What is life without a little gossip?” Queen Charlotte wonders when deciding what to do with the freshly outed Lady Whistledown, aka Penelope Bridgerton, near the conclusion of Bridgerton’s third season. It’s a question that fans of the Regency-era drama know the answer to: Life without gossip — especially Bridgerton’s special brand of gossip — is much less romantic, much less dramatic, much less fun. It’s been a struggle to live without it during this long hiatus ahead of Bridgerton season four, hasn’t it? But that struggle is about to be quashed as the new season arrives on Netflix on Thursday, January 29, 2026, and to ease the pain ahead of that date, we thought we’d reminisce about the threesomes, two weddings, and yes, one incredible carriage ride everyone was talking about last year.
If you recall, season three of Bridgerton gave us the much-anticipated love story of Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton, but we also had several other important couples. It felt like the season of undeniable, complicated, lovable duos — well, with one quite notable exception — and below, we get into all of the hottest gossip from season three, one pair at a time.
Penelope & Colin
A friends-to-lovers romance for the ages. A carriage ride I will carry with me through the coldest of these dark winter days. Season three sees Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington in the hot seat — emphasis on hot … and maybe also seat, to be honest — and thanks to one massive secret, things get complicated quickly.
Though I guess you could say things started getting complicated since the last time Pen saw her forever crush Colin; he was laughing with friends at the thought of someone thinking he would consider courting Penelope. When he returns from months abroad, looking pirate chic and purporting to be a suave ladies’ man, it doesn’t take long for Penelope to lay into him for what she overheard. (It also doesn’t take long for Lady Whistledown to bad-mouth Colin’s new personality in print.) He’s devastated that he hurt her, and when he sees that she has decided to give herself a makeover in the hope of finding a husband this season, he wants to offer his help. He’ll give her some guidance on how to win over the gentlemen suitors — a Colin Bridgerton Charm School, if you will. They are friends, after all, aren’t they?
Their agreement gets thorny for several reasons: First, Penelope secretly loves Colin, and — wouldn’t you know it? — some of the things she says to him catch him so off guard, he is very confused as to why he’s feeling some strange new feelings. Then, the whole of the ton learns about their inappropriate — to the ton, at least — alliance and basically laughs Penelope back to the walls of the ballroom from whence she came. Things really get dicey when, against all odds, Penelope charms the eligible (and insanely wealthy) Lord Debling, and even though he is — gasp! — a vegetarian and plans to go study birds in the wilderness for three years, he is a kind, practical match for Pen, who really does need to get away from her family. This match is good news, you say? In theory, yes. But the news of an imminent proposal comes just as Colin Bridgerton has gotten his head out of his ass and realized that he is madly in love with the girl across the street.
What is a guy to do when he realizes he is in love with a woman who is about to be engaged? Well, he dashes over to the ball where it’s about to happen, cuts into their dance, and tells her that this other guy is all wrong for her. Lord Debling is not interested in pursuing Penelope any longer once he realizes there’s something complicated going on between her and another man. He decidedly puts an end to his courtship, and Penelope flees the ball in tears. How could Colin do this to her? Thankfully, he chases down her carriage to explain himself. And that explanation includes things like how he is tortured with feelings of love for her, that he never wants those feelings to end, and also the greatest hookup with an instrumental version of a Pitbull song in the history of television, or perhaps the world. Colin and Penelope are hot for each other, which in 1815 inevitably leads directly to an engagement. This is incredible news.
Well, incredible news for everyone except for Eloise Bridgerton, who knows that not only is Penelope Lady Whistledown but also that Colin loathes Lady Whistledown, and it will break his heart to learn the truth. She demands Pen fess up, or she will tell her brother whom he is really marrying. Things for Colin and Pen, though, do look hopeful for a moment: They have some seemingly satisfying sex that includes swoony mirror work, and when Cressida Cowper decides to take credit for Lady Whistledown’s writing in order to get Queen Charlotte’s 5,000-pound reward and begin a new life not married to a man with one foot in the grave, it even seems like Pen might get away with never telling Colin the truth. If, that is, she is okay with never writing as Lady Whistledown again.
