The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 has the perfect opportunity to give Steven Conklin (Sean Kaufman) a happy ending he deserves with one incredible character. While the series mainly focused on Isabela "Belly" Conklin's (Lola Tung) complicated love triangle story between the two Fisher brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah, The Summer I Turned Pretty also gave the spotlight to her older brother, Steven, throughout its run on Amazon Prime Video. Steven is involved in a complex relationship with Taylor (Rain Spencer), Belly's best friend.
The on-again, off-again romance between Steven and Taylor in the first two seasons of the series has been a delight to see, and the pair eventually confirmed their relationship in the Season 2 finale. However, in the brand-new season, Steven and Taylor's relationship might be heading downhill due to an unexpected setup involving both of them.
Based on Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy of romance novels, the series follows Belly's self-discovery journey as she navigates the ups and downs of her relationship with Jeremiah Fisher while her first love, Conrad, is busy with his medical career. The final season brings back its core cast members, led by Lola Tung, Sean Kaufman, Gavin Casalegno, Christopher Briney, Jackie Chung, and Rain Spencer. The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 premiered on Prime Video on July 16, 2025.
Did Taylor and Steven Break Up In 'Summer I Turned Pretty'?
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 opened with a three-year time jump, and it confirmed that Taylor and Steven broke up during that gap. It was unknown why they broke up, but there were hints in the first two episodes.
It's possible that the age gap between the pair might've caught up with them (Taylor is two years younger than Steven). Steven's transition to a career in a finance firm called Breaker might also have dampened their relationship.
However, Season 3, Episode 1 confirmed that the pair are still seeing each other quite frequently, with both of them hooking up in Taylor's dorm room whenever the opportunity arises. Taylor told Steven that their unique setup works because there is "no drama [and] no strings [attached]."
Clearly, Steven wants something more, but Taylor doesn't want to get back together because she believes that things between them will get messy again.
What made Steven and Taylor's setup more complicated is the fact that both of them are dating other people. Steven is going out with a girl named Mia, while Taylor has a boyfriend named Davis. Making matters worse is that the pair doesn't seem to mind that they are seeing other people (which makes them terrible liars).
What Happens to Steven In The Summer I Turned Pretty?
While Belly is confirmed to have a new adventure in Paris in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Steven has had his own set of professional successes. He graduated early and with honors from Princeton, which led him to accept an intern position at Breaker (the renowned finance firm).
Elsewhere, Steven is still trying his best to convince Taylor to be together, but it ended in a tragedy in Season 3, Episode 2. After breaking up (finally) with his girlfriend Mia, Steven went to Taylor's dorm to pick her up and get some food.
This food trip ultimately became an honest conversation between the two exes, but it led to an intense argument after Taylor rejected Steven's proposal of getting back together. When he tried to chase her, Steven got into an accident after a moving vehicle crashed into his car.
A concerned Belly rushed to the hospital to check on Steven after Taylor called her to deliver the bad news. Thankfully, with an assist from Conrad, who managed to convince his doctor to let the hospital's head of neurology take over the case, Steven's condition improved, but he was in a temporary coma.
Do Steven and Taylor End Up Together In 'Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 3?
While Steven was in a coma, it made Taylor realize one thing: she was still, in fact, in love with him. Taylor confessed that she "never loved anyone like [she] loved [him]." She admitted that she cared so much for him, even if she acted like she didn't.
The accident made Taylor realize that she shouldn't waste time anymore and be with Steven before it's too late. Unfortunately, the tragedy didn't have the same effect on Steven because it made him believe that he was wasting his time trying to convince Taylor when it dawned on him that she didn't want him back.
Episode 2 ended with Taylor and Steven's future as a couple uncertain, and it will require a difficult road for them to get back together in the next nine episodes of the series.
In Jenny Han's trilogy of books, Steven and Taylor only kissed once, and they were never in a relationship. The Prime Video series already changed that dynamic by deeply exploring the pair's dynamic and eventual relationship.
The ending of We'll Always Have Summer revealed that Steven didn't end up with anyone (not even Taylor) in the book, but this could all change given Han's comment to Elite Daily about the fact that she loves to "always change things up:"
"I am somebody who is always changing things up. People will be like, ‘Why are you changing that? That was working well!’ But to me, it could always be better. That's how I approach everything, so naturally I was going into this story feeling like I wanted to make it even better and try new things."
It's possible that Steven's confession to Taylor in Episode 2 could be a minor bump in the road, and the pair's happy ending is still in the cards in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3.
Steven and Taylor's deep feelings toward each other could be the saving grace for their relationship. Even though they broke up in the past, it's clear that they belong to each other.
