Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes' Relationship Timeline

Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes dated for over a year before announcing their breakup in November 2021.

The costars met in 2019, just weeks before filming began on Outer Banks season 1. The duo stole fans' hearts when they played star-crossed lovers Sarah Cameron and John B on Outer Banks and by the time the show started streaming on Netflix in April 2020, dating rumors were already swirling, though the couple didn't confirm their romance until June 2020.

"The show coming out was already a pretty big life change," Cline told Entertainment Tonight. "I think we were just wanting to kind of give it some time and enjoy it while it's new and fresh and just kind of keep that to ourselves."

Over the next year and a half, the pair shared several sweet moments — shooting a sexy music video, making their red carpet debut and accepting an award for best kiss — before sources confirmed their split in November 2021.

Following their spilt, the exes sparked reconciliation rumors on several occasions. Then, in January 2023, Stokes confirmed his romance with musician Kelsea Ballerini.

In February 2023, Stokes and Cline shared what it was like to shoot season 3 of Outer Banks following their very public breakup.

"Mads and I have been working together now for 30 episodes, and we made a promise to each other before we even started dating that the work was always going to come first," Stokes told Entertainment Weekly. "And that no matter what happens in our personal lives, and the ways that life sometimes takes you in different directions, that we're always going to honor the work. That stayed 100 percent truthful this season."

From an on-screen romance turned real to starring in a Kygo music video together, here is everything to know about Madelyn Cline and Chase Stoke's relationship.

April 2019: Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes meet after being cast on Outer Banks

Before they nabbed their roles in Outer Banks, Cline and Stokes both played small roles in Netflix's Stranger Things, with Stokes having a quick scene in season 1 and Cline having a brief appearance in season 2. While some fans assumed the pair crossed paths while working on the hit sci-fi show, they didn't actually connect until April 2019, right before Outer Banks' first season started shooting.

"I've heard a couple speculations out there that we met on Stranger Things," Stokes said in a video for Life & Style. "We actually never met. She did season 2, I did season 1. We didn't meet until, like, a week and a half or two weeks before we started Outer Banks."

April 2020: Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes spark dating rumors

When Netflix released Outer Banks in April 2020, viewers couldn't help but notice the chemistry between Stokes and Cline, igniting rumors of a real-life relationship.

Stokes' admission that the two were quarantining together during the pandemic, along with costars Drew Starkey and Rudy Pankow, only fueled the fire.

"We're all staying together, quarantining together," he said. "We made a huge fort in the living room, so there's this true honesty to the friendship you see on-screen, that is equally present off-screen as well."

The pair then started leaving flirty comments on each other's social media pages, which fans were quick to notice.

May 6, 2020: Madelyn Cline admits on-screen relationship with Chase Stokes felt "real"

Though their off-screen romance was still unconfirmed, Cline revealed to Seventeen that she and Stokes added their own touches to the Outer Banks script to make Sarah and John B's romance feel more authentic.

"There were things that Chase and I specifically added to the script that felt personal," she said. "You have to sell it. It's got to be compelling. Thankfully, the cast all clicked and we had such great chemistry, so we all had this friendship from the very beginning. So building on that and then projecting it on the screen felt very, very real."

June 14, 2020: Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes make their relationship Instagram official

In June 2020, OBX fans got the confirmation they'd been waiting for when Stokes made his relationship with Cline Instagram official by sharing photos of them picnicking at a beach. He captioned the post, "cats outta the bag."

Cline commented on the post, "Topper punching the air rn" and "I've fallen and I cant get up."

Their Outer Banks costar Jonathan Daviss also commented on the post and said, "Well it's about time."

July 18, 2020: Chase Stokes opens up about his relationship with Madelyn Cline

With their relationship finally public, Stokes opened up about how his relationship with Cline turned romantic while the pair was filming the hit show.

"It was cool to work with somebody you're really good friends with," Stokes told Today. "To take the time to fall for each other after the show had wrapped was really cool. I was talking to my mom about it ... it was cute and fun and it's super cool to be a part of something with your partner and watch the success of it altogether."

September 18, 2020: Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes star in a music video together

Right as production began on season 2 of Outer Banks, Kygo released a steamy music video starring Cline and Stokes.

