Madelyn Cline discusses losing her identity after Chase Stokes split

Madelyn Cline has candidly discussed the collapse of her relationship with Chase Stokes.

The 27-year-old actress enjoyed a romance with her Outer Banks co-star from June 2020 until November 2021.

Cline plays Sarah Cameron on the smash hit Netflix drama while Stokes, 32, plays John B. Routledge - with the characters falling in love before the actors did in real life.

Reflecting on the real-world relationship, Cline told the Therapuss podcast that she and Stokes struggled with the attention their romance attracted, confessing, "I think at the time I didn't realise what the repercussions of inviting so many people into - let's be honest - something that's intimate. I didn't understand it. I was so in love."

Appreciating that fans struggled to differentiate fact from fiction, the star said, "I think (the fans) loved it because of us, but they also loved John B and Sarah first and foremost... You look at any public breakup and you know, so many people are invested and of course, that was really hard."

She went on to explain that she felt lost following the end of the relationship, saying, "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**k am I?'"

While Cline and Stokes's relationship is no more, their on-screen romance is going strong - with season four of Outer Banks ending on the cliffhanger that Sarah is pregnant with John's child.