No secret can be kept forever.

Note: the following article contains spoilers for Bridgerton season 3, part 2.

Netflix’s Bridgerton is the gift that keeps on giving. Season after season, we get wrapped up in the love lives of the Bridgerton siblings, following their heartbreaks and romances as if they were our own. In season 3, it was Colin and Penelope’s turn.

The two had been friends since childhood, but that doesn’t mean they know everything about each other. Well, Penelope may actually know Colin like the back of her hand, however, the contrary cannot be said because she does not allow it. For much of the show, the youngest Featherington sister keeps her identity as Lady Whistledown a secret, using her column to feel control over something in her life. Naturally, this complicates her relationship with Colin, who often expresses his distaste for the writer.

When does Colin find out Penelope is Lady Whistledown?

Colin finds out Penelope’s secret in season 3, episode 6, after following her carriage at night. Earlier in the episode, Cressida Cowper had printed an issue impersonating Lady Whistledown in order to convince the Queen of her lie, and Penelope could not let that stand. Later that night, she makes a trip to her printer with an issue debunking Cressida, and as she’s leaving, she comes face to face with Colin, who outright asks if she’s Lady Whistledown.

The confrontation between the two continues in episode 7, with Colin affirming he had overheard Penelope’s conversation with the printer. The discovery causes a rupture in their relationship, as Colin tearfully tells his bride-to-be that he’ll never forgive her for all the lies and the things she has written about his family. Despite this, the two maintain their engagement.

The way Bridgerton handled Colin’s discovery certainly provided viewers with a lot of drama, but the book series takes a different route. In chapter 12 of Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Colin finds out about Penelope by following her to a church and seeing her put something in an envelope. He confronts her about her secrecy and ends up opening the envelope, which contains a new Lady Whistledown issue unmasking Cressida’s lie. This all happens before Penelope and Colin get engaged, which allows a more linear approach to their romance.

The Netflix show makes a lot of changes to Julia Quinn’s books, but regardless of which one you prefer, we can all agree that both versions do Polin’s story justice. Hopefully, we’ll be able to say the same for the show’s future couples.