Alex Hassell & Bella Maclean on the ‘Rivals’ Romance That’s Worth the Wait
The stars of the dazzling British drama open up about Rupert and Taggie's love story and the angsty road that lies ahead.
Since their enchanting first kiss, Rupert Campbell-Black and Taggie O’Hara’s love story has been a trial in patience.
The challenges they’ve faced are an edict in destiny, and while Rupert (Alex Hassell) and Taggie’s (Bella Maclean) fate has been predetermined by author Jilly Cooper, the course of true love never did run smooth.
In Season 2 of Hulu’s deliciously dramatic Rivals, Rupert has tried to keep his distance from Taggie to protect her heart and keep his promise to Declan (Aidan Turner), Taggie’s father, to stay away from her. He’s remained in a relationship with Cameron Cook (Nafessa Williams), the confident and cunning Venturer producer he poached (in more ways than one) from longtime rival, Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant). Even though Taggie has continually left the door open for Rupert, the former Olympic show jumper has tried to shut himself off from the gentle yet resilient young chef — but there’s always a sliver of light that finds its way through.
“She’s quite relentless,” Maclean says of Taggie during our digital cover story shoot. “I wouldn’t put it past her if she made another move on him. It’s actually pretty amazing how unwavering she is and how unrelenting she [is]. She’s so devoted to [Rupert].”
Hassell quickly acknowledges how understanding Taggie has been, despite Rupert’s faults. “She’s so forgiving. So forgiving,” he stresses.
For Maclean, there’s “something really wonderful in playing someone so… She’s actually very simple in her beliefs.” Even though Taggie’s life is “complicated and messy and unclear,” especially when it comes to Rupert right now, Maclean believes “there’s a simplicity in her love for him, and it totally drives everything she does.” (Warning: Rivals Season 2 spoilers ahead.)
Angels & Inner Demons
The world of Rutshire’s most notorious rake has never been the same since Taggie moved into The Priory, the country manor just across the way from Rupert’s Penscombe Court. Slowly, and not without many stumbles, Taggie’s moral compass and her unwavering compassion have chipped away at Rupert’s emotional armor and devil-may-care attitude.
From the moment they shared a dance to Chris de Burgh’s “The Lady in Red,” Rupert and Taggie’s love story has been taking root. Age gap, be damned. Hassell and Maclean’s cosmic onscreen chemistry has been riveting to watch. Every moment between their characters in the second season so far is filled with such profound longing that it can take your breath away.
Rupert and Taggie didn’t even acknowledge their feelings until the Season 1 finale, with their “he’s not you” and “she’s not you” declarations. Taggie’s the one to take the leap first, and then Rupert cracks his heart wide open for the first time to confess, “I can’t breathe without you.”
There’s an intimacy Rupert has with Taggie, one that’s rooted in seeing each other completely, that makes the Cotswolds Casanova more vulnerable than any sexual act he chooses to throw himself into. “I think he’s a very lonely person, a very vulnerable person, a very damaged person, and I think for him to reveal all of those things to someone is extremely difficult for him,” Hassell explains. “I’m sure he wasn’t allowed to do that when he was young, and to be given the space to be vulnerable and sort of be loved for it, I think, is really important to him, but is very scary.”
Hassell will be the first to say that Rupert isn’t a bastion of good decision-making, and his character often has “huge blind spots” in his life. “But what’s so brilliantly complicated about Rupert is that he’s trying so hard to do the right thing,” Hassell says. “He keeps doing the wrong thing. He keeps making the wrong decisions about doing the right thing. That’s what’s so interesting about him. He’s so impulsive that he’s like, ‘I’m going to do the right thing, and I’m going to completely commit to this,’ and he’ll hurt a bunch of people in doing that.”
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In Rupert staying with Cameron and pulling away from Taggie, Cameron’s feelings are now in the mix. Cameron’s even said, “I love you,” and Rupert can only reply, “I adore you.” Hassell points out that Cameron is a “really strong adult who’s had loads of life experiences in the same way that he has,” and they both have a “slight emotional ruthlessness to them.” There’s a great amount of respect between Cameron and Rupert.
“I think he knows that she’ll get over it, and she’ll be able to kind of move on, whereas I think he thinks he would destroy Taggie,” Hassell says.
But sometimes, good intentions have unexpected consequences, and Rupert’s plan is what’s driving Taggie into the arms of another man.
Good Intentions, Bas Consequences
Rupert’s technically off the market, but Basil “Bas” Baddingham (Luca Pasqualino) certainly isn’t. Tony’s effortlessly suave half-brother has never shied away from complimenting Taggie, and he’s taken an interest in the talented cook after seeing her let loose after Corinium’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream production in Episode 4.
Maclean admits that Taggie spending time with Bas is definitely a “distraction” from Rupert at first, but it becomes “vital for her to try and move on.” Plus, Bas “is pretty great. He treats her really well. He’s very respectful and makes her feel very special.” Even though Rupert brings Taggie a new puppy for her birthday, he’s a step behind Bas, who’s already at The Priory when Rupert shows up.
Before now, Rupert and Bas would have delighted in regaling each other about their romantic quests. Now that Taggie’s involved, Bas and Rupert’s friendship is in uncharted territory.
“I think Bas thinks, firstly, as far as Rupert’s concerned, Rupert’s with Cameron, and Rupert consistently lets down Taggie,” executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins notes. “He’s not going to stick to the bro code if the bro code doesn’t suit him.”
While Rupert has typically been an expert at compartmentalizing his feelings, Hassell knows that Rupert won’t be able to shut off his emotions forever. “The idea of imagining them being in a romantic relationship together would be really difficult for him,” the actor says of Bas and Taggie.
