After a Forbes article posed the question: “Are We Still Not Ready For A Mixed-Weight Romance On Screen?,” the people of the internet answered.
In case you missed it, the latest season of Bridgerton centers around Nicola Coughlan’s character, Penelope Featherington, and her burgeoning romance with Colin Bridgerton, portrayed by Luke Newton. Before the new episodes premiered in May, Nicola excited fans by hinting that Penelope and Colin would be engaging in some very intimate scenes.
Nicola earned accolades when she revealed that she had personally advocated for more nudity in her scenes with Colin, for a significant reason. Speaking to Stylist, the Irish actress acknowledged the rarity of seeing her body type represented on screen. “There’s one scene where I’m very naked on camera, and that was my idea, my choice. It felt like the ultimate ‘screw you’ to all the discussions about my body; it was incredibly empowering,” she explained.
While many Bridgerton fans celebrated this representation, not everyone was supportive. A Spectator article went viral after the author body-shamed Nicola, declaring her “not hot” and arguing that it’s “simply not plausible” for her character to catch the eye of the wealthy and handsome Colin Bridgerton.
In response to this article, Forbes published a piece asking, “Are We Still Not Ready For A Mixed-Weight Romance On Screen?” Although the article supported Penelope and Colin’s on-screen relationship, the headline sparked outrage on social media.
A viral tweet featuring a screenshot of the Forbes article read: “Mixed weight relationships I hate it here.” Another user tweeted: “MIXED WEIGHT lmaoooo what about their ‘mixed height’ or ‘mixed hair’ jfc just let women exist.”
More significantly, other users pointed out that “mixed-weight relationships” are not a novel concept. They have been depicted on screen for decades, typically with the man being heavier than the woman.
One tweet noted: “i find it interesting how there are countless fictional couples in film and television where the man weighs more than the woman but people didn’t start writing articles about whatever the fuck a ‘mixed-weight romance’ is until it was the other way around.” Another agreed: “Meanwhile there are about a million different shows where a chubby man has a skinny wife, and no one bats an eye.”
A further tweet echoed: “Funny. ‘Mixed-weight’ relationships have been on screen for a long time. It’s only a problem when the woman is heavy.” This user also provided visual examples, including Fred and Wilma Flintstone, Peter and Lois Griffin from Family Guy, the leads in Bob Hearts Abishola, Jim and Cheryl in According to Jim, and Phil and Vivian Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Doug and Carrie Heffernan in The King of Queens and Marge and Homer Simpson were also referenced.
The original tweet has garnered over 2 million views, with tens of thousands of likes and retweets from people agreeing with the sentiment.
Commenting on this TV trope, one person wrote: “Always the same, average to unattractive man, usually hot or at least very attractive woman who’s several leagues above his level – she holds their lives together while he apparently works and then spends his life not appreciating how ridiculously lucky he is…”
Another user pointed out: “A reminder the ‘fat guy thin wife’ has been a trope in sitcoms for decades. A reminder that there is not a correct bodily flesh ratio to a relationship. A reminder Nicola is not fat (and it would be fine if she were).”
“Every day there’s a brand-new way introduced to women that makes them feel bad about their perfectly fine bodies, and their perfectly acceptable desires,” another tweet noted. “Quite apart from an evident fact – Nicola Coughlan is a stone-cold stunner.”
“I don’t even know what this means because Nicola Coughlan is a (stunningly beautiful) straight-sized woman,” another user wrote. “She can go into pretty much any store and they will have her size (as long as there’s a petite section). Hollywood is absolutely wild and detached from reality.”
Summing up the discourse, one tweet declared: “Remember it’s only a mixed weight relationship when the woman is fat! Fat men are still loveable!!!!”