When Cressida (and her mother) attempts to prove that she is truly the gossip writer in order to satisfy the queen and get that money, the Cowpers wind up writing some truly heinous lies about the Bridgertons, and Penelope — in an effort to discredit Cressida, protect the good Bridgerton name, and reclaim her life’s work — starts writing again. Though done with noble intentions, this move has two pretty alarming consequences. First, Colin catches his fiancée in the act and is absolutely gutted to learn that the woman he loves has been lying to him for so long — and has written some pretty rough things about him and his family. He is beside himself with anger and sadness and a little jealousy, to be honest. He is still going to marry her because he’s a gentleman, but he doesn’t know if he’ll ever get past this.
Their wedding day isn’t exactly what one might dream of, but it is dreamy nonetheless, and it almost seems like the rift between the bride and groom is healing — until Queen Charlotte arrives at their wedding breakfast to announce that she knows Lady Whistledown is one of the Bridgertons, and she will make them confess sooner or later. After that meeting, Colin tells Pen that she has to give it up for good, but Pen cannot. He’s asking her to give up her voice, her power, and she refuses to do that, no matter the cost.
Things come to a head when Cressida learns that Penelope is Lady Whistledown thanks to some chatty printers, and still in desperate need of money to get away from her father, she blackmails Penelope. When Colin attempts to fix the problem by talking to Cressida, he makes it worse — now she wants double the money, or she will reveal all.
At this point, Portia Featherington has been let in on the secret too. And when Pen discovers that her mother took the money that Cousin Jack helped steal from the ton last season and Portia too is about to be exposed, she hatches a plan to help them both survive their scandals and move forward. She secretly pays for her sisters to throw the ball of the season but ensures that people think that Portia coughed up the money so that they can prove to the solicitor who has it out for Lady Featherington that her money wasn’t stolen — it came from Penelope’s writing gig. Now, how will they know Penelope is the infamous Lady Whistledown? She’s going to come clean — to everyone.
Penelope writes a letter to Queen Charlotte outing herself and asking for Her Majesty to let her plead her case at the ball. The ton is agog to learn that Penelope Featherington — now Bridgerton — has been Whistledown all along. Pen gives an impassioned speech about how gossip is information and information is power, and she promises to be more careful with her power if the queen allows her to keep writing. It’s a pretty baller speech.
The queen loves her gossip rag, so she bestows mercy on Penelope — for now. Cressida is sent to live with her wretched aunt in Wales. Colin tells his wife that he is basically obsessed with her and feels lucky to stand by her side. Colin Bridgerton: a real wife guy now. Not only does Penelope continue her Whistledown writing, but Colin too publishes a book about his travels, and they have a son — the new Lord Featherington. And in the end, the husband and wife share a kiss directly in front of the window where Penelope used to sit, waiting to catch a glimpse of the boy across the street with whom she was deeply in love.
Penelope & Eloise
One of the most devastating scenes in all of Bridgerton is easily the moment in season two when Eloise discovers that her best friend, Penelope, is Lady Whistledown. The breakup of friends is devastating and, at first, feels quite irrevocable. When season three begins, the two women have kept their distance for months, and even worse than Eloise simply pretending that Penelope doesn’t exist, she goes and befriends Pen’s biggest bully — Cressida Cowper. While Cressida gets some new layers this season — both metaphorically and literally speaking — she is still terrible (see above), and watching her arm in arm with Eloise is nauseating for both the audience and Penelope.
Eloise and Pen can no longer stay out of each other’s way once Pen and Colin pull up to Bridgerton House engaged. Eloise was content to keep Pen’s Whistledown secret at first, but now that Colin is involved, she demands that her ex-best friend tell Colin the truth or else she will; she refuses to let Colin marry Penelope unless he knows exactly whom he is tying his life to. This threat gets complicated once Cressida decides to take credit for Whistledown, which at first, Eloise sees as a gift — now Penelope can stop writing Whistledown, let it die with Cressida, and no one — especially Colin — will be the wiser. It’s just gossip, after all, she tells her.
