As Outer Banks fans gear up for the release of the highly anticipated third season of the hit Netflix series, Madelyn Cline is opening up about her relationship status with her ex-boyfriend and co-star, Chase Stokes.
Cline graces the cover of the February/March issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, where she discusses Outer Banks’ success, life in the spotlight and working so closely with Stokes after their split.
The two co-stars -- Cline plays Sarah Cameron and Stokes plays the show’s lead, John B. -- began dating in 2020 while filming the first season of Outer Banks. However, the pair broke up a year later in November 2021.
When asked if their real-life split made their on-screen romance awkward, Cline shares, “We always said that the job remains untouched. Nothing else, personal or negative, will touch the job.”
While admitting that it’s “not always easy," Cline notes, "Our job is to leave the show better than we found it, to leave the season better than we found it. And I’m really appreciative of that."
In the series, Sarah and John B.’s romance has an enemies-to-lovers dynamic. The show follows John B.’s ragtag group of friends dubbed “pogues” who set off on a mission to find out why his father went missing and discover his disappearance is tied to hidden treasure.
Outer Banks was an instant success for Netflix after the first season’s release. With the series going viral, Cline and Stokes’ relationship caught the public’s attention just the same -- which Cline says was overwhelming, especially when the fan-favorite couple broke up.
"My thing is, I don’t owe anyone an explanation. I am a really private person. There’s a part of me that is for me and nobody else,” Cline tells Cosmopolitan. “But in hindsight, duh, making my relationship public made it everybody else’s business. And I realized the negative side effects of that while going through the breakup, realizing I had let people in and then felt like I couldn’t get anybody out. It just hit me like a freight train. I wanted us both to move on and be happy. People see the need for sides. There are no sides—there’s no winning or losing in a breakup.”
Now, over a year after her split from Stokes and ahead of the release of their show’s third season, Cline reveals she’s “happily taken," thanks to a new relationship. Though she does not reveal whom she is dating.
“I am happily taken. All I know is he makes me incredibly happy. And I’ve truly never been happier, and I feel very, very empowered,” Cline shares.
The third season of Outer Banks premieres on Netflix on Feb. 23.
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