Sparkles flying on set! While bringing Jonathan Byers Nancy Wheeler’s love story to life on Stranger Things, Charlie Heaton and Natalia DyerTheir connection was taken to the next level.
Netflix’s debut in 2016 was a moment of excitement for viewers. Even though Nancy was actually dating Steve Harrington, (Joe Keery) at the time, her friend Barb’s disappearance inspired her to work with Jonathan. They remained close friends until season 2, when Nancy & Jonathan began dating.
Heaton and Dyer preferred to keep their relationship low-key offscreen. After attending the Golden Globes, the couple was spotted together at Los Angeles International Airport. This sparked dating rumors. Later that year they were photographed kissing in London while holding hands in Paris.
During an interview with Us WeeklyDyer spoke of her close relationship to Heaton. “He’s alright, I guess,” she joked in January 2018. “He doesn’t mess up our scenes too much! No, he’s great. He’s talented, like everybody in the cast. They’re all super, just great to work with.”
Heaton, for his own part, was happy to see the blossoming love between Jonathan and Nancy following season 2. “They’ve both had this shared trauma. They’ve both gone through this experience together and I think that brings people closer,” the musician, who shares son Archie with his ex Akiko Matsuura?, told UseIn March 2018. “I think also what was kind of cool about Jonathan and Nancy, especially in season 1, was that they brought out qualities in each other that maybe weren’t there without the other.”
For Dyer, it was also important for the show to explore Nancy’s independence beyond her romance with Jonathan — specifically through the mysteries in Hawkins, Indiana.
“I think she’s a big fish in a small pond. I think there’s something in Hawkins that she needs to figure out because they don’t think that they’ve gotten to the bottom of it. I’d love to see more of that. I’d love to see her get that big find,” she detailed. “At the same time, I don’t think she feels completely validated. I don’t think it’s over, I think there’s still more there that feels wrong and off, and I don’t know if you can ever fix that.”
Cocreator discusses season 4’s premiere ahead Matt DufferWe were able to weigh in on how Jonathan and Nancy brought their real-life counterparts closer together. “That first audition, we did a chemistry read with [Heaton and] Natalia, and sparks were flying,” the producer told GQFebruary 2020
Scroll down to relive Dyer and Heaton’s romance:
