Stranger Things creators clarify 'confusing' Nancy and Jonathan engagement scene

27 December 2025, 14:42 | Updated: 27 December 2025, 17:03

By Katie Louise Smith

Did Nancy and Jonathan get engaged or did they break up? Sad news, nerds... Jancy is no longer endgame.

Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers have been one of Stranger Things' main couples since the very first season but now it looks like their relationship has finally come to an end.

Played by real life couple Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton, Nancy and Jonathan (a.k.a. Jancy) were forced to confront their relationship issues in episode 6 ('Escape From Camazotz') after they ended up in a terrifying near-death situation.

The emotional moment saw Jonathan finally give Nancy the engagement ring he'd got for her, but the scene has now left viewers completely confused after the Duffer brothers confirmed the truth behind their conversation.

Did Nancy and Jonathan break up? Here's what the creators have now confirmed about their relationship status.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things 5 episode 6, 'Escape From Camazotz'

• Read more: Who dies in Stranger Things 5 Volume 2? All the deaths in order
• Read more: Does Holly escape in Stranger Things 5? How episode 7 sets up her terrifying ending

Did Nancy and Jonathan get engaged or did they break up?

In episode 6 ('Escape From Camazotz'), Nancy and Jonathan end up getting trapped inside a melting room in Hawkins Lab after Nancy shoots the giant ball of exotic matter.

Convinced they're going to drown and die, the two finally open up about the issues in their relationship. Nancy hates The Clash, Jonathan hates reading her articles. Nancy hates it when Jonathan gets high, Jonathan hates it when Nancy is drunk. They even broach the subject of Steve, who Nancy grew closer to while Jonathan was in California.

"He knows what he wants, and that's great," Nancy confesses. "I don't. And I guess I was hoping I'd have time to figure that out..."

Jonathan then makes "one last confession" and pulls out the engagement ring he'd been carrying around for days, saying: "I figure that I have screwed up enough with you that it’d be nice to get something right for once, in the end... Nancy Wheeler, will you not marry me?"

Stranger Things' Duffer brothers have not filmed multiple endings

"I tried to convinced myself that this would somehow fix everything but it was just gonna make things worse, which is why it's been sitting like a cannonball in my pocket for the last two days," Jonathan says. Nancy 'accepts' his un-proposal, the two share their final "I love you's" and Jonathan throws the ring away.

While the scene may have seemed to some viewers that they had just hashed out their differences, laid everything out on the table and were ready to start anew, it actually was meant to convey the opposite.

Nancy and Jonathan not engaged… in fact, they’re no longer together. They have officially broken up.

"That's a breakup," Matt Duffer tells PEOPLE. "They are broken up."

The Jancy break up was in the works for quite a while according to Matt, who said: "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 continued: "I mean, how many people wind up with their girlfriend or boyfriend that they met in high school?"

He went on to acknowledge that Nancy and Jonathan may have stayed together this long because they "have a little bit more of a complicated relationship than normal high schoolers."

Ross duffer added that it was a "trauma bond".

So if Nancy and Jonathan are no longer endgame, what about Steve? Could Steve and Nancy end up together?

Steve has been harbouring some resurfaced feelings towards Nancy since season 4 when they found themselves working together in close proximity. Throughout season 5, he continues to express concern about her in regards to her rocky relationship with Jonathan.

Based on Matt Duffer's comments, it's clear that Nancy will end the show without a love interest and will go on to explore who she really is, giving herself more time to figure out what she really wants out of life.

Stranger Things 5's finale episode will include a lengthy epilogue so if Nancy manages to survive the final battle, we'll likely find out what her future plans are before the show ends for good.

Read more about Stranger Things 5 here:

• Stranger Things' Duffer brothers say they have not filmed multiple endings
• Will's powers in Stranger Things 5 explained in full
• Stranger Things' Noah Schnapp says he'd still be closeted if Will wasn't gay in the show
• Here's why Stranger Things 5 recast Holly Wheeler with new actress
• Where to watch Stranger Things The First Shadow online

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