'Bridgerton' Author Responds to Francesca's New Gender Swap Storyline, Reveals What She Made Clear to Showrunner Jess Brownell

Bridgerton‘s author Julia Quinn has released a statement on some of the fan backlash from season three’s major change to Francesca’s story.

We will be revealing spoilers throughout this article, so be warned!

At the end of season three, after Francesca, portrayed by Hannah Dodd on the show, marries John, portrayed by Victor Alli, they meet his cousin, Michaela, portrayed by Masali Baduza. In the original book series, Francesca’s husband John dies, and she goes on to eventually marry his cousin, Michael.

The Bridgerton showrunner, Jess Brownell, decided to change the character of Michael to Michaela, which will seemingly lead to a queer storyline for the characters.

Some fans have not been happy with this switch, as it’s a departure from the original book “When He Was Wicked.”

Now, Julia Quinn is responding.

Keep reading to find out more…

Read Julia Quinn’s entire statement on the Bridgerton gender swap below…

On Facebook, she wrote, “Many Bridgerton fans have expressed their surprise, and for some, disappointment in the twist at the end of Bridgerton Season 3–that Michael Stirling, with whom Francesca eventually falls in love in “When He Was Wicked,” would instead be Michaela.”

She continued, “Anyone who has seen an interview with me from the past four years knows that I am deeply committed to the Bridgerton world becoming more diverse and inclusive as the stories move from book to screen. But switching the gender of a major character is a huge change, and so when Jess Brownell first approached me with the idea of turning Michael into Michaela for the show, I needed more information before conferring my agreement.”

She added, “I trust Shondaland’s vision for Bridgerton, but I wanted to be sure that we could remain true to the spirit of the book and of the characters. Jess and I talked for a long time about it. More than once. I made it clear that it was extremely important to me that Francesca’s abiding love for John be shown on screen. When I wrote “When He Was Wicked” I actually had to fight to have the first four chapters, which establish that love, included. My publisher was worried that writing about Fran’s love for John would take away from Michael’s role as the eventual romance novel hero. But I felt that if I didn’t show how deeply she loved John, and how deeply Michael, his cousin, also loved him, then their feelings of guilt at falling in love with each other after John’s death made no sense. I didn’t want to just tell the reader that they loved him. I wanted the reader to feel it.”

Julia then shared, “I’m confident now that when Francesca has her Bridgerton season, it will be the most emotional and heart-wrenching story of the show, just like When He Was Wicked has always been the true tear-jerker of the Bridgerton book series. Honestly, it may pack even more of a punch, since John is getting a lot more time on the screen than he ever did on the page, and I think it’s fair to say we’ve all fallen a little bit in love with him.”

She concluded, “Thank you to readers and fans for your feedback. I am grateful for your understanding and touched by your deep commitment to the characters of the Bridgerton world. 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.”

Find out who might be exiting the series ahead of season four…