The video — shot in the Outer Banks, of course — was a remix of Donna Summer's 1979 disco hit, "Hot Stuff," and it showed the couple bicycling around town, sneaking into a local bar, hitting the dance floor and then finally embracing in a passionate kiss.

November 11, 2020: Madelyn Cline says she is in love with Chase Stokes

Five months after going public, Cline admitted she was in love with Stokes.

"It's really cool. Love is tight," she told Entertainment Tonight. "It's cool to share this experience with your favorite people and also your favorite person ... I feel very happy."

The actress also opened up about what it was like working with Stokes on season 2 of the show now that they are dating.

"I think because we were friends before this, we understood how we worked as individuals before we were seeing each other. We knew how we worked professionally and we knew each other's personal boundaries," she said. "... As a rule, we never bring anything negative to set. If there's a disagreement or a conversation that needs to be had that could potentially rain on the parade for that day, that's never something that happens before work."

December 21, 2020: Chase Stokes shares a birthday tribute for Madelyn Cline

To celebrate his girlfriend turning 23, Stokes posted a bunch of sweet pictures of Cline on Instagram.

"It's quite rare to meet somebody and feel everything change," he wrote in the caption of the since-deleted photo dump. "Thank you for making the coldest days warm, for your infectious love, and being the best dog mom to Lil mi."

March 5, 2021: Chase Stokes shares an update on working with Madelyn Cline

While shooting season 2 in March 2021, Stokes shared how the experience of working with Cline had changed since they first started playing Sarah and John B.

"It's been a lot of fun to drive together to work, come home and throw ideas off of each other about different scenes, collaborating, watching her get excited about her work and be her cheerleader," he said. "The biggest difference now is I get to be even more proud of her as my partner when I watch her work."

April 4, 2021: Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes celebrate their first anniversary

The couple was still going strong in April 2021 when they marked their one-year anniversary with endearing Instagram posts.

"365 w/ u ❤️," Stokes captioned a now-deleted photo of Cline walking down a street ahead of him.

Cline posted a similar now-deleted picture and wrote: "Thanks for helping me keep track of my belongings for a whole year (: adore u."

May 18, 2021: Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline make their red carpet debut

The duo hit their first red carpet together in matching bright red outfits at the MTV Movie & TV Awards in May 2021. According to Cline, their color-coordinated looks weren't even planned.

"When we found out we were both wearing basically the same color, we were like, 'Wait .... ' Like, I walked upstairs ... and I was like 'Oh my gosh!' " she told ET.

Later that night, the couple took home the prize for best kiss and celebrated on stage by recreating the iconic scene.

August 24, 2021: Madelyn Cline reveals the origin of her first on-screen kiss with Chase Stokes

Three months after taking home the statue for best kiss with Stokes, Cline shared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that Sarah and John B's epic kiss wasn't originally supposed to happen in the rain.

"We were just supposed to kiss in normal weather," she told the host during the Aug. 24 episode. But thanks to a massive downpour, the couple shifted gears and ended up shooting in the storm. "We looked at each other and we were, like, 'Oh, wait, this could be really cool and romantic.' It ended up being this super serendipitous thing where it ended up being kind of like The Notebook."

September 16, 2021: Madelyn Cline shares birthday wishes for Chase Stokes on Instagram

In honor of his 29th birthday, Cline shared a series of now-deleted photos of Stokes on her Instagram Story. She also added the adorable message: "Happiest birthday to you, nerd." Stokes responded to the shoutout by resharing one of the videos with the caption, "Thank you for exposing my bedtime routine."

November 1, 2021: PEOPLE confirms that Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes have broken up

On Nov. 1, 2021, sources confirmed to PEOPLE that Stokes and Cline had called it quits after more than a year of dating, to the dismay of Outer Banks fans.

"Madelyn and Chase are no longer together," the source said. "They were trying to work things out privately but broke up a couple of months ago."

Another source added that "they are definitely broken up."

November 28, 2021: Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes are seen out and about together

Four weeks after PEOPLE confirmed that Cline and Stokes had gone their separate ways, the two were spotted out together over Thanksgiving weekend and appeared to be on good terms.

The costars took pics with fans and were seen dancing together in a TikTok video posted by a fan account on Nov. 28. In the clip, Cline and Stokes smiled for the camera while holding matching drinks. But a source told PEOPLE, "They are just friends."

