Bridgerton Author Julia Quinn Just Defended That Controversial Gender Swap, But Some Book Readers Are Still Upset

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BOTH THE NETFLIX BRIDGERTON SERIES AND JULIA QUINN’S BRIDGERTON NOVELS.

Netflix’s Bridgerton, based on the romance series by author Julia Quinn, has always played a little fast and loose with historical accuracy and made some major changes to the source material to allow the show to be more racially diverse than the books. But one choice, revealed at the end of season three, has caused so much controversy that author Julia Quinn has released a statement about it directly to fans. Here’s what’s up.

Each book in the series focuses on a different Bridgerton family sibling. Daughter Francesca’s, When He Was Wicked, sees her falling in love with her husband’s John’s cousin Michael after John dies. Viewers met John in the third season of Bridgerton and saw him and Francesca develop a bond over their love of the quiet life and ultimately marry. In the last episode, Francesca meets his cousin, Michaela, and seems smitten with her. This twist stirred up a lot of feelings in the notoriously passionate romance community, so Quinn took to Instagram to respond.

“When [showrunner] Jess Brownell first approached me with the idea of turning Michael into Michaela for the show, I needed more information before conferring my agreement…. I made it clear that it was extremely important to me that Francesca’s abiding love for John be shown on screen,” she wrote in a lengthy statement.

“I’m confident now that when Francesca has her Bridgerton season, it will be the most emotional and heart-wrenching story of the show,” she added, telling fans, “I ask that you grant me and the Shondaland team some faith as we move forward. I think we are going to end up with two stories, one on page and one on screen, and they will both be beautiful and moving.”

Most of the top comments were from readers expressing their disappointment, many of them arguing that Francesca is unlikely to get a “realistic” happy ending with a woman in the Regency period, and that adding this obstacle fundamentally alters the storyline. Some said that if the show wants more LGBTQ+ inclusion, it should create new characters or expand upon existing queer storylines, like Reynolds and Brimsley from Queen Charlotte.

However, others applauded Quinn’s statement and pointed out that the show has been pretty dang good so far, so it’s worth waiting to see if they can pull this off too. Ultimately, fans of the book don’t have to watch the show and can still read the book as much as they like!