Lola Tung speaks out about Jeremiah cheating on Belly in The Summer I Turned Pretty season three

Season three of The Summer I Turned Pretty wastes zero time ripping our hearts out. From the very first episode, the emotional stakes skyrocket, and it isn’t just the Cousins Beach sunsets making us sweat. I am still not over Jeremiah cheating on Belly during spring break in Cabo.

And neither is the actress who plays Isabel “Belly” Conklin. In a recent interview with ELLE, Lola Tung speaks out about how she processed Jeremiah cheating on Belly in The Summer I Turned Pretty.

So, what does Lola Tung think of Jeremiah’s actions?

via Amazon Prime

The situation in episode one is as messy as summer love gets. Belly finds out that Jeremiah slept with another girl, twice, while on vacation. His defence is that he thought they had broken up after a heated argument. Belly disagrees. The ambiguity sends her spiralling. That leads to a dramatic fight at a frat party, a slap, and Jeremiah’s desperate attempts to make things right.

Tung, reflecting on the scene, says Belly’s response is rooted in shock and heartbreak. “This is someone who’s been her rock for so many years. It can be heartbreaking when you feel like you don’t know everything [about someone],” she explains.

But she doesn’t dodge the hard truth. “No matter whether you think that he cheated or not, it’s wrong,” Tung says plainly.

She admits her own interpretation leans toward Belly’s side. “I personally don’t think they were on a break or broken up. That argument was so quick, and everything happened so fast.”

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Still, Tung is careful not to blame Jeremiah entirely. “Belly is not completely blameless,” she adds. “She didn’t reach out either. There is a little bit more of a mess in her own head.”

‘They really want to lean on each other’

via Amazon Prime

People were stunned when, after everything, Belly still said yes to Jeremiah’s proposal. But Tung believes the answer lies in context and trauma.

“She’s almost lost someone else in her life that’s really important to her,” Tung explains, referring to Steven’s near-death experience. “They both experienced a huge loss [with Susannah], and the thought of losing more people in her life is just not an option.”

For Belly, saying yes isn’t about ignoring the betrayal. It’s about clinging to something that feels like safety. “They really want to lean on each other, because they do love each other. Even though Jeremiah did mess up, when it’s put into perspective, it feels so silly compared to literally a life-or-death situation.”

The actress also hints that Belly’s lingering guilt over not telling Jeremiah about her quiet Christmas with Conrad may play into her emotional state. “Even though nothing did happen, she knows there’s still something between them,” Tung says. Still, when the moment comes, Tung doesn’t think Belly is “thinking of Conrad in that moment.”

Whether or not you believe Jeremiah deserves forgiveness, Lola Tung makes one thing crystal clear: Belly’s story is about learning to make choices, even imperfect ones, on her own terms.

With that, it’ll be interesting to see who Belly chooses at the end of The Summer I Turned Pretty.

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