Love
Daphne and Simon in Bridgeton Season 1
The Best Bridgerton Couples, Ranked By Compatibility

Don't @ me.

by Ani Bundel
Netflix

Bridgerton is all about the perfect couple finding each other against all odds, including society’s expectations. Although the show’s more intimate scenes are the ones that get all the attention, it’s the emotional relationships that ultimately matter more. It’s not just about having a good rapport in bed; it’s about being emotionally in harmony. So, let’s run down all the Bridgerton couples, ranked by how compatible they are.

Some Bridgerton couples are emotionally compatible but not romantically involved (at least, not yet). They don’t count (again, yet). Similarly, there are some relationships that existed in the past, like Lord Edmond and Lady Violet, or off-screen, like Sir Phillip and Marina. Since fans have never seen together, they don’t make this list, either.

Also, as much as some people ship Penloise, their friendship is strictly platonic. Penelope is in love with Colin, a fact known to everyone except the man himself, and Eloise has only just started to outgrow her “emotional intelligence of toothpaste” phase. As much as fans wish these besties would become an item, they’re not, even though they may be two of the most compatible people in the series.

But as for the compatibility of actual couples? Let's run down all the significant relationships.

12

Colin & Marina

Liam Daniels/Netflix

There’s nothing more incompatible than a couple whose relationship has one of the two failing to mention something important — like they’re pregnant with another man’s baby. Colin and Marina were doomed from the first moment they got together, and she knew it.

To be fair, Marina’s marriage to Sir Phillip Crane isn’t much better. But at least it is based on both of them coming from a place of honesty.

11

Prudence & Jack

Liam Daniels/Netflix

One might argue that Colin and Marina are more compatible than Jack and Prudence, but I would disagree. Their relationship isn’t really any better, but at least they are alike in crucial ways: They’re both manipulative hucksters who put on airs in hopes of faking it until they make it. Their methods are different; he’s conning people into investing in non-existent ruby mines, and she’s duping him into marriage. Also, they’re both complete fools who Lady Featherington bullies into doing precisely what she needs. Too bad they never got real enough to team up.

10

Anthony & Siena

Liam Daniels/Netflix

Rule No. 1 of being a player: Never fall for the person you’re playing. Anthony and Siena were perfect for each other when their relationship started. She used him for his money; he used her for her body. But somewhere along the way, Anthony forgot the reality of their relationship and began to pretend Siena could morph into an upper-class woman. Siena knew better, though. Hopefully, her next benefactor will be smarter.

09

Eloise & Theo

Liam Daniels/Netflix

Class differences matter in the world of Bridgerton, which is why Eloise’s not-exactly-a-dalliance with Theo was never going to be more than it was. The two of them may both wish to change the rules of society to make the world a fairer place. But she was never going to live as a commoner, and he would never fit into high society. To throw one’s reputation away on a doomed affair is a foolish thing indeed.

08

Benedict & Genevieve

Liam Daniels/Netflix

Benedict and Genevieve are probably the healthiest of Bridgerton’s three (so far) dalliances with class differences. Benedict knows what he wants — a little fun, no strings attached. Genevieve knows what she wants — to try a hot Bridgerton brother on for size. They have their fun, and then they’re done. One only wishes everyone was so wise.

07

Daphne & Prince Frederick

Liam Daniels/Netflix

On paper, Daphne and Prince Frederick are rather perfect. She’s a diamond of the first water in every sense of the term: a conventional, proper lady who has been taught how to run an estate as a business and whose deepest desire is to marry up and produce heirs. He’s a prince looking for... exactly that, actually. Unfortunately for him, his arrival made Daphne and Simon realize they’d already lost their hearts to each other.

06

Lord & Lady Featherington

Liam Daniels/Netflix

On the flip side of the coin, there’s Lord and Lady Featherington, who from every angle look utterly incompatible. She’s the 1813 embodiment of the saying “a diva is a female version of a hustler.” He’s a gambler always trying to play outside his weight class. But in a way, they are pretty perfect for each other — she scams the money, and he loses it. And when she loses him, her silent grief speaks volumes.

05

Phillipa & Mr. Finch

Liam Daniels/Netflix

Listen, every human needs to eat. A love of humanity’s most glorious food, cheese, is a perfectly acceptable basis for marriage. I said what I said.

04

Will & Alice Mondrich

Liam Daniels/Netflix

Healthy couples give it to each other straight. Healthy couples push each other out of their comfort zones and work hard to help make each other’s dreams come true. By all definitions, the Mondrichs are the perfect couple. Alice does what needs to be done to keep Will’s dreams going, and he, in turn, works hard for his family. Every gentleman in Will’s club should take notes.

03

Queen Charlotte & King George III

Liam Daniels/Netflix

Perhaps the saddest of the romances in Bridgerton is the love story of Queen Charlotte and King George. Outwardly, she’s a party girl throwing balls and doing snuff. But her heartbreak every time she looks at the man she loves and who helped her build their society is like watching peanut butter lose its jelly, a salt mill without her pepper shaker, a lonely right sock whose left got eaten by the washer.

Don’t be fooled by the wigs she digs; there’s a lot of hurt underneath her glamorous exterior. Once upon a time, these two were the It Couple, the Bennifer of 1760, and no one should ever forget it.

02

Daphne & Simon

Liam Daniels/Netflix

Bridgerton Season 1 fans will freak out over this, but Simon and Daphne are not the most compatible couple when it comes down to it. Though they want the same life, believe in the same things, and put family first, he’s a decade older than her. He’s experienced; she’s not. He’s been a playboy, and Daphne would never give her heart to more than one man in her life.

Their relationship is complex; they have to work at it and communicate. Their desire to make it work goes a long way, and in long haul terms, they’ll make it. But that’s because they’re working for it, not because it’s easy.

01

Anthony & Kate

Liam Daniels/Netflix

On the other hand, Anthony and Kate are the same person in two different bodies. They’re both high-handed, presumptuous, stubborn, and have giant martyr complexes when it comes to their families. They treat their younger debutante siblings like they cannot make their own decisions; they lie by omission, believing it to be “for the best” if their loved ones don’t know the truth. No one appreciates how much they tie themselves in knots that no one asked them to.

They are perfect for each other. Thank goodness they married and spared the rest of London.