While there are many die-hard Caryl and Bethyl shippers who have argued for Daryl’s heterosexuality, others have maintained that Daryl is gay.
2015, @TheWalkingChay, quoted in Sarah Jane Mulvey, "The Zen of Daryl: A New Masculinity within AMC's The Walking Dead", thesis submitted to Bridgewater State University, page 52:
Crying....Caryl is life #TeamCaryl
2016, Wayne Yuen, "Gruesome Walkers", in The Ultimate Walking Dead and Philosophy: Hungry for More (ed. Wayne Yuen), page 247:
As much fun as it would be to imagine a "Darol" or "Caryl" relationship it just isn't true.
2016, Danielle S. Tepper, "Top Five TV Power Couples", Town & Country Gazette, 17 March 2016, page 40:
Richonne just seemed like something all of Tumblr was screaming for but might not ever happen (like Caryl, though I'm still gunning for that one), but now it's actually real.