Romance fans far and wide rejoiced when “Bridgerton” first hit Netflix, and they only continue to keep rejoicing. The scripted show, which is based on Julia Quinn’s book series of the same name, does not hold back when it comes to digging into love stories, relationship drama, and yes, steamy romance. “The romance genre, rightly so, is being given a platform in ‘Bridgeton’ that it completely deserves,” series star Jonathan Bailey told Town & Country in 2022. “It’s the most joyful, optimistic, expansive narrative that you can absorb yourself into. Of course I believe in that.”
The love lives of the cast of “Bridgerton” do not exactly look like something out of the Regency era set drama, but that’s not to say they aren’t of interest. Rather, there’s been quite a bit of buzz about who some of the stars happen to be linked to in the real world. Without further ado, here are the real-life partners of some of your favorite past and present “Bridgerton” stars.
Bessie Carter is reportedly dating one of her co-stars
Throughout Hollywood history, many co-stars have fallen for one another behind the scenes. Some “Bridgerton” stars can be added to that group. Take Bessie Carter and Sam Phillips, the pair who play Prudence Featherington and Lord Debling, respectively, on the hit Netflix series. While the two haven’t publicly confirmed that they’re in a relationship, all signs point to it. In 2023, the duo attended multiple events together, including the premiere of the play “A Little Life,” which their co-star Luke Thompson acted in, as well as the premiere of the film “Wonka.”
In 2024, the two were spotted off duty getting cozy and kissing, and that same year it was reported that the two had moved in together. Carter and Phillips have also posted Stories to Instagram in the past that would lead people to believe they’re in a relationship.
If that is the case, we’re inclined to believe Carter wasted no time telling Phillips how she felt. When asked by Screen Rant what her advice for “Bridgerton” characters Penelope and Colin would be, she said, “Be honest sooner. I mean, honestly, that’s my motto for everything. I’m almost cripplingly honest. I would just always say how you feel and hope for the best.”
Ruth Gemmell was married to Ray Stevenson for years
The cast of “Bridgerton” has experienced love in many different ways. Ruth Gemmell, who plays Lady Violet Bridgerton, is no stranger to romance. The English actor was married to Ray Stevenson, an Irish actor who was best known for his role in the film “King Arthur.” The former couple were together from 1997 to 2005, and the details of their relationship were kept quite private. Gemmell is still reticent to open up about her personal life, but she has collected bits of wisdom from her past romances, and she’s applied it to situations in “Bridgerton.” “Francesca is teaching [Violet] something: that not all love has to be the same, that not all love has to be a thunderbolt, that something that is a slow burn can be equally as valid and beautiful,” Gemmell said to Salon.
Gemmell has also enjoyed seeing her character find love of her own after losing the love of her life. “I think she’s enjoying feeling alive again. And I think she’s surprised about feeling alive again,” the actor said about her character’s romantic storyline with the character Lord Marcus. Though she did add, “I think she’s going to be very tentative with this because I think her children mean everything to her.”
Regé-Jean Page is in a super private long term relationship
Despite not having been in “Bridgerton” since Season 1, Regé-Jean Page — who played Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings — is still one of the biggest heartthrobs from the series. Naturally, fans have been curious about Regé-Jean Page’s dating history. Turns out, the star has been in a relationship with a copywriter and soccer player named Emily Brown, and he has been for years. That’s about all we know about the pair, as they are pretty private. Brown doesn’t have any known social media profiles, and Page’s page is essentially a giant thirst trap (though he might say it’s a repository for past projects and promotions). The two aren’t seen in public together much, and Page doesn’t comment on his love life.
But based on Page’s comments about love in general, Brown is one lucky lady. “I’m a huge fan of romance as a concept. Romance is a wonderful thing and we need more of it in the world,” the actor said to Entertainment Weekly. And he wants to see it shine through more art. “Most things at their core are love stories anyway, whether they realize it or not. It’s hilarious, the more seriously a show tries to take itself and detach itself from that, the more that the love story generally tends to come forward,” he said.
