Madelyn Cline is reflecting on her past offscreen romance with Outer Banks costar Chase Stokes.
“I think at the time I didn’t realize what the repercussions of inviting so many people into — let’s be honest — something that’s intimate,” Cline, 27, said on the Thursday, March 19, episode of the “Therapuss” podcast. “I didn’t understand it. I was so in love.”
Cline and Stokes, 32, confirmed their relationship in June 2020 after months of fan speculation. The pair called it quits over one year later in November 2021. (Cline played Sarah Cameron on the Netflix drama, while Stokes portrayed John Booker “John B.” Routledge.)
“I think they loved it because of us, but they also loved John B and Sarah first and foremost,” Cline said, adding that it was “totally” hard to separate. “You look at any public breakup and you know, so many people are invested and of course, that was really hard.”
Cline noted that she and Stokes “still to this day” share a “very very big, huge, thing that is a massive part” of both of their lives.
“It was really, really hard to separate,” Cline said. “But, also like any breakup, you grow out of it, which is great. But there was a period of time there where I truly did not know which way was up, which way was down because Outer Banks and that public relationship was kind of my identity. And I was like, ‘Who the f— am I?’”
Cline shared that she’s “still figuring that out,” adding that uncovering her identity in the public eye is “a mind f—.”
“I have such respect for anyone in the public space who has found and created their identity and is so comfortably seated in that. I know it might seem that they are, and it may not be,” Cline said. “But I have so much respect for anyone, anyone that is in any way, shape or form, in the public space.”
Despite breaking up in real life, Cline and Stokes’ characters on Outer Banks are still romantically connected. The season 4 of the series, which dropped in 2024, saw Sarah Cameron discovering she is pregnant with John B’s child.
Off screen, Cline has been linked to Zack Bia, Jackson Guthy and Pete Davidson since her split from her costar. Stokes, for his part, has moved on with Kelsea Ballerini.
While appearing on a November 2023 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Ballerini, 31, addressed speculation that she feels “threatened” by Stokes and Cline spending time together.
“I met [Madelyn] and I talked to her and she’s lovely and I think she’s wildly talented,” Ballerini said. “I think the internet did its best to make it really weird and it just didn’t work for them. I’m stoked to be on set and vibe with everyone.”
The musician called herself a “girls girl” who doesn’t “buy into the bulls—” she sees online. “I think [Chase and Madelyn] have a beautiful working relationship and I’m excited to hang with her,” she said. “People want drama, they don’t want consistency and happiness.”
