All the massive drama and scandal that went down when Regé-Jean Page left Bridgerton

Remember when The Duke was the biggest part of Bridgerton? And then we all thought we’d never recover when Regé-Jean Page left Bridgerton after season one? It feels like a million years ago.

But, at the time, it was a massive drama. If you go by the book series, The Duke of Hastings isn’t part of the series beyond the first story. That being said, Netflix never follows books completely, and usually follows the audience reaction a little more. So, we all expected Regé-Jean Page to return to his role beyond the lead of season one.

But then it was revealed he wouldn’t be. Announcing the tragic news at the time, Netflix said: “Dearest Readers, while all eyes turn to Lord Anthony Bridgerton’s quest to find a Viscountess, we bid adieu to Regé-Jean Page, who so triumphantly played the Duke of Hastings. We’ll miss Simon’s presence onscreen, but he will always be a part of the Bridgerton family. Daphne will remain a devoted wife and sister, helping her brother navigate the upcoming social season and what it has to offer – more intrigue and romance than my readers may be able to bear.”

Regé-Jean Page then further added: “Pleasure and a privilege! An honour to be a member of the family – on and off screen, cast, crew and incredible fans – the love is real and will just keep growing.” Sharing a further explanation of his exit, Page said: “It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end—give us a year.”

via Netflix

Then, the drama surrounding his Bridgerton exit started

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The statements all looked rosy, but then more reports about behind the scenes claims started to emerge. At first it was said the plan was always to have Regé in just one season, but then production had reached out to him to request he return, given how popular the character had been.

It was reported Regé-Jean Page turned down a pretty impressive sum of £250k to appear in the show’s second season. A source close to the show told The Hollywood Reporter he was offered an opportunity to return as a “guest star” in three to five episodes of season two, but declined for “a multitude of reasons.”

He was offered the gig at £50k an episode, so if he accepted the top offer of being in five, he would have been paid a quarter of a million pounds.

But, Regé-Jean Page turned down the opportunity as he wanted to focus on his career in film. He has since been in Netflix film The Gray Man and Paramount’s Dungeons and Dragons and, according to The Hollywood Reporter article, had been “flooded” with offers. He’s kind of gone a bit quiet since, so the jury is out on whether that was the right call.

via Netflix

So, why did he *really* leave? It’s never been confirmed, but it was claimed Regé left the show over a “disagreement with producers” regarding the future of his character, and “refused” to come back.

A source told Page Six: “Regé is not coming back to Bridgerton because of creative differences with [executive producer] Shonda Rhimes and her team. He wasn’t happy with what was planned for his character for season two, which would have kept him a player but not the focal point of the show.” The source concluded Page still left the show on good terms, despite “creative differences”.

In an interview with Variety, Shonda confirmed Regé was invited back for more, but didn’t think the Duke would ever appear on the show again: “He’s an enormous star now,” she said. “As I like to say, the idea that we would write Regé to stand around in the background doesn’t make any sense at all to me. ‘What would he do?’ is what I like to say.”

Regé-Jean Page later said that he had “respectively exited” the cast’s WhatsApp group. “I didn’t want to put them in an awkward situation where they had to kick me out,” he told GQ. “The universe has expanded, so I’m no longer in it.”

Yikes.

Bridgerton is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.