Bridgerton is everyone’s favourite diverse period drama. The Shondaland hit has done its darnedest to offer broad representation in its (incredibly attractive) cast, and was one of the first ever productions to use actors of colour for a regency-era adaptation.
However, if you ask us, the series has been a little light on queer drama lately. In fact, dare we say the show has been a little teasing in its use of queer characters – or lack thereof.
Fortunately, this may be about to change, with the Bridgerton showrunner telling fans to expect more queer love stories in future seasons.
“I think this is a show about the many ways in which people love. So it only feels right to show all the ways in which people love, including queer love,” showrunner Jess Brownell said in an interview with Refinery29 Australia.
“So, we are exploring queer love stories across the next couple of seasons.”
Even with that confirmation, Brownell hasn’t confirmed which character/s will be the subject of these storylines. But we have our theories…
With part two of season three on the way, rumours are still swirling that there will be a sapphic plot twist for our new unlikely besties, Eloise Bridgerton and Cressida Cowper.
In June, the actress who plays Cressida, Jessica Masden, came out to her fans on Instagram and confirmed she’s in love with a woman in real life. This has since lead keen watchers to ramp up speculation that Jessica could play a queer character on screen.
However, there is potential for another queer(ish?) character to have their heads turned in a new romantic direction. Here, the queer breadcrumbs and plotlines in the Bridgerton universe.
Is Benedict Bridgerton Gay?
If you ask the book series, Benedict is straight as an arrow. However, season one did offer a little hope that Benedict could indeed be queer.
In season one, episode five, Benedict attends an orgy with other men present (Ooh! Gasp!)… before he swiftly takes up with two women.
However, Benedict has proven himself to be an open-minded sort, and actor Luke Thompson hasn’t ruled out a queer character arc.
“Benedict has such a lovely openness and fluidity about him generally, and that’s really, really fun to play because it could go anywhere,” Thompson told Entertainment Weekly in 2022, following season 2.
“People get very excited and they want everything to be explored in the first few seasons and every corner of sexuality, gender. Obviously, there’s a way to go, so we’ll see what happens with Benedict, but we’re only on season two, so there’s lots of space for him to explore all sorts of things.”
Is Cressida Cowper Gay?
The jury is out on Cressida for now, but actress Jessica Madsen has officially come out to fans.
“In Love with a woman, loud about it and proud about it!” Madsen wrote on Instagram in a post celebrating Pride Month.
The comments were full of her Bridgerton castmates, including Nicola Coughlan, Jonathan Bailey and Hannah Dodd expressing their love.
Author of the original Bridgerton book series, Julia Quinn, also chimed in with some support.
Meanwhile, fans are still holding out hope for ‘Creloise’ – the portmanteau of Cressida and Eloise – to become more than friends.
“THIS IS WHY I FELT CRELOISE! My gaydar wasn’t wrong!” One fan wrote on Madsen’s post in a comment that garnered over 2500 likes. They’re not alone either. Each of Madsen’s posts is full of Creloise fans barracking for a love story between the two on-screen besties.
Will we get Creloise in season four?
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