While Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin’s (Luke Newton) steamy storyline has everyone gripped firmly by the loins in Bridgerton season three so far, Colin’s big brother Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) has also been having a gay old time between the sheets.

However, his bedroom hijinks have left some fans scratching their heads because of some pretty heavy hints that were dropped about Benedict in season one. Let’s take a lovely Regency-era stroll down memory lane…

What was Benedict’s storyline in Bridgerton season 1 and 2?

The second-eldest Bridgerton sibling (they go in alphabetical order, in case you hadn’t clocked that little nugget yet) has been somewhat of a free spirit so far in the series and since he’s only been a supporting character thus far, he’s still a bit of an enigma.

In the first two seasons of Bridgerton, we saw Benedict heading down a bit of a bohemian road, attending art classes and longing to explore his creative side.

The talent is breathtaking. Credit: Netflix
Like his younger sister Eloise (Claudia Jessie), who he has a close relationship with, Benedict doesn’t seemed particularly interested in the more traditional side of society and pairing up with a woman of appropriate social standing.

In fact, many viewers seem to recall a scene which showed Benedict Bridgerton flirting with someone who wasn’t a woman at all, which led some viewers to assume the character was gay or bisexual.

Let’s unpack. The scene in question took place in Bridgerton season one, in which we saw Benedict have a flirtatious encounter with Sir Henry Granville (Julian Ovenden) a successful artist who happens to be Bridgerton‘s only confirmed gay character (so far).

It doesn’t matter that it was just a conversation and some rather suggestive remarks, and that Benedict then went on to have a threesome with Henry’s wife and another woman. Some fans have clung onto that interaction for two seasons, hoping or simply just assuming that Benedict is gay.

During Bridgerton season two, when Benedict was shown romancing a nude (female) model who he met at his art class, fans back then took to X (then known as Twitter) to vent their feelings.

That was actually pretty clairvoyant, especially given what happens in season three.

There was also this despair:

And given it’s been two years since Bridgerton season two aired (and maybe everyone just forgot), people watching season three are asking all over again: wait, so Benedict Bridgerton definitely isn’t gay?

What happens to Benedict in Bridgerton season 3?

While the recap at the beginning of Bridgerton season three part one was pretty detailed, it didn’t really delve into Benedict’s story that much.

This is probably why the whole “is Benedict gay?” conversation has ramped up all over again, especially as viewers have seen him bonking Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New) all over the Ton.
These two wasted NO time. Credit: Netflix
Cut to more shock over on X.




And this, which summarises it nicely:

Entertainment Weekly asked Luke Thompson about the possibilty of his character being queer back in 2022, and he didn’t deny or confirm it.

“Benedict has such a lovely openness and fluidity about him generally, and that’s really, really fun to play because it could go anywhere,” Thompson told the publication.

“People get very excited and they want everything to be explored in the first few seasons and every corner of sexuality, gender. Obviously, there’s a way to go, so we’ll see what happens with Benedict, but we’re only on season two, so there’s lots of space for him to explore all sorts of things.” Insert a metric fucktonne of eyes-looking-sideways emojis here.
We’re looking respectfully. Credit: Netflix
Bridgerton‘s previous showrunner Chris Van Dusen also touched on the speculation in an interview with TVLine for season two.

“I’ve seen a lot of discussion about Benedict’s sexuality in season one,” Van Dusen told the outlet.

“But the storyline [of him and] Henry was really about tolerance in a really intolerant time, and showing Benedict in that world.”

Okay, so it seems Benedict is an ally (love that for him) but not necessarily part of the queer community himself.

Spoiler obviously abound here so stop reading if you don’t want to be schooled in Bridgerton book canon!

In author Julia Quinn‘s Bridgerton series, Benedict marries a woman (yes, woman!) named Sophie in the third book, An Offer From a Gentleman. It’s a drawn-out storyline where he meets her at a masked ball and doesn’t know her true identity for a while.

While Benedict is not gay in the books, plenty of other stuff has changed from book to TV adaptation. Namely, Penelope Featherington’s weight loss (which screams the noughties era the book was written in) and the entire existence of Lord Debling (Sam Phillips) who just straight up isn’t a character in the books. So maybe the Netflix series will diverge from the books and give us a queer Bridgerton sibling?

We can live in hope. And hey, if it’s not Benedict, some folks have a strong alternative contender.

everyone’s been saying that benedict is a raging gay and they’re right but eloise is the least believable straight bridgerton because what do you mean the woman who vehemently opposes gender roles and has a singular interest in her best friend isn’t a lesbian

— Lex ✨ (@axisnebular) May 17, 2024

The way this makes SO much sense.