As cutting as that sentiment is, Eloise too realizes the power Whistledown gives its writer once Cressida surprises everyone by writing a coherent rage bait-filled issue that mostly spews lies about the Bridgerton family. Pen wants to use her writing to do something good — she wants to use it to help the Bridgertons. Eloise begs her to pick up the quill again. Eloise still refuses to insert herself in Colin and Penelope’s relationship, regardless of how bleak things get, but she does soften toward Penelope once again. After facing threats from the queen and blackmail from Cressida, the two friends find themselves back on the sofa discussing their latest reads before Eloise heads off to Scotland with her sister for some real life experience. Nothing can break up these two permanently. Eloise and Penelope: Mayfair’s ride or die.
Violet & Lady Danbury
If you watched Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, in which the present-day scenes take place between seasons two and three of Bridgerton, you know that friends and co-meddlers Violet Bridgerton and Agatha Danbury had some unfinished business to deal with in Bridgerton season three. And that is mainly that, well, Lady Danbury was in cahoots with Violet’s (married) father, Lord Ledger. Lest you think it was just some lusty affair, the two of them really seemed to fall for each other — they never looked happier. Violet discovered this decades-long secret, and Lady D figured that Violet discovered it, but neither has officially broached the subject. Well, they broach it in season three, baby.
Violet and Agatha are poised for another season spent steering the ton’s youth toward their version of love and happiness — this year, they team up to help Francesca land the title of diamond of the season and the best prospects in town — but a wrench is tossed into the proceedings when Lady Danbury’s younger, widower brother, Lord Marcus Anderson, arrives in town hoping to find someone with whom to share his second act; he is immediately taken with Violet. At first, this proves awkward for the trio, but it does push them all to have some difficult but much-needed conversations.
Agatha finally reveals to Marcus that she’s resented him all these years because she, in part, blames him for narking her out to their father when she tried to escape her arranged marriage. In all fairness, Marcus was 10, but he apologizes — he had no idea it would wind up causing her so much pain. They make amends and vow to be a part of each other’s lives once again. This healing moment also gives Marcus the go-ahead to pursue Violet. While some might worry that Marcus might come between the friendship of these two esteemed ladies, his presence does the opposite. Both Violet and Agatha are given room to vocalize how much the other means to them. Their friendship isn’t transactional, nor will whatever happens with Marcus come between them. In fact, Agatha outright says that she’s Team Violet, no matter what. She also tells her dear friend that she does not need permission to be courted by Marcus — after all, Agatha did not ask Violet’s permission when she … had sex with her dad? In theory, it’s weird, but in execution, it’s a sweet moment in which both women acknowledge the past, present, and future of their relationship — one that now seems to be a lifelong friendship. Let the courting of Violet Bridgerton begin, people!
Francesca & John
Introverts deserve love too! While obviously all the dramatic grand gestures and the unabashed declarations of unbridled feelings and the sparks — oh, god, the sparks! — of Bridgerton are incredible to watch, it was nice for a change of pace in season three when two people who can say more to each other in the silence got together. When Francesca Bridgerton, the (reluctant) diamond of the season, meets John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin, she is instantly taken with his appreciation for the quiet too. This proves to be a troubling development for both Queen Charlotte, who is pushing her pick for the diamond — a marquis! — and Violet, who reads Francesca’s and John’s lack of overt passion as her daughter settling.
When it becomes clear that Fran is all in on John Stirling — he had music rewritten for her just the way she heard it in her head; I swoon! — the queen is annoyed but has bigger, Whistledown-shaped fish to fry. It’s Violet who poses the bigger problem. She is reluctant to vouch for her daughter and her fiancé when they seek the queen’s permission to marry because she simply doesn’t understand a marriage without real sparks. But Francesca remains true: She loves John, and just because her mother doesn’t understand it, that doesn’t make it something to be dismissed. On Francesca and John’s wedding day, mother and daughter make amends. John is a good man, a kind man, and she can see he makes Francesca happy. I mean, she isn’t thrilled that this marriage means Francesca and John are immediately moving to his primary estate in the Scottish Highlands, but John’s gorgeous wedding day toast about how he can see Violet in each of her children does seem to soften the blow.
