Stronger for it. Chase Stokes opened up about how quarantine affected his romance with Madelyn Cline.
“It was like an immediate test,” the Outer Banks actor, 27, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, July 15, while discussing his partnership with Sweet Earth plant-based food. “It’s like, ‘Hey, you’re dating. Guess what? Figure it out. You’re stuck.’”
He added: “We’ve got really great communication, and the cool part is we’ve started a friendship first, which is awesome to be friends before you dive into a relationship.”
Stokes and Cline, 22, met on the set of Outer Banks while portraying love interests John B. Routledge and Sarah Cameron, respectively. After the TV show became a hit on Netflix following its release in April, fans began to speculate that the two were an item as they self-isolated with their costars amid the coronavirus pandemic. They confirmed their relationship status in June.
However, the group’s joint California quarantine has since concluded. “It came to an unfortunate end,” the actor revealed on Wednesday. “About three weeks ago, we all kind of went home and decided it was best to go kind of hang out with family and be around loved ones.”
Though Outer Banks has yet to be renewed by Netflix for season 2, Stokes already has ideas for his and Cline’s alter-egos. “I want them to take a chill pill for a minute, and they need to sit on some beach … like Blue Lagoon style,” he suggested. “Find a couple margaritas and chill out because that journey getting there was chaos.”
The Maryland native hopes their characters will be enlightened after the trauma that occurred in season 1. “I just want to see a little bit of comprehension of everything going on,” he said. “Like, I don’t think he’s taken a second — I mean, besides screaming at Ward [Charles Esten] through a radio — to like really simmer down and take a thousand-foot overview of what’s going on in his life in the past like couple of weeks and really evaluate and figure out how he’s going to become the best new version of themselves. So, with that being said, I just really hope that he has the opportunity to really redeem himself.”
As he awaits news on season 2, Stokes has teamed up with Sweet Earth, which is available in stores nationwide and online, to host an outdoor cookout. “I’m kind of a flexitarian, so I like to try everything from a really great steak all the way down to vegan options,” he explained of the plant-based food company. “And obviously living in L.A., we have so many great options across the board. So, for me, with my schedule and how often I’m on the run and in need of a clean protein option, this just made perfect sense.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
