Bridgerton actor decodes Francesca’s conflicting feelings about Michaela and it makes sense

‘A different side of John comes out’


Michaela Stirling is surely one of the most talked about characters with the least screen time ever. The actor who (currently) plays Francesca in Bridgerton, Hannah Dodd, has broken down her exact thoughts when Michaela returns. This has totally changed the way I look at Francesca and Michaela’s relationship.

Many Bridgerton viewers have probably grasped by now that Francesca’s main love story will eventually be with Michaela. But as Michaela has had little screen time so far in Bridgerton, we don’t know where Francesca’s feelings are at right now. Thankfully, Hannah Dodd has explained all the context we missed.

She told Today: “”Francesca lives her life in quite a regimented way, and she’s a rule follower, and she puts herself in these boxes, and Michaela is the complete opposite of that.”

“Michaela just throws all of that out of the window,” Hannah Dodd said in Digital Spy, “and I think that’s quite confronting. There’s probably an element of jealousy and ‘why do you get to live your life like that?’

bridgerton season three francesca michaela

We should put this picture in the dictionary by ‘gay panic’
(Image via Netflix)

“A different side of John comes out when he’s with her, so I think she’s an absolute tornado and I think pulls on insecurities of Francesca. [Francesca has] put a lot of work in and there’s been a lot of growth between [her and John], so it’s frustrating that she finally feels like they’re in a good place and then the tornado arrived again and she knows it’s all going to fall apart.”

Masali Baduza, who plays Michaela, did elaborate on what this “different side” to John is. She told Tudum: “Michaela is very extroverted, and John is quite introverted, so she draws out his playful side, which she’s known ever since she was a kid.”

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

More on: Bridgerton Netflix TV