Madelyn Cline Believes She and Chase Stokes' 'Outer Banks' Characters Were Meant to Be 'Since Day 1'

Warning: This post contains spoilers about season 3 of Outer Banks.

For Madelyn Cline, Outer Banks' Sarah and John B (played by Cline's real-life ex Chase Stokes) will always be "endgame."

The two have been meant to be "since day one," Cline told Entertainment Tonight.

That doesn't mean there won't be some setbacks along the way — notably, Sarah unexpectedly spending the night with her ex-boyfriend Topper (Austin North) in the latest batch of episodes, which dropped on Netflix last week.

"Fairy-tale relationships are wonderful and everybody dreams of it, but they're also still real relationships in real life that deal with real problems," Cline, 25, explained. "It's all about how you get through it."

And though the actress has full confidence in her character's connection with John B, Sarah's choices still startled her when she first read the new scripts.

"I was so scared about this storyline because I felt that inherently wasn't in Sarah's nature," Cline said. "I wanted to make it feel like ultimately she was so lost and so confused. John B has been Sarah's home, and she gets kicked out of that home, figuratively, so where does she go?"

Stokes, 30, had a bit more sympathy, acknowledging that John B had his own part in the argument that led Sarah to step away. "Cheating is never warranted, but John B does her dirty too," he told ET.

As for Topper, North said it's time for his character to "move on," adding, "I don't think any of it is healthy."

Cline also spoke with InStyle about how she was impacted by the escalating emotional stakes of season 3.

"I remember reading the script and choking a little bit," she said, "because in the past season [Sarah's] gone through a really crazy physical adventure, and then this year has kind of been a big emotional ride."

She continued, "Obviously, she's got daddy issues, relationship issues and family issues, so [I] just try to make them as real and relatable as possible and approach it with as much empathy as I possibly could."

Cline added that "there's a lot going on with Sarah" — and, though Outer Banks has a little bit more treasure hunt-style action, she's been able to make sense of her character's journey by incorporating her own lived experience.

"Ultimately — even though these kids are on a really crazy large-scale adventure — all of the emotions we're going through, whether it be complications in relationships, friendships, family — that's all human," she said. "Yeah there is some pull from my life and past experiences where I can relate an emotion."

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Seasons 1–3 of Outer Banks are streaming now on Netflix.