Madelyn Cline Reveals the Question She Asked Ex Chase Stokes After Their Breakup

Madelyn Cline Reveals the Question She Asked Ex Chase Stokes After Their Breakup https://ift.tt/2OW6iCY

The actress opens up about how she and her ‘Outer Banks’ costar found their way back to friendship after ending their real-life romance in 2021

Madelyn Cline; Chase Stokes
Credit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Jamie McCarthy/Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes dated for more than a year when the first season of Outer Banks premiered in 2020
• Cline shared a rare comment on their 2021 split in a new interview as she reflected on how they were able to “revert to the friendship that we always had”
• She previously said that “there was a period of time there where I truly did not know which way was up, which way was down,” following the breakup, because the relationship was “kind of my identity”

Madelyn Cline offered a rare reflection on how she handled her split from Chase Stokes midway through Outer Banks.

The costars started dating in 2020 when the Netflix series first premiered and split in 2021. Despite their off-camera breakup, they continued playing love interests Sarah Cameron and John B. on the show in seasons three through five.

“There were moments when it was difficult, absolutely,” Cline, 28, told The Hollywood Reporter. “But once the dust kind of settled, we were able to just revert to the friendship that we always had.”

“At some point, you look at each other and you’re like, ‘Are you ready to stop being miserable? Because I’m ready,’” she shared of how they moved past the breakup.

Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes at the 2021 MTV Movie and TV Awards
Credit: Kevin Winter/2021 MTV Movie and TV Awards/Getty

In the aftermath of the breakup, both Cline and Stokes, both 33, remained professional with each other, something that Stokes told Entertainment Weekly in 2023 they had promised to do from the start.

“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, 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 told PEOPLE in 2023 that there was always “a safe space with the job,” so the challenges of working with Stokes post-breakup were mitigated.

“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. Outer Banks has always been a family. And I’m just happy that we are able to remain professional.”

Madelyn Cline as Sarah Cameron, Chase Stokes as John B in ‘Outer Banks’ season 5
Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Looking back on how public the relationship was, Cline said on a 2025 episode of Therapuss that she and Stokes “didn’t realize what the repercussions [were] of inviting so many people into something, let’s be honest, something that’s intimate.”

“I didn’t understand. I was just so in love,” she said. “And, you know, people loved it. I think they loved it because of us, but they also loved John B and Sarah, first and foremost.”

“For sure, there was a period of time there where I truly did not know which way was up, which way was down, because that — Outer Banks and that public relationship — was kind of my identity,” she admitted. “And I was like, ‘Who the f--- am I?’ I’m still figuring that out. But figuring that out and who you are in the public space just is truly such a mind f---.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Since their split, Cline has dated Jackson Guthy, Pete Davidson and influencer Henry Smith. Stokes, meanwhile, has been linked to Kelsea Ballerini since 2023.

The fifth and final season of Outer Banks is now streaming on Netflix.