- - “Stranger Things” star reacts to Jonathan and Nancy's breakup: 'They've been through so much together'

Raechal ShewfeltJanuary 9, 2026 at 10:29 PM

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Charlie Heaton's Jonathan and Natalia Dyer's Nancy on 'Stranger Things'

Count Stranger Things star Charlie Heaton among those who approved of the way the breakup of his character Jonathan Byers and Natalia Dyer's Nancy Wheeler was handled.

The on-screen couple began the third season dating, although they had feelings for each other earlier, but they ended their romance in the second part of the final batch of season 5 episodes, after thinking that they were going to die, thanks to the villainous Vecna.

"They've been through so much together," Heaton told PEOPLE of the characters' travails, which included not only the already rocky terrain of teenage life but Demogorgons and other terrifying phenomena. "And when you're playing them, you care about them and you want them to have that ending, in some way. But [the ending] felt real and I think that felt more important than them being together."

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During the emotional conversation in which they made the major decision while trapped in the Upside Down, both characters were honest with each other. She confessed that she's not actually a fan of the Clash — in fact, she hates them — while he admits that he never applied for the college he'd told her he had and he detests reading her stories.

Jonathan then proposed to Nancy, asking if she would not marry him, to which she said yes.

In case there was any doubt the two had ended their romance, show co-creator Matt Duffer confirmed that that's exactly what happened.

"That's a breakup," Duffer said. "They are broken up."

He said that he and brother Ross Duffer, with whom he created, wrote, and produced the series, had planned the parting of the two for "a while."

"It's hard to recall when exactly that idea came, but I think us — and the writers — all felt that Nancy needed to end up on her own and be independent and have an opportunity to find herself," Matt Duffer said.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton attend the opening of a 'Stranger Things' show on Broadway in April

For Heaton, the "well-written" scene "felt honest and true to the characters."

The actors behind those characters, though, remain a couple. Their romance was confirmed in 2017.

The fifth and final season of Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix.

on Entertainment Weekly

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”