…

The Blossoms

In Season 1, we find out that the Blossoms are one complicated family. Why? Because they’re also the Coopers. Let’s start with Clifford Blossom, Cheryl’s now-dead father and the one who killed her twin brother Jason. Now here’s where the Coopers come in. Clifford Blossom and Hal Cooper’s great-grandfathers were brothers, and one killed the other. So naturally, there’s beef. Cue Hal.

“Betty, you’re great-grandfather wasn’t just murdered by a Blossom. He WAS a Blossom. After the murder, our family severed ties with the Blossoms and their name. We took a new one: Cooper.”

betty cooper

None of the kids knew this, by the way, but the Cooper sisters and Blossom twins are third cousins. And Polly was going to marry Jason until his untimely death, so now she will raising their twin babies she’s expecting with the help of their families, without dear Jason. We know, WILD.

The Andrews

The Andrews family is a bit less complicated. It’s basically Archie and his parents. The red-headed cutie lives in Riverdale with his dad, construction business owner Fred Andrews. Although he and Archie’s mother Mary aren’t divorced, they are separated – as she moved away to Chicago. The only other really juicy tidbit regarding their fam is that Fred used to date Veronica Lodge’s mom Hermione back in high school. That’s about it.

Whether or not this theory turns out to be true, we’ll let you be the judge. All we’re saying is the Blossoms and Coopers seem to have the whole family cross-over thing covered. But hey, why not throw the Andrews into the mix?

Watch: All the Riverdale Ships You Need to Know

Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.