‘Bridgerton’ Author Speaks Out on Fan ‘Disappointment’ Over Gender-Flipping Francesca’s Love Interest: ‘Grant Me and Team Have Faith as We Move Forward’
Bridgerton author Julia Quinn has addressed on social media the upset fans of the Netflix series following the Season 3 finale, which included a dramatic change from Quinn’s novels in gender-flipping Francesca Bridgerton’s love interest. While Season 3 was primarily devoted to the blossoming romance between friends Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), it also tracked the courtship of Francesca (Hannah Dodd) by John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin (Victor Alli).
In the “Bridgerton” Season 3 finale, Francesca and John get married and spend their final days with her family before relocating to Scotland. Fans of the “Bridgerton” novels know that in Francesca’s book, “When He Was Wicked,” their marriage is disrupted when Francesca meets John’s charming cousin, Michael Stirling. Book readers got a shock then when the Netflix series introduced John’s cousin on screen as Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza), gender-flipping the character and presumably changing Francesca’s sexuality.
