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Actor Awards 2026: Yerin Ha Shares Her Pitch for a Bridgerton-Heated Rivalry Crossover
Nicola Coughlan doesn't want the ton buzzing about her appearance.
The Bridgerton actress, who stars as Penelope on the Netflix show, explained that she has no desire to speak about her body or her weight loss.
"The thing I say sometimes that pisses people off is, ‘I have no interest in body positivity,’" she told Elle in an interview published March 4. "When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that. I didn’t look at actors and think about their bodies. So, I actually don’t care."
"There’s a lot of things I’m passionate about, it’s not one of them," Coughlan continued. "That’s someone else’s thing. It’s not mine."
In fact, the 39-year-old was appalled to see the commentary about her body when she appeared in sex scenes with costar Luke Newton (who plays Colin Bridgerton) in season three.
"What was really bizarre was, when I was shooting that series, I was exercising a lot because I knew I had to, so I had lost a bunch of weight—I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size 8," she noted. "And then people talked about how I was plus-size and I was like, 'How f--ked are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen?’"
She was confronted with the comments in person, too. The Derry Girls alum was particularly upset when a Bridgerton fan approached her in public to discuss body positivity with her.
"I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, 'I loved [Bridgerton] because of your body,'" she recalled. "And started talking about my body, and I was like, 'I want to die. I hate this so much.'"
Ultimately, Coughlan doesn't want her work on the period drama to be reduced to her size. As she put it, "It’s really hard when you work on something for months and months of your life—you don’t see your family, you really dedicate yourself—and then it comes down to what you look like. It’s so f--king boring."
Liam Daniel/Netflix © 2025
Her busy schedule also means other sacrifices, like working to maintain a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Jake Dunn, 26.
"We try our best. I send him annoying videos all the time and then, you know, a lot of Facetime, but he’s super-busy," she explained. "Before we were together, I just thought he was a really talented actor. But I love when people have their own stuff going on."
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Want more tea on the real-life love lives of Bridgerton stars? Well, dear reader, you're in luck:
Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage
Nicola Coughlan
While Nicola's Penelope Featherington found love with Luke Newton's Colin Bridgerton on season three, Nicola herself has sparked romance rumors with Renegade Nell alum Jake Dunn.
Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage
Sam Phillips and Bessie Carter
Lord Debling and Prudence Dankworth (née Featherington) may not factor into each other's love lives on the show, but the actors have made a real-life match.
And it appears that Carter's mum Imelda Staunton approves.
Shane Anthony Sinclair/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA
Phoebe Dynevor
Daphne Bridgerton swapped vows with Regé-Jean Page's Simon Basset, and now the Bridgerton alum plans to take her own stroll down the aisle.
Dynevor flashed her engagement ring from producer Cameron Fuller at the 2024 Met Gala.
Kate Green/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA
Regé-Jean Page
The erstwhile Duke of Hastings, Page having left the show after season one, keeps his personal cards close to his vest off-camera, but has looked awfully happy in copywriter Emily Brown's company since 2021.
James Veysey/Shutterstock
Jonathan Bailey
Like Anthony, 9th Viscount Bridgerton, the English actor prefers to stay mum on romantic affairs.
But he told The Standard in December 2023 that he was in a not-secret-but-private relationship with a "lovely man."
"Having a private life is, for me, completely critical," the Fellow Travelers star said. "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."
James Veysey/Shutterstock
Simone Ashley
The Sex Education star, who fit the Vicountess bill for Anthony upon arrival from India, confirmed she was in a relationship with Tino Klein with a March 2023 Instagram post. But in February 2025, the actress shared she had entered her "single era" in an interview on BBC’s Woman Hour podcast, revealing the split occured one month prior.
James Veysey/Shutterstock
Luke Thompson
Benedict Bridgerton seemingly just wants to be free to do his thing, as an artist and in the bedroom. Though maybe he's developing some feelings...
And Thompson, who's not one to share what he's up in real life, was totally onboard with his character's journey, wherever it took him.
"It's lovely to explore," he told Deadline ahead of the season three finale, "but also putting down some roots and choosing something or someone also has huge value and excitement."
Karwai Tang/WireImage
Luke Newton
Newton dated actress Jade Louise Davies—her sister Amber Davies won Love Island U.K. in 2017 with then-boyfriend Kem Cetinay—for several years.
But he was snapped following Bridgerton's June 2024 midseason premiere in London hand-in-hand with dancer Antonia Roumelioti.
Of course, most fans are just disappointed that Colin Bridgerton and Penelope aren't together in real life.
"We think it’s really sweet," Coughlan told Extra of the off-camera shipping that goes on for them. "I think because we truly love each other."
Simon Ackerman/WireImage
Charithra Chandran
The actress who plays Kate's sparkling sister Edwina Sharma may be single at the moment, but she sent hearts soaring with the release of her 2024 rom-com How to Date Billy Walsh, costarring her longtime friend Sebastian Croft.
Lia Toby/Getty Images
Claudia Jessie
It turns out the actress destined to play Eloise Bridgerton ended up falling for the non-actor she auditioned with, casting editor Cole Edwards.
"I got a job and a fella on the same day," Jessie told The Guardian in April 2024. "It was a great day for me, wasn't it?"
She also not shied away from sharing candid confessions about her sex life, despite the fact that her character Eloise has yet to have sex on the series.
“It’s funny though,’” Claudia joked with AP during a joint interview with Hannah Dodd and Luke Newton in 2026, “cause in real life I’m having more sex than both of them.”
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