December 2, 2021: Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes both attend the People's Choice Awards

The pair reunited at the 2021 People's Choice Awards along with the rest of the Outer Banks cast on Dec. 7.

December 21, 2021: Madelyn Cline is seen out with Zack Bia

By Dec. 21, things seemed to have taken a turn when Cline and Stokes deleted most of their photos of each other on their Instagrams. Then, Cline was spotted grabbing dinner in Santa Monica, California with DJ Zack Bia just days before her 24th birthday.

On an episode of BFFs with Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards podcast, Bia explained that they are not dating, but enjoy spending time together.

"We are not dating," he said. "We hang out all the time."

He added, "It is one of those things where we really enjoy hanging out and enjoy going to dinner. But we never officially started dating and probably will never officially stop because we are just hanging out. We are enjoying it and not even thinking about what it is."

January 25, 2022: Madelyn Cline denies she's quitting Outer Banks

As Stokes and Cline appeared to branch off, rumors circulated that Cline was leaving OBX due to the split. The actress took to social media in January 2022 to set the record straight.

"Hi so I'm getting asked if s3 is my final season of obx," Cline wrote in a since-deleted Instagram Story. "I will come back for as many seasons as they will have me. I love my job and there's not a day that goes by that I'm not grateful for it, and for everyone who has watched it."

February 28, 2022: Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes hold hands in a cast photo

To fans' delight, Stokes sparked reconciliation rumors on Feb. 28 when he shared two cast photos on Instagram ahead of Outer Banks' highly-anticipated third season. In both of them, Stokes and Cline were smiling and walking hand-in-hand.

Whether the pics were simply part of the promo for season 3 or an indication of something more remains to be seen. But either way, at least it looks like Sarah and John B are still going strong.

January 18, 2023: Chase Stokes confirms romance with Kelsea Ballerini

After months of reconciliation rumors, it seems that Stokes and Cline have called it quits for good. The Outer Banks star confirmed to TMZ that he's dating Ballerini.

"She's a sweet girl," he told the outlet. "We're having a good time and that's all I'll say."

February 3, 2023: Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline open up about shooting season 3 of Outer Banks post-breakup

Stokes and Cline announced their breakup just months before they began shooting season 3 of Outer Banks. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the exes opened up about their on-set dynamic.

"Mads and I have been working together now for 30 episodes, and we made a promise to each other before we even started dating that the work was always going to come first," Stokes told the outlet. "And that no matter what happens in our personal lives, and the ways that life sometimes takes you in different directions, that we're always going to honor the work. That stayed 100 percent truthful this season."

Cline added: "We had a working relationship before we had a personal relationship, and our job from day one has always been to leave the show better than we found it. I'm really, really happy and I'm very proud of the work this season, and I'm incredibly grateful for my co-stars and their professionalism and just how talented each and every one of them are."

Stokes went on to gush about Cline, calling her an "incredible person" and a "rockstar" actress.

"Regardless of now not being together in a personal relationship, I'm still always going to be one of her biggest fans, and I'm super, super proud of all of her accomplishments inside the show and outside the show," he said.

February 7, 2023: Madelyn Cline says she's in a new relationship

Cline revealed that she's "happily taken" in an interview with Cosmopolitan, her first relationship since dating Stokes.

"All I know is he makes me incredibly happy," Cline said of her new partner. "And I've truly never been happier, and I feel very, very empowered."

February 23, 2023: Madelyn Cline says Outer Banks set is still a "safe space" after breakup with Chase Stokes

During an interview with PEOPLE, Cline shared that she and Stokes were able to remain "professional" while shooting season 3 of Outer Banks following their very public breakup.

"At the end of the day, there's always been a safe space with the job," she said. "We've said from day one, our job is always to leave the show and the season better than when we left it last. And everybody is still very much a family."

October 10, 2024: Kelsea Ballerini calls Madelyn Cline "so hot"

In honor of the premiere of Outer Banks season 4, Ballerini posted a TikTok video where she ranked the characters of the hit Netflix show. When Madelyn Cline's picture popped up, she said: "So hot. So hot. We stan Sarah Cameron and Madelyn Cline in this house."