‘My Life With the Walter Boys’ Recap: Where Every Couple Left Off Before Season 3

We’re headed back to Silver Falls! Despite being a small town, its residents — Jackie (Nikki Rodriguez), Alex (Ashby Gentry), Cole (Noah LaLonde), and the rest of the My Life with the Walter Boys crew — all have seriously tumultuous love lives. Since Jackie’s family died and she was taken in by her late mother’s best friend (Sarah Rafferty), we’ve seen Jackie date one of her sons, Alex, but she’s had a will-they-won’t-they situationship with his brother, Cole, all the while.

Over the past two seasons, the love triangle hasn’t been resolved, with Jackie still figuring out how she really feels and what’s best for her. In the Season 2 finale, Jackie and Cole took a huge step, only for them to be interrupted by an ambulance arriving to take patriarch George Walter (Marc Blucas) to the emergency room. Season 3, which drops all at once on August 6, will pick up after that shocking cliffhanger.

We’re sure you haven’t forgotten about that ending, but you may have forgotten some of the relationship developments before that, especially since the Netflix series follows quite a few couples beyond the love triangle. Swooon is breaking down everything you need to remember about the main trio, as well as Kiley (Mya Lowe) and Dylan (Kolton Stewart), Nathan (Corey Fogelmanis) and Skylar (Jaylan Evans), and more. Buckle up!

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Jackie and Cole

Winding it all the way back to Season 1’s ending, Jackie discovered that Cole fixed her sister’s broken teapot. She asks Cole about his intentions toward her, and she kisses him. The only problem? Jackie is still dating Alex at the time. Feeling guilty, Jackie decides to leave Silver Falls and go home to New York City, living with her uncle Richard (Alex Quijano) for the summer. She didn’t tell anyone she was leaving, not even Cole.

Jackie returns to Silver Falls for school in the fall, deciding not to pursue either brother. Cole respects her choice and hides his feelings for Jackie, though the two become closer friends as she helps Cole with his college applications. But about halfway through the season, Cole walks in on Alex and Jackie kissing. It leads to Cole confessing his love for Jackie in the finale episode. “It just boils out of him,” LaLonde told Swooon. “I don’t think he plans on saying it or anything, but he certainly feels it, so it’s readily available if the situation presents itself.”

Jackie says it back, though reluctantly. “I love you, OK?” she says. “Are we done? Can I go now?” Afterward, Jackie explains that Cole makes her feel out of control, which isn’t OK with her. After her family and everything that’s happened, control is important to her. She also doesn’t want to cause more drama. Remember: She’s just told Alex she loves him and has secretly been dating him when she admits to loving Cole.

“She definitely didn’t plan to say it in that moment, and she almost doesn’t want to,” Rodriguez told Swooon. “I think because, in that, she knows how complicated that is for her and everybody else involved. So she doesn’t want to hurt anybody.”

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Jackie and Alex

Let’s go back to Season 1 again. Though Jackie is drawn to the brooding Cole right away, she strikes up a sweet relationship with the nerdy, more emotionally available Alex. It’s worth mentioning that, before Jackie arrived in Silver Falls, Cole stole Alex’s first girlfriend, Paige (Madison Brydges). Cole, who had been away for the summer doing rehab on his injured leg, claims he didn’t know Paige and Alex were together at the time.

At his brother Will (Johnny Link) and Hayley’s (Zoë Soul) wedding, Alex has a bit too much to drink and tells Jackie that he loves her. The next day, Alex is blindsided when he finds that Jackie left him a note that only says “I’m sorry.” She didn’t tell Alex that she was skipping town, either.

So, in Season 2, Alex is mad at Jackie for leaving and ices her out, focusing on his rodeo training. They have a breakthrough when Jackie finds Alex’s lost horse. Their romance begins again, but Jackie first has to confess to kissing Cole before she left for New York. Alex takes the news surprisingly well and still wants to get back together.

“I think [Alex] was aware of the connection that [Cole and Jackie] share, and he chose to ignore it and try to put his blinders on and get past it, and that didn’t work,” Gentry told Swooon “And ultimately, his confession to her is that he doesn’t care what happened with Cole because he just loves her and wants to be with her.”

Jackie and Alex start dating again — in secret. They want to avoid drama with the family. Alex says he loves Jackie again, eventually, and though Jackie initially struggles to say it back, she does. That’s where they stand when Alex overhears Jackie and Cole exchange “I love yous” in the finale.

