What’s the Deal With Francesca Bridgerton? Does the ‘Bridgerton’ Character Have Autism? Is She Asexual?

Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 debuted on Netflix yesterday, leaving fans hot, bothered, and obsessed with all things Polin. However, the latest installment of the steamy Shondaland romance also inspired some confusion. Like, what happened to Ruby Stokes, the original actress who played Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd)? What’s exactly wrong with Francesca? Why is she so quiet and reserved compared to the other boisterous Bridgertons? Does Francesca have autism? Is Francesca asexual? Who does Francesca marry? Where did Francesca even come from?? (sigh)

Despite the fact that Netflix has been very transparent with the fact that Ruby Stokes left Bridgerton to star in the ill-fated (and underwatched) Lockwood & Co., people are still very confused about this beguiling character. Which is fine, because fans of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels know all too well that it’s sort of a running gag that we don’t know that much about Francesca until her book, When He Was Wicked, comes around. Francesca is very different from her siblings and that’s the point!

Still confused about Francesca Bridgerton? Here’s everything you need to know about the Bridgerton sibling who seemingly popped out of thin air to charm the Ton…

What’s Wrong With Francesca Bridgerton?

So, yeah, what’s wrong with Francesca Bridgerton? Absolutely nothing! She’s simply the rare introvert in a family stuffed to the brim with extroverts. As she repeatedly makes it clear, she’d much rather just be left alone with her piano than forced to socialize. People like this exist! They simply do not need to be the center of attention.

Does Francesca Bridgerton have autism?

Wow, that’s really difficult to say! It’s hard enough diagnosing girls with autism in the real world, let alone a fictional version of Regency England where mothers don’t teach their daughters where babies come from. (Like, this has repeatedly come up in Bridgerton, be it Daphne [Phoebe Dynevor] or the Featherington sisters!) So perhaps Hannah Dodd is playing Fran a bit on the spectrum. Interpret her performance as you will, but there’s still nothing wrong with being neurologically atypical.

In fact, when Decider finally got a chance to ask Bridgerton Season 3 showrunner Jess Brownell about this fan theory, she didn’t write it off. Far from it, actually.

“So Francesca was adapted fairly, fairly accurately to the way she is in the book,” Brownell told Decider. “In terms of not enjoying being around so much stimulation, liking peace and quiet, feeling a little bit more shy, having an intense interest in music…”

“So while we never intended to diagnose her in the room — and we didn’t, you know, set out to write a character who is on the spectrum — many of us did in the writer’s room discuss, ‘Oh, she does seem… Some of these traits that Julia Quinn set up do seem neurodivergent. Like she might be neurodivergent?’ I think that it’s wonderful that people are relating to that and seeing themselves in her. And yeah, I encourage it. I think it’s a beautiful thing.”

Is Francesca Bridgerton Asexual?

So why isn’t Francesca interested in a love match? Is Francesca asexual?

As a Bridgerton book reader, that is the most laughable suggestion I’ve ever heard! Francesca’s book, When He Was Wicked, is sort of low key considered the horniest Bridgerton novel precisely because it follows Francesca as a young widow who definitely likes sex and knows how to have it and enjoy it.

Francesca is not asexual, but even if she was, that wouldn’t be wrong or bad!

Also, as you see in Bridgerton Season 3 Episode 4, Francesca is indeed very much sprung on John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin (Victor Alli). She’s absolutely over the moon that the mystery man she met at a ball has called upon her at Bridgerton House — and even more charmed that instead of wooing her with words, he sits with her in silence. It’s a nod to how they both met and like quiet. And if her sputtering, awkward attempt at flirtation with him in the street didn’t convince you, the way she’s giddy over his gesture of a sheet of music should prove the point.

No, Francesca is definitely not asexual. She really is smitten with John Stirling. (And who wouldn’t be? He is so dashing and handsome!)

Who Does Francesca Marry in the Bridgerton Books?

Are you ready for the most devastating spoilers of all time? In the books, Francesca does marry her Earl of Kilmartin. They have a happily ever after…for two short years. John Stirling dies suddenly of a neurological issue that is probably an aneurysm or stroke. Four years after that, Francesca decides she wants to have a child and re-enters the marriage mart. She crosses paths with John’s best friend and cousin, the rake, Michael Stirling. I’ll let you put two and two, or a widow and a rake together.

Bridgerton may sidestep this whole tragic affair and go in a different direction, but the fact that we have a John Stirling pursuing a young Francesca suggests otherwise.

Where Did Francesca Bridgerton Come From?

From her parents, Violet (Ruth Gemmell) and Edmund Bridgerton (Rupert Evans), duh. Or the imagination of Julia Quinn.

Oh, you mean, where has she been all this time? She’s been a supporting, background character in the early episodes of Bridgerton Seasons 1 and 2. We know that in Bridgerton Season 1 she left abruptly for Bath to study pianoforte. In Season 2, she just like disappeared for some unknown reason.