Bridgerton Author Reveals She Knew About THAT Change From the Books ‘Well Over a Year’ Ago

The Netflix series “Bridgerton” sparked intense discussion with its season 3 finale due to a significant change to Julia Quinn’s book series. The show gender swapped the literary character of Michael Stirling to Michaela Stirling. But, this didn’t come as a surprise to Quinn. The author of the bestselling Regency romance novels recently shared that she was informed of this change well in advance. 

‘Bridgerton’ Author Knew THAT Change Would Be a Big Deal

Quinn told Us Weekly that she found out about the gender swap “well over a year ago,” and worked closely with showrunner Jess Brownell to ensure the story respected key elements of her work.

Michael Stirling is Francesca’s love interest in the sixth “Bridgerton” novel “When He Was Wicked.” So when the character was transformed into Michaela (played by Masali Baduza), it caught many fans off guard. Quinn anticipated some disappointment but was unprepared for the vitriol. 

“I knew it was going to be a big deal. I mean, I think it is a bigger story change than making the characters more racially diverse,” Quinn said. “I did not expect the level of meanness among some of the fans. I knew some people were going to be really disappointed and upset, and I wanted them all to know that I talked about it with the showrunner.”

Julia Quinn Had Some Input

The 55-year-old author says that the gender swap was a done deal before she was informed about it. She wanted to understand what the “Bridgerton” showrunner was going to do, and she wanted to have some input on how they were going to do it.

She wanted to make sure that certain parts of the story were respected. Specifically, the fact that Francesca really loved John. Quinn knows that a lot of people think that some things happened in season 3 to indicate Francesca didn’t really love John. But, she insists that’s not the case.

“She does, trust me, and that needed to be an important part of the story that both she and Michaela are really mourning him, because that’s the crux of the story. [In] ‘When He Was Wicked,’ they both feel terribly guilty because they both loved this person,” Quinn explained.

‘Bridgerton’ Author Promises a ‘Heart-Wrenching’ Season

Quinn noted that she had more time to get used to the idea of the gender swap compared to everyone else. She also pointed out that she has more information about how it will be done and she feels good about the decision. What she didn’t expect was the backlash and people calling her names.

While the change has divided fans, Quinn remains optimistic about Francesca Bridgerton’s upcoming queer romance and promises a “heart-wrenching” season ahead. She says it will be “great,” and believes that anything that allows more people to see themselves in the story is a good thing.

“I don’t know exactly everything [about the script], but I have some sense of what’s gonna happen. I think it’s gonna be a heart-wrenching, emotional season, which is what ‘When He Was Wicked’ was,” Quinn said.

“Out of all the novels, that’s the one that really is a little bit apart [and] it’s quite different than the other ones. I think we’re going to get all those emotions with the season, and I couldn’t be more excited.”

“Bridgerton” season 4 will premiere on Netflix in 2026.

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