After that, will he keep trying to be with Jackie in Season 3? “Historically, he’s gone all in,” Gentry guessed before Season 3 filming started. “It didn’t stop him before, so why would it stop him now?”

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Danny and Erin

The Walter Boys really do love secret relationships and dating each other’s exes. Danny (Connor Stanhope) starts dating Cole’s ex, Erin (Alisha Newton), in Season 2, after Erin ends her on-and-off relationship with Cole for good. Danny and Erin bond over acting in the school play, and once they get together, they keep their relationship secret.

Throughout Season 2, they butt heads over Erin’s past with Cole, but it’s their differing goals for the future that cause a major argument. Danny, who wants to go to Juilliard, can’t understand why Erin doesn’t want to go to New York and study acting. They get over it, though, accepting that they have different dreams and can figure it all out later.

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Kiley and Dylan

Video game-loving Kiley, who’s had a crush on Alex since Season 1, has an unexpected romance with quarterback Dylan after they meet in woodshop class in Season 2. They challenge each other in good ways: Kiley encourages Dylan to be himself and step out from his dad’s control, while Dylan helps Kiley let loose. They kiss at the Silver Sparkle festival in the finale, which Alex sees. He’s disgruntled by it, but doesn’t know why, according to showrunner Melanie Halsall.

She told Tudum, “If Alex said he wanted to be with Kiley today, even the day she kissed Dylan, she would leave Dylan in a heartbeat and be with Alex. But he just keeps telling her he doesn’t want her. And she’s happy for him, because she purely just adores him. I’ve said to Ashby, Alex will wake up when he’s 45 and think, ‘That’s the girl I should have married.'”

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Nathan and Skylar

We get another opposites-attract romance with introverted, music-loving Nathan (Corey Fogelmanis) and the bold Skylar (Jaylan Evans). Their relationship starts in Season 1, facing some hurdles with Nathan coming on too strong by writing a song for Skylar in the early days, and Skylar acting overprotective of Nathan when he’s diagnosed with epilepsy.

They were still together for most of Season 2, but Zach (Carson MacCormac) comes between them. Nathan and Zach bond over music, and Zach flirts with Nathan, despite knowing about the latter’s relationship with Skylar. Nathan goes to the school dance with Skylar, but winds up Nathan kissing Zach right in front of Skylar. Nathan starts dating Zach instead.

Halsall told Swooon, “I think Nathan is a little bit insecure and unsure of himself, whereas Skylar’s very secure of himself, and I felt that was a very real thing for a young person in love to be, that when you get attention from somebody else, it actually can be quite easy to have your head turned,” she explained, adding that she wanted to depict how that feels from both sides of the relationship.

She added, “I don’t think Nathan ever meant any harm. And I don’t think he could really help himself. He wasn’t trying to be a cheat. He just got caught up in somebody really wanting him, which is incredibly intoxicating especially if someone’s quite insecure.”

Ultimately, it’s revealed that Zach is Skylar’s ex, and he just wanted to steal Nathan to get back at Skylar.

Nathan tries to get Skylar back afterward, but Skylar says he can’t trust Nathan, even though he loves him. “I think Skylar was very hard done by, and even though I think we can understand Nathan’s reasoning and emotions, insecurities, I think it would take a lot for Skylar to want to jump back in that,” Halsall teases of their future. “At the same time, as [Skylar] says, he loves Nathan, so who knows where it’s going to go?”

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Katherine and George

As one of the show’s only established, married couples, Katherine and George’s romance is far steadier compared to the rest of the show’s. They do face financial struggles throughout Seasons 1 and 2, though, leading them to accept Jackie’s uncle’s plan to develop the ranch. Will readily accepts, but George and Katherine aren’t so sure.

George switches gears and decides to lease the land to a vineyard instead, but all the stress seemingly does a number on his health. We’ll have to wait and see how Katherine navigates her husband’s medical emergency come Season 3.

Will and Hayley

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Back in Season 1, Will and Hayley were engaged but divided. Hayley feels like Will neglects their relationship in favor of his business ambition. They break up briefly, but get back together and get married in the Season 1 finale. On their wedding night, Hayley receives a text from someone named Morgan, and when Will asks who texted her, she lies. The moment was never addressed in Season 2, which sees Hayley spend most of her time in Chile for a grad school project.

Hayley returns to Silver Falls in the Season 2 finale, after Will feels dejected over George’s decision not to develop the ranch. Hayley wonders if Silver Falls is too small for Will’s ideas. Could we see the couple leave town in Season 3? It certainly seems possible.

My Life with the Walter Boys, Season 3, August 6, Netflix