Who does Benedict Bridgerton end up with in book? Character's love life explored

Benedict Bridgerton has captured the hearts of many fans in season 3 of the hit Netflix show Bridgerton. While the latest series mainly featured the love story of Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington, interest and speculation around Benedict is at an all-time high, especially because the show deviated from Julia Quinn’s novels, the orders of the book, at least.

The show skipping Benedict’s storyline to pursue Colin’s leaves the show’s viewers with a mystery about other possible changes in his story. For one, who would Benedict end up with?

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Bridgerton novel series by Julia Quinn.

In Quinn’s book, Benedict Bridgerton ends up with Sophia “Sophie” Beckett, who is still not a character on the Netflix show. Their love story is a bit like a Cinderella story—Benedict falls for a mystery woman at a masquerade ball who turns out to be a young maid he’s going to rescue later on.

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Who does Benedict Bridgerton marry in the books?

Benedict Bridgerton’s story unfolds in Julia Quinn’s third book in her Bridgerton Series, titled An Offer from a Gentleman.

In Benedict’s book, Lady Bridgerton throws a masquerade party, introducing a character who will appear in the Netflix show—Sophie Beckett. She’s the heroine of Benedict’s book, who sneaks into the famous masquerade ball. There, with her identity remaining anonymous, she meets the second Bridgerton son. They dance, and they are instantly smitten by each other.

Of course, theirs is a classic Cinderella story, so they didn’t have their happy-ever-after ending, at least not yet. When the clock strikes midnight, Sophie disappears without revealing her true identity to Benedict. The smitten Benedict Bridgerton pines for the masked woman, becoming obsessed with finding the girl and swearing that she’s the person he marries. Of course, things aren’t as simple, and Benedict doesn't get what he wants.

Meanwhile, Sophie’s stepmother kicks her out after learning that she attended the ball and tried to get the attention of a Bridgerton, forcing her to work as a maid. After two years, Benedict rescues Sophie from the unwanted advances of her employer’s son. But here’s another plot twist—he doesn’t realize she’s the woman he’s been pining for for years.

As the story progresses, Benedict and Sophie grow closer, and the rest of the Bridgertons also become very fond of her. But while Benedict has developed some romantic feelings for Sophie, he’s also conflicted with his vow to marry only the mystery woman from the masquerade ball.

Bridgerton family (Image via @bridgertonnetflix/ Instagram)

Without going into full detail about the rest of Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Beckett’s love story, he finally realizes that she’s the girl from the ball, and they eventually marry. The book’s epilogue, set seven years later, features Sophie pregnant with their fourth child.

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Who is Benedict Bridgerton’s love interest in season 3?

With half of the Bridgerton season 3 released, the show sees Benedict having a physical relationship with Lady Tilley Arnold. She is described as a “firebrand widow” who “enjoys the privileges and power that come with being at the helm of her former husband’s estate.”

Notably, she is a new and original character created for the Netflix show and isn’t present in the Bridgerton book series. Lady Tilley Arnold, played by Hannah New, appeared in the first three episodes of Bridgerton season 3 part 1.

There's no definite answer for anyone wondering if Benedict and Lady Tilley will be the endgame. That said, while the show has deviated from the OG book order, it hasn’t changed any of the main character pairings, from Daphne and Simon in Season 1 to Anthony and Kate in Season 2 and Colin and Penelope in Season 3.

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Of course, it’s very likely that the hit Netflix show version of Benedict Bridgerton’s version of the season will be slightly different from the book, with more depth to Benedict’s character and more subplots for supporting characters.