While Fran and John’s dream is to be left alone in their Kilmartin Castle, they will be accompanied by a few guests: Eloise asks her sister if she can tag along to experience more of the world, and John introduces his wife and sister-in-law to his beloved cousin Michaela. Based on both Francesca’s slight disappointment over her chaste wedding-day kiss and her sudden inability to form words when she beholds the force that is Michaela Stirling, most can guess where this is eventually heading, even if you have yet to read Francesca’s novel. But first, we’ll see what awaits our newlyweds in Scotland.
Anthony & Kate
Last season’s spotlight couple have a much less stressful go-around in season three once they decide their post-marriage theme is “let’s take care of our needs.” And I mean that both sexually and emotionally. Once they return from their honeymoon, Anthony and Kate, who both have spent the majority of their lives drowning in familial responsibility, remember that working sucks and being on holiday with each other (and Newton) is way more fun. So, off they go. Good for them.
When they return a second time, they stumble right into Colin’s surprise engagement and have enough time for Kate to throw an engagement party that people will be talking about for years, to pass along some wise advice about working at marriage and forgiving your partner when they make mistakes, and to announce that Kate is knocked up. Anthony Bridgerton is coming into his DILF era? To quote another Shondaland fave, somebody sedate me. Regardless of the fact that the literal queen of England is threatening the entire Bridgerton family unless one of them comes clean about being Lady Whistledown and that Anthony is not exactly thrilled about seeing his mother and Lady Danbury’s brother flirting, these two parents-to-be elect to flee to Kate’s hometown in India so she can be with her family when she has the baby and so they can make sure their child is able to appreciate both their Bridgerton and Sharma heritages. Honestly, it’s very sweet, although their presence is greatly missed.
Will & Alice Mondrich
A surprising development awaits Will and Alice Mondrich in season three when Alice learns that a distant aunt of hers, Lady Kent, has died and left everything — title included — to the Mondriches’ eldest son, Nicholas. Excuse me, Lord Nicholas Mondrich, Baron of Kent. Just when business at the drinking club is booming! Instead of a life adjacent to high society, Will and Alice are tossed directly into it. They move into their new estate, take over old Lady Kent’s clothes (bad) and jewelry (good), and quickly need to learn the rules of surviving the ton. They eventually master three of their lessons: First, since they are married, they can ignore a lot of the rules — this, thankfully, means that these two people who are very fond of each other will not be sleeping in separate bedrooms. Second, noble families cannot have regular-people jobs. Goodbye, drinking club — we hardly knew ye.
And finally, they learn (and this is the really fun one) that they should always be striving to stand out in the best ways. For instance, throw an unforgettable ball, and make sure the queen attends. Check and check. Although there were some bumps along the way, by the end of season three, the Mondriches seem to be doing just fine with their new elevated stature in the world.
Benedict Bridgerton & Tilley Arnold & Paul Suarez
Season three had room for a trio too. At the start of our story, Benedict is brooding. He has given up art, and while he found purpose in filling in for Anthony, now that his brother is back, he is a bit aimless. It’s not long before he runs into Lady Tilley Arnold. Tilley is a widow in the ton who isn’t exactly ready to jump back into marriage but does enjoy having a good time. They wind up in bed together. It is very good. They do it again.
Eventually, Tilley introduces Benedict to Mr. Paul Suarez, a friend of hers who also likes to have a good time, as it were. He and Benedict hit it off, and Tilley and Paul invite the second Bridgerton to be their third. Benedict balks at the idea at first, but after a chat with Tilley about how the world is much wider than the few blocks of Mayfair and his own pep talk to Eloise about how love is not finite, he reconsiders the offer. Finally, Benedict, Tilley, and Paul all have a good time together. It is very good. And they do it again … and again. Their easy, breezy threesome only meets its end once Tilley catches feelings for Benedict. She is ready to commit to someone again, but Benedict is simply not there.
He is left baffled and decidedly changed by the entire affair. His world has been completely cracked open, and he wants to experience more of it. He has no idea what he will do next, but he is open to whatever, or whoever, might come across his path. He is ready to meet whatever the future holds for him — and yes, that might just include attending his mother’s famous masquerade party.
Now that you’re all caught up, make sure to check back at Shondaland.com for more about season four of Bridgerton, and as always, revisit our exclusive previous Bridgerton content, including behind-the-scenes videos and interviews, profiles, Q&As, and more with cast members and creatives.
