Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb. Photo:
Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty
Leslie Bibb is spreading the White Lotus wealth to her real-life partner, Sam Rockwell.
Episode 5 of the hit series’ third season featured Rockwell as an old friend of Walton Goggins’ mysterious, eccentric character Rick. After Rick suddenly left his vacation at the White Lotus resort with girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) to make a last-minute trip to Bangkok, viewers wondered what business he had to tend to.
After he arrived at the hotel in the Thai capital, Rick met up with Rockwell, who had a black duffle bag in hand. The two sat down for a drink, but Rockwell revealed he is now sober, proving to Rick just how much the people around him have changed as they’ve grown older.
“I found religion,” Rockwell explained, sharing how Buddhism helped him uncover himself on a deeper level. “I took the partying thing as far as it can go.”
Sam Rockwell (left) and Walton Goggins. Theo Wargo/Getty; Araya Doheny/FilmMagic/Getty
“Yeah, you did always take it to the next level,” Rick replied, sharing his true intentions for the reunion: “I kind of figured we’d be doing that tonight.”
Rick wasn’t completely missing out on what he went for, though.
“I also wanted to bring you what you asked for,” Rockwell said, sliding the duffle bag to Rick’s feet. “Hope you don’t have to use that,” he noted, hinting at its contents.
Rockwell went on to describe, in depth, his “thousands” of sexcapades since moving to Thailand, shocking Rick with realization that “maybe what I really want, is to be one of these Asian girls.”
“We all have our Achilles heel, man,” he told Rick, who seems to be contemplating his own life choices.
Later, at the end of the episode, Rick finally arrived back in his room and unveiled a black handgun from the duffle bag. Staring down at it, he put it back and called Chelsea, but she didn’t answer.
Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb. Rob Latour/Variety/Penske Media via Getty
Rockwell’s perplexing, weapon-dealing character differs entirely from Bibb’s, who stars as Kate, a buttoned-up Texas mom on a girls’ retreat with her friends.
Bibb never indicated that Rockwell, who she has been with since 2007, had joined her in Thailand before, making his appearance a complete surprise to viewers. In fact, while filming the show in July, Bibb shared that she and Rockwell went much longer than they planned without seeing each other.
“reunited… and it feels so good…,” she wrote in an Instagram post of them hugging. “sometime[s] rules have to be broken and our three week rule had to be three months because of our work schedules and gawddamn nothin’ feels as good as being back with #sammyrocks…”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The White Lotus airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max.
