The actor, who plays Cressida Cowper in all three seasons of Bridgerton, took to Instagram on 2 June to celebrate her queer identity and mark the start of the LGBTQ+ commemorative month.
“In Love with a woman, loud about it and proud about it!”, she wrote beneath the post, which included a slew of art which supports the queer community. “#Pride #pridemonth #loveislove #gaypride,” the hashtags read.
Her carousel also included a video clip of herself wearing rainbow face gems and a bucket hat which read: “LOVE SUPREME”.
Maden’s fellow co-stars took to the comments section to share their support for the star on coming out publicly, including out gay actor Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton), as well as season three stars Nicola Coughlan (Penelope Featherington) and Hannah Dodd (Francesca Bridgerton). The latter wrote, “Love youuuuuu.”
Her on-screen mother Lady Cowper, played by Joanna Bobin, also added: “Go baby girl! Love you.”
Who does Cressida Cowper marry?
While season three of the series starts to showcase Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s love story, viewers expressed their hope for a queer love story in part two between new friends Eloise Bridgerton and Cressida Cowper.
Fans also took to the comments beneath Masden’s post, explaining that they’re now hoping for a “Creloise” storyline in season three, part two of the series.
“THIS IS WHY I FELT CRELOISE! My gaydar wasn’t wrong! on a serious note, I’m so happy for you,” commented one fan, while another added: “Manifesting Creloise”.
In a recent interview with Decider, Masden said she could see how fans have found something “queer-coded” about her character’s affections towards her new best friend Eloise.
“Eloise completely opens [Cressida] up and I love what they create, which is a really safe space for each other… There’s a trust there and they’re curious about each other because they are so different and Eloise learns a lot through her about how different her life is,” she said.
Masden continued: “And queer-coded? I absolutely love that. That would be the best! Yeah, I mean, that would be cool. I like to think it would make sense because, like, she hasn’t bagged a guy. So, like, why not a gal? But yeah, I have really no idea.”
Although Cressida currently doesn’t “really understand what love is”, Maden said her relationship with Eloise is giving her something tangible to base that on.
“We’re seeing her in the opening up and having the possibility. But if she found someone, you know, where she has that connection that she has with Eloise that we see in the beginning, I think she would have a real opportunity at finding love. But she’s got a way to go yet.”
Of course, those who have read the novels by Julia Quinn will recall how Cressida marries Lord Twombley in the book An Offer From A Gentleman – a character which has not yet been introduced to us in the Netflix series.
With no major hints so far at who Cressida ends up with in the series, we’ll just have to wait and see.
