Country Singer Morgan Wade Scrubs Kyle Richards Photos

Fan speculation about the friendship between country singer Morgan Wade and "Real Housewives" star Kyle Richards flared up all over again when Wade took photos of Richards off her Instagram.

Us Magazine reported that fans of the two friends took note on Jan. 30 when the images suddenly vanished, "with the exception of a few snaps where the country singer was promoting her music."

"Richards' photos of Wade still remain on her own feed," added the writeup.

Social media started to buzz at once that a feud – or perhaps a romance gone sour – was behind the pictures disappearing, Us went on to say.

Others assigned motives to Richards that involved creating drama that could feed back into her "Real Housewives" storylines.

As previously reported, fans have speculated online that the two women are more than just friends, with the rumors being goosed along by Richards separating from her husband, Mauricio Umansky.

More fuel was added to the fire when Wade got a tattoo of the letter K – Richards' first initial. The two also have identical heart tattoos.

Wade and Richards say there's nothing romantic between them, but they did seem to enjoy making a music video with a lesbian storyline. In the video, which was set to Wade's single "Fall in Love with Me," Wade's character becomes the new girl in town. Richards' character keeps watch from her window as the new neighbor moves in, and takes an instant shine to her. The two begin to exchange love notes, as the lyrics declare, "Gonna make you fall in love with me" and poke fun at celebrity gossip: "You text me from the yacht, you're sipping cider / Don't worry, I ain't tipping off Insider."

Wade and Richards made a point of saying that the video was meant to "troll the trolls," and didn't reflect any real-life romance between them, but that hardly stopped fans looking to believe that an affair of the heart was going on.

It's unclear why Wade removed the images, but there could be a tame explanation – that Wade is uneasy with the level of scrutiny her friendship with the reality TV star has brought upon her.

"Earlier this month, Richards revealed during an Amazon Live that she carries guilt about placing so much attention on the musician," Us recalled.

"She just wants to make music and all of a sudden she was thrust into this like, world of gossip and tabloids and traveling and having paparazzi take pictures of her," Richards said of Wade, adding: "She just doesn't like any of that."

Have a look at what fans are saying on X (formerly known as Twitter):