Outer Banks’ Sarah Cameron, John B's Relationship Timeline (2024)

Val and Vlad ’till death do they part! Outer Banks stars Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline’s relationship may have not lasted, but their character onscreen romance is forever.

Stokes and Cline portray John BRutledge and Sarah Cameron, respectively, on the Netflix series, which premiered in April 2020 and introduced viewers to the coastal island offNorth Carolina. The Maryland native and theGlass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery star’s characters, who are from opposite sides of the tracks, form an instant connection, facing — and overcoming — roadblocks that threaten to tear them apart at every turn.

Fans instantly fell in love with John B and Sarah’s Romeo andJuliet-like love story, much duein part to the actor'spalpable chemistry. The sparks between Stokes and Cline eventually flew behind the camera, as well, and the duo confirmed they were dating in June 2020.

Initially, the twosome were afraid of how their real-life romance would affect the show and tried their best not to act on their feelings.

“At that point in time, we were so anxious about the show and so nervous about constantly screwing up. I think we were all under this sort of strange umbrella of, like, ‘Dear God, we got an opportunity. Let’s not screw it up!’ So, it was just always work-oriented — really until the day we wrapped,” Stokes exclusively toldUs Weeklyin February 2021. “It wasn’t until after that, until we started to kind of get into the [coronavirus] lockdown where we were like, ‘Is there something here or am I crazy?’ That’s sort of where it bloomed from there. I think we were just so invested in the work.”

The pair were together for less than a year before they called it quits and Us confirmed the split in November 2021, after season 2 of Outer Banks was released on Netflix. Despite their breakup, neither of the Stranger Things alumslet it ruin their onscreen dynamic.

“Honestly, and this isn’t just me: they’re pros,” showrunner Jonas Pate toldEntertainment Weeklyin February 2023 ahead of the season 3 premiere. “They handled themselves unbelievably on set, and you would never know that they had an off-camera relationship. They were great. It’s a credit to Chase and to Maddie, they just put their heads down and did the work, so good for them.”

Stokes for his part, gushed about his exand their ability to always put the work above their private lives.

"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," the actor toldEW at the time. "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, meanwhile, echoed the Tell Me Your Secret actor's sentiments. "We always said that the job remains untouched," she told Cosmopolitan in February 2023. "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."

While Cline and Stokes' relationship may have fizzled, Sarah and John Bcontinue to be a fan-favorite pairing on the action-adventure series. The pairhave overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles — including Sarah’s father’s attempted murder of both John Band his father — even exchanging vows in the third episode of season 2.

“I give you this sweaty piece of my father’s bandana as a token of my love,” John B croons to Sarah, who is recovering from a gunshot wound after her brother, Rafe (Drew Starkey), shot her. She replies, “By the power vested in me, by the sky, the stars, and the sea, I now pronounce us husband and wife.”

As for if John Band Sarah will be endgame by the time Outer Banks wraps — it was renewed for season 4 in February 2023 ahead of its season 3 premiere — the Between Waves star told EW that the show will stick to its guns when it comes to putting its characters through the wringer.

"Part of me wants to continue down the road of peace for John B and Sarah, but if there’s anything we know about this show, it’s that it’s going to take you for a wild ride," he said. "They’re definitely, yet again, going to be tested."

Keep scrolling to relive season 1 and 2 of John B and Sarah’s epic romance:

While he’d seen her in passing, the twosome’s first moment came when John B noticed Sarah from afar during a party on the beach in the show’s pilot episode. He doesn't approach her, however, because she's a wealthy Kook who lives on Figure 8, and he's part of the working-class Pogues.

After John B “borrows” scuba gear from Sarah’s dad, Ward (Charles Esten), and gets caught, he tracks her down and blames her for telling on him. Sarah, for her part, fires back at John B and lets him know she didn’t rat him out. While the pair are initially at odds, the sparks between them are obvious from the very beginning.

After John B injures himself during a bike crash after trying to escape CPS, Sarah finds him on the side of the road and offers to take him to the hospital. He then convinces her to sneak onto a tugboat and travel to the University of North Carolina to look at documents Ward donated to the school.

John B then shares that he’s on a mission to discover buried treasure his father was chasing before he disappeared and the duo give each other “secret” nicknames – Val and Vlad — before spending the night in the library together looking for answers.

After they head back to the island, they begin to go their separate ways but end up having their first kiss in the rain. After acknowledging their connection, the two promise to keep their romance a secret.

The couple see each other at the Outer Banks' annual Midsommar party after JJ (Rudy Pankow) gives Sarah a note from John B using their code names. They manage to steal a kiss before Sarah’s boyfriend, Topper (Austin North), catches them.

The duo hit a snag in their relationship when BFF Kiara (Madison Bailey) gets mad John B told Sarah about the treasure. He tries to tell his friends that he’s using Sarah for information but the Pogues don’t buy it.

After meeting up in a secret location in the middle of the night, Topper tracks them down and explodes in a jealous rage, leaving John B injured — a moment that leads Sarah’s dad to take John B in and act as his “legal guardian.”

In the midst of the chaos, John B takes Sarah to his favorite hiding place on the island and the two sleep together for the first time.

The lovebirds hit another relationship bump when Sarah’s dad tries to kill John B in the season 1 finale, revealing that he attempted to murder John B’s father in the search for treasure.

When Ward is unsuccessful on his mission, he frames John B for the death of Sheriff Susan Peterkin — who was actually shot by Sarah’s brother, Rafe — and Sarah is forced to choose between her boyfriend and her family.

Sarah is shot by her brother, Rafe, in the season 2 premiere after she and John B steal gold from him. They twosome find a doctor who operates on her wound before finding a boat to escape on.

While on their way home from the Bahamas, the couple exchange unofficial vows in season 2 episode 3 and John B gives Sarah part of his bandana in replacement of a wedding ring.

Ward drugs his daughter with tea and kidnaps her while trying to escape with gold to the Caribbean on the show's season 2 finale. John B and the rest of the Pogues, however, sneak onto the ship and successfully rescue Sarah before escaping by jumping overboard and landing on a deserted island.