Thank God: Stranger Things creators explain what actually happened with Jonathan and Nancy

For a show where writing has become 90 per cent exposition and 10 per cent gibberish, the latest Stranger Things episodes were super confusing in the case of Jonathan and Nancy.

Throughout much of season five of Stranger Things, we’ve been building to a lovey-dovey proposal between Jonathan and Nancy. That being said, it’s not really a good time to be getting down on one knee when your girlfriend’s sister is missing, her parents are in the hospital, and her brother’s trying to work out if he’s the “crush” Will Byers is talking about.

In perhaps the most confusing scene of the season, which is honestly saying a lot, Nancy and Jonathan faced almost certain death in a room steadily filling with melted building parts. It might have been a breakup scene, or it might have been a proposal, but to be honest, the only clear thing was the sheer confusion the scene incited.

JONATHAN proposing Nancy, and he gave the ring too awe, This scene was so cute and PEAK, I feel for STEVE, its gonna break his heart when he know what happend#StrangerThings5 #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/UJAIqVKYm1

— sanmeyo (@oyemnassxo) December 26, 2025

“People are saying that Nancy and Jonathan broke up… I thought they were just being honest with each other and agreeing that getting married would not help, NOT ending their relationship altogether,” one person questioned on Twitter.

Another said: “Everyone saying the scene with Nancy and Jonathan was their breakup, but I thought it was my Jancy endgame secured.”

The Duffer brothers have now cleared up the confusion, which is not a good look.

Did Jonathan and Nancy break up in Stranger Things?

Annoyingly, the Duffer brothers have now confirmed that it was indeed a breakup scene between Jonathan and Nancy in Stranger Things. Long story short: It was POINTLESS.

“That’s a breakup. They are broken up,” Matt told PEOPLE.

do jonathan and nancy know they’re broken up? pic.twitter.com/Qkt7aetJcO

— 💭 (@thinkerjancy) December 26, 2025

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Brushing past the “I love you Nancy Wheeler”, “I love you Jonathan Byers”, and the moment they jumped into each other’s arms, Matt said there was a good reason for the split.

“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,” he said. “I mean, how many people wind up with their girlfriend or boyfriend that they met in high school?”

I’m so glad Twitter is just as confused as me, because one person wrote: “Me thinking that Nancy and Jonathan were reaffirming their love when in reality they were breaking up.”

me thinking that nancy and jonathan were reaffirming their love when in reality they were breaking up pic.twitter.com/XqOa6COCUs

— ⭑ 𝓙 ⭑ (@fantasyinlilac) December 26, 2025

Another said: “There’s people out there that are chronically offline and still think Jonathan and Nancy got engaged.”

Apparently, to really understand Stranger Things, you also have to read the interviews to fill in the convoluted plot holes.

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Featured image credit: Netflix