Treadwell-Collins promises we will see a jealous side to Rupert, one book fans know all too well. “There’s a famous Hunt Ball moment of jealous Rupert and a wine glass,” the executive producer brings up. “You’ve got to remember that we are Jilly fans, and Jilly was all over every single script. She gave every single note, so we know. We love these books so much. I would never let the audience down,” he hints.
Since the Season 2 premiere, the Rupert vs. Bas debate has ignited online, with some viewers even starting to shift their alliances. Treadwell-Collins wants that kind of contemplation regarding Taggie’s love life.
“Taggie has been slowly seeing this other side to Bas, and as the show goes on, she’s going to fall for him and the idea of him even more as Rupert gets more distant, and we still want the audience to be screaming at the screen that Rupert’s the one she should be with,” the executive producer explains. “And also, Bas isn’t going to show Taggie every side of him. He’s a love rat. He can be a kind-hearted love rat, but he’s a love rat, and what that does is it adds so many different layers to the relationship, and it makes it all the more difficult.”
Part of the reason why Bas has a larger role in Taggie’s personal growth journey in Season 2 is to allow her the space to have more life experiences.
“Taggie has slept with Ralphie, badly, in Season 1, and that’s all. And we had a little flirtation with Seb in Season 1,” Treadwell-Collins points out. “Taggie, this season, we talked a lot about her growing up, and I think if she had just gotten with Rupert, she would have still been little girl Taggie. She needs to learn about the world a bit more and be Rupert’s equal, because fans of the books know that once they get together, they stay together. Taggie needs to live her life a little bit so that she can then go, ‘Right, I’ll be Mrs. Campbell-Black now.'”
A Light in the Storm
In Episode 6, which serves as the midseason finale before the second half of the season premieres later this year, Rutshire is hit with a brutal hurricane, a storm that brings down plenty of trees and has Rocky, Rupert’s beloved horse, running scared into The Priory garden.
Amidst the heavy rain and wind, Taggie walks Rocky back to Penscombe in the middle of the night, wearing just her nightgown and a light jacket.
“She so does not think about herself in that moment, or how unbelievably dangerous it is,” Maclean explains. “I’m sure it was also [that] she’s thinking about your love for the horse [pointing to Alex], and I think she would have honestly traveled miles and miles to make Rocky safe.” Hassell adds, “She’s so selfless, isn’t she?”
Photographer: Avery Thompson
When Rupert (alongside Cameron) catches a glimpse of Taggie, he races down to help her. Once inside, Rupert and Taggie can’t take their eyes off each other, even with Cameron sitting mere feet away from them.
“It means so much to him that she has done that with Rocky,” Hassell says. “Rupert and animals, they’re like his sort of spirit animals. They kind of are his soul, and he’s able to relate to them in a way that you can’t relate to humans, so, somehow, for Taggie to have been so selfless and to have put herself in danger for his sort of soul, as it were, means so much to him that he just can’t see or think of anything else. I think even though he’s being kind of highly inappropriate and kind of cold to Cameron, he just can’t. He just sort of realizes how much he loves her at that point, I think.”
Later that night, Cameron finds the piece of evidence that confirms what she already knows: Rupert’s in love with Taggie. As she’s looking through his journal, she finds a handmade card Taggie made. Hassell doesn’t think Rupert has a drawer dedicated to Taggie as he does in Cooper’s Rivals novel, but the card sends the same message.
Love, Tragedy & Happy Endings
In a shocking twist that completely changes the trajectory of the show, Monica (Claire Rushbrook) is killed in the hurricane. After learning of Tony’s affair with Maud (Victoria Smurfit), Monica decides to drive Caitlin (Catriona Chandler), who’s spent the day with Tony and Monica’s son, Archie (Louis Landau), home. Rupert and Declan go out searching for Caitlin, only to find her alone and injured on the road. Rupert is with Monica in her final moments, and he’s the one to break the news to Tony.
Monica’s death will turn everyone’s lives upside down in the second half of the season, and Rupert will be unmoored by the loss of his childhood friend. “As we go forward, Rupert’s behavior is going to become more erratic towards Cameron and towards Taggie,” Treadwell-Collins teases. “Monica’s death is going to become an emotional obstacle there as well, and then Tony’s brother, Bas, is going to start to step up for his brother, and we’re going to see how wonderful Bas can be, as will Taggie. So, this will also add to the emotional turmoil in the mix and make things even more complicated.”
He continues, “And then the audience should be hopeful that she and Rupert will realize that they’re meant to be together, and they’ve got a little bit of a journey to go on, but they’ve got to both grow up a little bit before they get there, to be honest with you, and the events of Episode 6 really make it a lot harder for them, but there’s hope.”
Don’t lose sight of that hope because the angst between Rupert and Taggie is about to increase tenfold. “Times that by another 1000, I think,” Maclean warns. Hassell, who makes note of the “massive grief” Monica’s death causes, adds, “There are still so many hurdles. Declan is one of his best friends. He promised him that he wouldn’t go near his daughter, and he already has, but also, he knows he’s a bad man. Rupert knows he’s a bad man, and he’s trying to not hurt this pure person.”
There will be “continual pockets of gorgeousness” for Rupert and Taggie amid this darker chapter. “It’s never going to be bleak,” Treadwell-Collins vows. “There’s always going to be hope, and as someone who loves the romance of it all, the romance will always sweep us through, because they love each other. They do love each other, and the circumstances keep getting in the way, and we keep tying them back together.”
No matter the obstacle, Rupert and Taggie’s unbreakable connection will always prevail. “I love that everyone ships Rupert and Taggie as much as I do, as much as Jilly did,” Treadwell-Collins says. “I believe in happy endings.”
Good things do come to those who wait.
