Outer Banks fans have watched the cast change on and off screen since the series first debuted.
The hit Netflix series, which premiered in 2020, introduced viewers to a coastal town in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which is divided into wealthy and working-class sides. Meanwhile, a group of teenagers accidentally find themselves at the center of a dangerous treasure hunt.
Outer Banks set the scene for multiple fan-favorite fictional couples with John B (Chase Stokes) and Sarah (Madelyn Cline) kicking things off. As John B and Sarah fell in love while trying not to get divided by their social status, their offscreen counterparts also started dating.
Stokes and Cline took their romance public after the show premiered. Us Weekly confirmed in November 2021 that the pair called it quits after more than one year of dating. Stokes and Cline have since discussed coming back to film more seasons of the show after their split.
“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 in February 2023. “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 echoed Stokes’ sentiment, telling Cosmopolitan that same month, “We always said that the job remains untouched. Nothing else, personal or negative, will touch the job. And while that’s not always easy, 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 addition to John B and Sarah’s love story, characters Kiara (Madison Bailey) and JJ (Rudy Pankow) turned their friendship into something more during season 3. Pope (Jonathan Daviss), meanwhile, found a perfect match in newcomer Cleo (Carlacia Grant), which fans can expect to see developed more in the fourth season.
Scroll down to see then-and-now photos of the Outer Banks stars: