‘My Life with the Walter Boys’: Love Triangle Timeline

My Life with the Walter Boys’ A messy love triangle between a girl and two brothers can feel familiar – and that’s exactly how it’s designed.

The series, which is based on by Ali Novak novel of the same name from 2014, follows Manhattanite Jackie Howard (Nikki Rodriguez) as she moves in with family friends after the deaths of her parents and sister. As she settles into her new rural lifestyle in Colorado, she develops feelings for two nearly estranged brothers: Cole (Noah LaLonde) and Alex Walter (Ashby Gentry), which couldn’t be more different.

“[The story] was inspired by Damon and Stefan [Salvatore] by The diary of vampires”, said Novak Entertainment weekly December 2023. “There’s just something so compelling about a love triangle, and there are so many YA books influenced by that series.

The diary of vampires In the early 1990s, novels were published by author LJ Smith. The books were later adapted into an eight-season series for the CW, starring Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert, a girl who falls in love with vampire brothers: Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder). My life with the Walter Boys has followed a similar path, with the story starting with writing and publishing website Wattpad before being adapted into a novel and later picked up by Netflix. The first season dropped on the streaming service in December 2023, and the romantic drama was picked up for season 2 just weeks later.

While the Walter Boys The novel ends with Jackie breaking up with Alex to be with Cole. The TV series takes a different approach. Viewers watched as Jackie admitted her feelings for Cole when the two exchanged a passionate kiss at the end of season 1, despite her still being in a relationship with Alex. Overwhelmed by her emotions, she returns to New York City with her uncle Richard (Alex Quijano), leaving nothing but an apology note.

“We have to make changes to make it work as a TV series,” said showrunner Melanie Halsall explained to EW. “The way relationships unfold, especially the relationship between Jackie and Alex, is a little different than in the book. And what happens at the end will surprise people because it’s different from the book, but I hope this will give the audience – both the audience who loves the book and the new audience – a bit of a surprise.

Halsall explained that after a season full of drama, she wanted everything in the Walters world finale to feel peaceful before things finally blew up.

“Everything is settled in episode 10,” she said. “Her relationship with Alex is going well. Alex and Cole have a truce. She and Cole seem to be getting along well as friends – and then I wanted to blow that whole thing up. That was always my intention, to lead the audience down a certain path and then blow it all up.”

Where the trio goes from here remains to be seen, but who the actors are rooting for, Gentry shared Pop alternative that his opinion on the love triangle changed over time.

“When we were shooting it, I was really thinking, ‘How can you watch this show and not be Team Alex?’ For example, I didn’t think it made sense,” he said after the series appeared on Netflix. “I even talked to Noah and said, ‘How are you, not Team Alex? You read the scripts!’ Then I watch it again and I understand. I understand why there is tension. I’m like, ‘Oh, maybe there’s a true love thing involved.’

Keep scrolling for a full timeline of the love triangle between Jackie, Alex and Cole:

Jackie arrives

In the first episode of the series, Jackie arrives at the Walter family farm, where Cole is immediately on her radar after meeting him at the pool. The chemistry between the pair is there from the start, with Cole giving Jackie the nickname ‘New York’. Meanwhile, Alex and Jackie come into contact when they are placed in the same class. While the rest of the brothers continue to give her a hard time, Alex offers her a friendly hand.

The two sides of Cole

As Jackie and Cole connect during an evening on the water in Episode 2, she later finds out that he was the mastermind behind a prank that left her with bleached hair. At the same time, she and Alex become closer when he shows her his favorite place on the farm: the children’s attic. The two jump into piles of hay and even share a near-kiss before being interrupted by Cole.

Twice an almost kiss

Cole convinces a stressed Jackie to drop out of school in episode 3, leaving Alex struggling to cover for her. Jackie drinks at a party during the day and almost drunkenly kisses Cole during a game of Truth or Dare, but ends up vomiting on him. Back at the ranch, she tries to kiss Alex while thanking him for always being there for her, but he tells her that he wants their first kiss to happen when she is sober.

A messy mix

Jackie bonds with Cole over their shared losses as the two are left home alone to do yard work as punishment for skipping school in episode 4. As a storm knocks out the house’s power, the electricity between them bigger and they almost kiss each other. before the family returns home – and Alex finds them together.

A not so nice holiday

Episode 5 sees Jackie’s first Thanksgiving with the Walters. After her family’s tea kettle accidentally breaks, Cole sneaks away to try to put it back together. Alex, meanwhile, makes his own grand gesture by taking her to a place where she can watch the sunset between two trees – something he hopes will remind her of the Manhattanhenge if she misses New York City. Just as Cole finishes her cauldron, he sees Jackie and Alex sharing their first kiss.

Coming to blows

Alex and Jackie settle into their relationship in episode 6. The pair are in romantic bliss before she discovers that Alex and Cole were fighting over a girl before she arrived. She discovers that when Cole returned from out of town this summer, he kissed Alex’s then-girlfriend, Paige, at a party. When Jackie confronts Alex about why he didn’t tell her, Alex confesses that he was afraid to be honest for fear that Jackie would realize she is beyond his reach. Later, Alex and Cole drunkenly get into each other’s faces, causing Alex to punch Cole in the face.

A rain-soaked confession

Alex and Cole’s problems continue to escalate as their brother Nathan (Corey Fogelmanis) is taken to the hospital. Cole later picks up Jackie when she gets lost in the woods and he questions why Jackie is with Alex, accusing her of dating his brother because he is “safe.” As they get caught in the rain, Cole reveals that he never knew Alex and Paige were dating and that he never meant to hurt his brother.

A truth revealed

After Cole spirals in episode 7 and tells Jackie he wishes she never moved to Colorado, he and Alex finally make up for their differences. When he gives Jackie a ride home later that day, Cole’s truck breaks down and he admits that he doesn’t want to hurt Alex, but he can’t ‘not want’ to be with Jackie, leaving the pair at a crossroads.

Awkward weddings

As Alex becomes more attached to Jackie, she finds herself drifting away from him because of Cole’s confession. She and Cole share a sweet moment in a field while picking wildflowers, which she later discovers represents unrequited love. After Alex tells Jackie he is in love with her and then passes out from too much champagne, Jackie discovers the tea kettle that Cole repaired but never gave her. She confronts him in the shed, and the pair share a passionate kiss. The next morning she flees to New York City, leaving only a note behind.