Phoebe Dynevor doesn’t like to say much about her relationship, either
Phoebe Dynevor, the actor who plays Daphne Bridgerton Basset (and whose big “Bridgerton” break almost didn’t happen) in the period piece, is nearly as mum about her relationship as her former co-star Regé-Jean Page. In 2024, Dynevor became engaged to Cameron Fuller, an actor whose father has produced some of the biggest horror films of the century, including “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The Purge,” and “A Quiet Place.” While Dynevor didn’t offer the news on her social media, Fuller posted a photo of the two of them to share the happy news. The actor did wear her engagement ring to the 2024 Met Gala, though, so she’s not totally secretive about her relationship status.
Dynevor is intentional about keeping her personal life private, especially after her short-lived relationship with Pete Davidson. “I was just being a young woman and dating and somehow that provokes a conversation. There were lots of hard lessons I had to learn through basically just having a personal life,” Dynevor said to Elle. “You realize, ‘Oh, I can’t live my life in the way that I used to. I have to keep my cards slightly closer to my chest.’ There was a time, for example, when I’d post anything on my Instagram, and now I’m very, very careful about what I put out into the world.”
Claudia Jessie is dating a Bridgerton casting director
The “Bridgerton” actors haven’t just found love in each other — they’ve formed romantic relationships with members of the creative team, too. The truth about Claudia Jessie, who plays Eloise Bridgerton, is that she’s in a committed relationship with one of the casting directors, Cole Edwards. The two first met at Jessie’s audition, and she’s been wholly complimentary of Edwards during the process. “I think it was the best audition I’ve ever had in my life … That’s a lot to do with [casting associate] Cole Edwards, who I had auditioned with. It was so much fun, and I felt really comfortable. And then that was it,” Jessie told Glamour. “I got a job and a fella on the same day. It was a great day for me, wasn’t it?” the actor said of the audition and Edwards to The Guardian.
Jessie has had the chance to call upon some of her own romantic experiences for her character’s storyline in “Bridgerton,” and she’s welcomed it. “I was very excited [for Eloise to have a crush] because I think there’s an idea that people maybe don’t associate love and romance with Eloise … So it’s more interesting that we see someone like Eloise experience romantic feelings and what that looks like,” Jessie said of one of Eloise’s Season 2 plot lines.
Lorraine Ashbourne has a whole family of performers
Lorraine Ashbourne’s character on “Bridgerton,” Mrs. Varley, isn’t married to an aristocrat — she’s the Featherington family’s housekeeper. But in real life, Lorraine is married to a rich and successful actor, Andy Serkis. Andy is arguably the most famous motion capture actor to date. His credits include Caesar in the “Planet of the Apes” reboot, Snoke from “Star Wars,” and, of course, Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings.” The two have been married for over two decades, and they have three children together: Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, Sonny Ashbourne Serkis, and Louis Ashbourne Serkis, all of whom are actors, as well.
Being in the entertainment industry can be quite volatile, but the Ashbourne Serkis children have two successful parents to guide them, and both Lorraine and Andy are there to offer advice. “Always have a project regardless of whether you’re up for a job or not, always work on a script, a short film, make something that you are in control of, because being an actor when you’re starting off, you end up with long periods of unemployment,” Andy tells his children, as he shared with Independent. “It’s about staying focused in the right way and actually enjoying life when you’re not acting — be inquisitive, go and travel, do whatever, you know — because it’s all basically life experience.”
Polly Walker is married to a fellow actor
Polly Walker plays arguably one of the most complicated characters in all of “Bridgerton,” Lady Portia Featherington. On the show, she has a very complicated family dynamic. Off screen, however, she leads a fairly regular life (aside from being one of the stars of one of Netflix’s most popular shows ever). Walker is married to Laurence Penry-Jones, a former actor known for his work in projects like “Doctors” and “Walking the Dead” (not to be confused with “The Walking Dead”) who now reportedly works as an ambulance driver. Walker has two children from a previous relationship, and she and her husband live in London.
Walker and Penry-Jones lived an especially relatable life during the COVID-19 pandemic. While many actors retreated to tropical destinations, the “Bridgerton” star and her husband stayed put in London. “I spent a lot of time in the garden, and had quality time with my husband and daughter. We went on a lot of walks with our two dogs,” Walker told The Sunday Post. “I spent a lot of time baking, getting organised, having massive clear-outs. And perhaps the most beneficial thing I did was to complete a 30-day yoga programme, which I thoroughly enjoyed.”
