Belly’s Cringe Nicknames On ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Must Be Stopped

The Summer I Turned Pretty is back for Season 2. And not to be dramatic, but if I hear someone call Isabella “Belly” Conklin “Cinderbelly” one more time I fear I may hurl.

Decider knows that the popular Prime Video series, based off Jenny Han’s beloved teen romance novels, is more than just TikTok cringe. But it’s worth noting that “The Summer I Turned Pretty cringe moments” currently has more than five million views on TikTok days after Season 2 premiered on July 14. From slang-heavy dialogue like “this outfit is snatched” and “isn’t Belly looking like a snack?” to awkward kisses and dance scenes, viewers found more than a few wince-worthy moments in Season 1. But when Season 2’s first three episodes dropped, I was quickly reminded that every embarrassing scene in this show pales in comparison to Belly’s nauseating nicknames.

At its best, a nickname simultaneously makes a person’s full name both shorter and cooler. Calling Jennifer Lopez “JLo,” for instance, is equally time efficient and badass. And though “Belly” shaves a couple of syllables off “Isabella” and her dad gave her the nickname when she was a kid because she liked Jelly Belly jelly beans or whatever, we must acknowledge that being called a synonym for stomach isn’t ideal. Still, while watching Season 1 I understood the youthful charm Belly carried. The gentle, unconventional nickname fit Lola Tung’s innocent character like a glove, while reminding viewers that she, the Fisher boys, and her bestie Taylor had well-established friendships with lots of history.

Had Conrad (Christopher Briney), Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), Steven (Sean Kaufman), and Taylor (Rain Spencer) simply let Belly be, I wouldn’t be complaining right now. But they had to introduce more mortifying variations on the nickname, so I can no longer stay silent.

In Season 2, Episode 3, Taylor bursts through the door during a deeply serious scene, clocks Belly’s disappointment, and says with the straightest of faces, “Aww Cinderbelly!” Give it a REST, girl. Stop trying to make Cinderbelly happen two seasons in. It’s a mouthful and a half! It’s juvenile! And I can imagine no scenario in which it wouldn’t feel incredibly forced, corny, and clunky. In Season 1, “Cinderbelly” was bad, but these teens still felt like children to me, so I let it slide. In Season 2, with college on the brain, parents out of sight, and everyone navigating unprecedented grief, the characters — while still young — feel too mature to be casually dropping the dreaded C-word. 

As far as Belly’s nicknames go, Cinderbelly may be the worst. But it’s certainly not the only terrible, horrible, no good, very bad nickname we’ve heard. Jeremiah once called the object of his affection “BELLY BUTTON” for goodness sake. Taylor calls her “my killa bee” on several occasions in Season 2. (Sidenote: I’m starting to think we should give Rain Spencer an Emmy for not breaking when delivering these gag-worthy lines.) And in the Season 2 premiere, Belly’s brother Steven dares to say, “You’re my sober driver, Belly Bells. Don’t let me down!” Sir, please. If you’re of drinking age and have a sister who’s old enough to be your sober driver, at least give her the respect of not calling her BELLY BELLS.

Laurel (Jackie Chung) calls Belly “Bean,” and though mother-daughter nicknames are sweet and that’s far less annoying than some other options we’ve discussed here today, it’s simply unnecessary, because — once again — Belly IS ALREADY A NICKNAME. How many monikers does one girl need?!

It’s worth noting that Belly isn’t the only character who’s been cursed with a nickname in this series. We’ve heard Taylor called “Tay-Tay” and “Hurricane Taylor” in earnest. Conrad was “Connie” to his mom and is occasionally called “Conhead” in a way that’s somehow worse than when Connor Roy says it on Succession. Laurel calls Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) by her maiden name, “Beck.” And Cam (David Iacono) is called Cam Cameron by *checks notes* everyone.

There’s no doubt about it: The Summer I Turned Pretty is nickname happy. But aside from Belly, Bells and Jere, an extremely normal shortening of Jeremiah, are the only other terms of endearment I’m accepting at this time. The show needs to cool it with the rest of the nicknames, especially “Cinderbelly,” or viewers may be forced go Hurricane Taylor and lose their Conheads.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is currently streaming on Prime Video. New Season 2 episodes premiere weekly on Fridays.