Finding love outside of the Upside Down! The cast of Stranger Things has grown close (and grown up a lot) since the show premiered on Netflix in 2016. Many of the show’s stars were romantically paired together on screen, but they all didn’t necessarily end up together offset.
Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard‘s respective characters, Eleven and Mike, got together in season 3. Rumors soon started to swirl about whether Brown and Wolfhard were more than just friends in the real world, but neither one publicly commented on their relationship status. However, Noah Schnapp (who was also rumored to be linked to Brown) added fuel to the fire after mentioning his costars in the comments of an Instagram meme that read, “Tag two people that want to hook up with each other to make things awkward.”
Brown’s love life has been a hot topic on social media since she rose to stardom on the Netflix series. When the Emmy nominee appeared on “The Guilty Feminist” podcast in April 2022, she discussed how her portrayal online changed since she turned 18 two months prior.
“Any 18-year-old is dealing with navigating being an adult and having relationships and friendships and being liked and trying to fit in,” she shared at the time. “It’s all a lot, and you’re trying to find yourself while doing that. The only difference is that, obviously, I’m doing that in the public eye, so it can be really overwhelming.”
Brown later began dating Jake Bongiovi in 2021, and the couple announced their engagement via Instagram in April 2023. “I’ve loved you three summers now, honey, I want ’em all,” the actress captioned a pic of herself wearing an engagement ring via Instagram at the time, quoting lyrics from Taylor Swift’s song “Lover.”
Brown isn’t the only Stranger Things star whose love life has made headlines. Sadie Sink‘s dating history garnered attention after she starred in Swift’s All Too Well short film, which debuted in November 2021. At the time, the actress was photographed with Patrick Alywn, the younger brother of Swift’s then-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn.
Back in Hawkins, Indiana, Sink shared her first kiss with costar Caleb McLaughlin. Their characters — Max and Lucas, respectively — took a break from hunting demogorgons to attend their school’s Snowball Dance and shared a romantic moment in the season 2 finale.
“I had a bunch of people around me and, like, extras and everyone just watching,” McLaughlin told Teen Vogue in March 2022. “And they had, like, the music on, and everyone’s like waiting for it to happen. It’s a lot of kids like, ‘Oooh, you’re gonna kiss her!’ And I’m like, ‘Bro, stop. We’re acting.’ You’re making it bigger than it actually has to be.”
Though their characters locked lips, Sink and McLaughlin ended up just being great friends. But that doesn’t mean sparks didn’t fly on set for others, Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton, who play onscreen couple Nancy Wheeler and Will Byers, sparked rumors in 2016 and confirmed their relationship more than one year later.
In 2018, Dyer opened up exclusively to Us Weekly about what she loves most about Heaton. “He’s alright, I guess. He doesn’t mess up our scenes too much!” she joked. The pair are still together but keep the details of their relationship private.
Along with new romances, the Upside Down brought two former childhood crushes together on screen. In 2018, Winona Ryder revealed during a PaleyFest panel that she had a crush on her costar and love interest Sean Astin.
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