Breaking Down ‘Outer Banks’ Couple John B and Sarah’s Season 3 Split — Including Her Hookup With Topper

Warning: This story contains spoilers from season 3 of Outer Banks.

Weathering some serious storms. John B (Chase Stokes) and Sarah (Madelyn Cline) faced unexpected obstacles during season 3 of Outer Banks — including her cheating with Topper (Austin North).

During the new season of the hit Netflix series, which premiered on Thursday, February 23, John B and Sarah struggled to see eye to eye on personal issues. John B privately faced his father (Charles Halford) coming back into his life amid an ongoing treasure hunt. When he wasn't able to explain everything to Sarah, a rift formed in their relationship.

Meanwhile, Sarah had to come to terms with father Ward's (Charles Esten) return without John B by her side. Her attempt to have a normal day led to a trip with Topper — which ended with the exes hooking up on a beach. Sarah told John B the truth, which ultimately pushed him to beat up Topper in front of the entire town.

The fan-favorite couple, however, were able to work out their issues before going on a mission to South America with their respective dads.

"What is it you really want?" John B asked his girlfriend, to which she responded, "Honestly, before I saw you tonight, coming out of the station, I didn't know the answer to that question. But now I do."

The pair rekindled their romance but their reunion was short-lived because Topper burned down John B's house.

Before the third season premiered, Cline, 25, hinted that their characters would be facing an "emotional roller-coaster" on screen. "I mean, look, it's not boring, that's for sure," she told Entertainment Weekly earlier this month. "It's been a joy portraying this enemies-to-lovers, forbidden-lovers storyline. It is quite a journey this year, again. We really drove the point home of choosing family, and also relationships and friendships are hard and sometimes it gets messy, but you still care, you still love hard."

Stokes, 30, for his part, opened up about the issues that end up in John B and Sarah's path.

"Love isn't supposed to be easy. It's not supposed to be something that comes naturally. 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," the actor shared. "They're definitely, yet again, going to be tested, and hopefully the fans understand it through the lens of what they're going through and the circumstances that they're put under."

The costars, who previously dated from 2020 to 2021, also addressed their approach to working together following their own breakup.

"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 explained to EW 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."

The Glass Onion star echoed her ex-boyfriend's thoughts on their professionalism, adding, "We had a working relationship before we had a personal relationship, and our job from day one has always been to leave the show better than we found it."

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Outer Banks is currently streaming on Netflix.