8 Almost-Couples in ‘Bridgerton,’ Ranked
Before the Bridgerton siblings fall in love and get their endgames, some obstacles have to be placed in their path — usually in the form of a secondary love interest. They almost become a couple with their suitor or mistress, but they don’t make it all the way there before they realize who they’re meant to be with.
Over the past four seasons, we’ve seen all the Bridgerton siblings have dalliances, some fleeting and others more impactful. Who could forget back in Season 1 when Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) fell head over heels for Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker), only for him to find out she was duping him? His brother, Benedict (Luke Thompson), had the most entanglements of all before settling down with Sophie (Yerin Ha).
The period drama has offered its fair share of almost-romances, so we’re ranking them all. From Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) to Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Lord Debling (Sam Phillips), find out where everyone falls.
Disclaimer: We’re not counting Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) and her first husband, John Stirling (Victor Alli). Even though they weren’t an endgame romance, they weren’t an almost-couple. They were fully together before his untimely death in Season 4.
Bridgerton, Season 5, 2027, Netflix
8. Colin Bridgerton & Marina Thompson
Obviously, Marina doesn’t have pure intentions when it came to the naive Colin, so we have to rank them last. Though we can understand Marina’s desperation to ensure her unborn baby wouldn’t be born out of wedlock, we were rooting against her the entire time. Plus, their brief “romance” — if you can even call their rushed engagement that — leads to Penelope outing Marina’s pregnancy in her column. Not her finest moment. It was a bad time for everyone, so we’d rather forget it ever happened.
7. Benedict Bridgerton & Genevieve Delacroix
One of the more forgettable entanglements is the one between Benedict and ton modiste Genevieve Delacroix (Kathryn Drysdale) back in Season 1. They meet at a party of artists, while Benedict is learning to reject society’s norms — helping set up his later romance with maid Sophie. Benedict and Genevieve are fun, but there’s not much else to them. We don’t even really find out why their fling fizzled out after Season 1. Still, they get points for putting Benedict on the right path.
6. Anthony Bridgerton & Edwina Sharma
The love triangle absolutely no one was here for. In Season 2, Bridgerton departs from Julia Quinn’s books by setting up a more extensive “romance” between Edwina and Anthony while he’s hung up on her older sister, Kate (Simone Ashley). Anthony and Edwina’s entire purpose is to up the angst and forbiddenness of Anthony and Kate. Edwina has zero chemistry with Anthony by comparison, but we suppose that’s the point. Edwina doesn’t challenge Anthony like he needs to be. Not to mention, there’s the whole matter of Kate betraying Edwina by hiding her feelings and having her be humiliated on her wedding day. It should never have gotten that far. Anthony and Edwina’s loveless courtship and engagement are decent for the plot, we suppose, but that’s about it.
5. Penelope Featherington & Lord Debling
We’re glad Penelope got at least one suitor before committing to Colin. There’s nothing wrong with Lord Debling (Sam Phillips), aside from the fact that he’s not really after a love match. In fact, we think he offers Penelope a pretty sweet deal. He goes on an expedition to Antarctica, and Penelope gets full freedom to write and a whole estate to herself? Score. Obviously, Colin is the better option, but Penelope would’ve been alright if she went with Debling, so we feel like middle of the pack is a good spot for them. Plus, Debling gave us jealous Colin, which is one of his best forms.
4. Benedict Bridgerton & Lady Tilley Arnold
Benedict and Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New) are a harmless sort of couple before Sophie comes along. The widowed, independent Tilley is upfront from the beginning that she doesn’t want another husband, which we appreciate. She also helps Benedict explore his bisexuality for the first time by adding a third to their affair (her friend, Lucas Aurelio‘s Paul). Granted, Tilley reveals that she’s starting to develop feelings for Benedict, but when he rejects her and says he isn’t ready to settle down yet, she takes it well. All in all, Benedict’s dalliance with Tilley was good for his character development, so we didn’t mind them as a side plot point.
3. Anthony Bridgerton & Siena Rosso
Anthony and opera singer Siena Rosso (Sabrina Bartlett) begin Bridgerton Season 1 with a literal bang. The passion and chemistry is there, clearly. It also becomes clear that Anthony has real feelings for Siena, though their passionate affair has to be kept secret due to his status as the Viscount Bridgerton. The imbalance causes tension in their relationship, though he’s attracted to the freedom she offers him, and he even hopes to court her officially. (Siena and Anthony walked so Sophie and Benedict could run.) She breaks things off with Anthony before that happens, though, knowing she wouldn’t fit in his world. It’s a stepping stone to where we find him at the beginning of his season — practical and duty-focused, completely hopeless of finding a love match. That’s what makes it so satisfying when he can’t deny his feelings for Kate any longer. So, points for Siena and Anthony!
2. Daphne Bridgerton & Prince Friedrich
Are we the only ones who found ourselves rooting for Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and Queen Charlotte’s nephew, the Prince Friedrich of Prussia, (Freddie Stroma), for just a little bit? Sure, Daphne and Simon’s (Regé-Jean Page) chemistry is incomparable, but there’s something to be said for the sweet, uncomplicated romance the prince could’ve given her. He shows zero red flags during their courtship, though we know in the long run Daphne wouldn’t have handled the pressure of being a princess well. The Prince’s only crime is being a little boring, but again, he serves as a nice breather amidst the ups and downs of Simon.
1. Eloise Bridgerton & Theo
The sparks between print shop worker Theo (Calam Lynch) and Eloise (Claudia Jessie) almost had us rooting for the show to give us a different endgame for the middle Bridgerton sibling. They cross paths in Season 2 during Eloise’s quest to identify Lady Whistledown, and during the process, they find out that they align in their non-traditional views of women’s roles in society. Despite coming from different worlds and social classes, Eloise and Theo would’ve totally worked — but after an almost-kiss, Eloise ends things for the sake of avoiding scandal. Though it wasn’t meant to be, Eloise and Theo still deliver Bridgerton’s best side romance by far.