Adjoa Andoh had a darling meet-cute with her husband
Adjoa Andoh, who plays Lady Agatha Danbury on “Bridgerton,” has been acting for decades, and she knows a thing or two about a well-written story. Fittingly, the tale of how she met her husband, author Howard Cunnell, sounds like something from a movie. As she shared with The Guardian, Andoh and Cunnell met in the mid ’90s at the Battersea Art Centre. “I had a theatre company called Wild Iris. We had a tiny little office at the centre. One of our directors came in one day to say someone was taking over the bookstore downstairs, and that he was tasty. We went in and there was Howard. He was this very smiley man behind the till in a patch of sunshine,” Andoh said.
The two became friends and remained so for a while before transitioning into a romantic relationship. Soon after, Andoh gave birth to their two children together (Andoh has another child from a previous relationship), and eventually they got married. They’ve now been husband and wife for over two decades, and the duo couldn’t be more in love. “There’s a feeling of being loved for who you are. It’s a grownup love and the thing I cherish the most,” Cunnell said of their marriage.
Golda Rosheuvel met her wife in a sweet way, too
What would “Bridgerton” be without Queen Charlotte? The inimitable role is played by Golda Rosheuvel, and the actor is just as well versed in the romantic world in real life as her character. Rosheuvel is married to playwright Shireen Mula, the two of whom met years ago at a mutual friend’s party. “I met my wife on the dance floor,” Rosheuvel said to her “Bridgerton” co-stars in a segment for Glamour in 2024. “And we were kind of like, ‘Yeah, you’re alright. Yeah, you’ve got good moves.’ 11 years later, we are now in it for the long haul.”
The couple has proven that they’re in it for the long haul by supporting each other’s careers, especially as Rosheuvel’s has ballooned thanks to the hit Netflix series. “The [‘Bridgerton’] attention has been a big adjustment and it’s great to have somebody there who can hold you in the moments you find difficult and help you navigate the ups and downs,” Rosheuvel said to Tatler of her relationship with her wife. While the two have been together for a while, most of it hasn’t been as a married couple. The two quietly tied the knot at the end of 2023.
Simone Ashley is happily dating an entrepreneur
Simone Ashley was the breakout star of “Bridgerton” Season 2, playing Kathani ‘Kate’ Sharma. In the show, she had a steamy romance (and plenty of criticized steamy scenes) with Lord Anthony Bridgerton, but in real life she’s dating an entrepreneur named Constantin “Tino” Klein. Ashley first revealed that she was in a relationship in 2022, but she declined to share his identity at the time. “I’m very happy. We haven’t gone public yet and we’re having those conversations about how we can get there before anyone else does,” she told British Vogue in an interview, adding that while she hadn’t yet moved in with him, she wanted to eventually.
Ashley and Klein went public in 2023 when she posted a photo of the two of them on Instagram. And while they aren’t totally private about their relationship anymore, Ashley still doesn’t discuss him much. The actor is more focused on speaking about causes that matter to her, like representation in the arts. “What we see is really powerful, and the more that we can see ourselves on the screen, and the more diversity we see, it helps us connect with each other in the world, and how we think about ourselves and our own ambitions. I’m so proud to be a part of the dark skin girl club,” Ashley said in an interview with Monaco Life.
Some cast members have declined to publicly disclose their partners
There are a number of “Bridgerton” cast members who are not in a relationship as of this writing. For example, Julie Andrews, the iconic actor who voices Lady Whistledown, was married twice, first to Tony Walton whom she divorced in the late ’60s, and then to Blake Edwards whom she was with until his death in 2010. Then there’s Nicola Coughlan, aka Penelope Featherington, who is reportedly happily single after a few failed relationships.
The cast also has multiple actors who’ve confirmed that they are in relationships, but they haven’t publicly disclosed the other person’s identity. One such cast member is Jonathan Bailey, the actor who plays Lord Anthony Bridgerton. Bailey is in a happy relationship with a mystery man, but he chooses to keep the details away from the public eye. “It’s not secret, but it’s private. Having a private life is, for me, completely critical. I don’t know if I would be able to be as confident to speak out on other things if I felt that my whole life was up for grabs,” Bailey said to The Standard. Jessica Madsen, the actor behind Cressida Cowper, is in a private relationship, too. Madsen celebrated Pride Month in 2024 with a post on Instagram, writing, “In Love with a woman, loud about it and proud about it!” The actor has not confirmed who she’s dating.
