Nicola Coughlan Says Drunk ‘Bridgerton’ Fan Went Up to Her in a Bathroom and ‘Started Talking About My Body’ and ‘I Wanted to Die. I Hate This So Much’
Nicola Coughlan was confronted by a drunk fan in a bathroom who made inappropriate comments about her body
The incident occurred during Season 3 filming of 'Bridgerton' in 2025
Coughlan expressed extreme distress, saying 'I wanted to die. I hate this so much'
Despite losing weight for the role, Coughlan was still labeled as 'plus size'
The actress questioned societal standards about women's bodies on screen
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"Bridgerton" star Nicola Coughlan revealed to Elle UK magazine that she was confronted by an intoxicated fan in a bathroom who made inappropriate comments about her body during the filming of the show's third season in 2025, an experience that left her feeling deeply uncomfortable and questioning societal standards about women's bodies on screen. The actress, who plays Penelope Featherington in the Netflix period drama, shared that the drunk woman approached her in a bathroom setting and began discussing her physical appearance without any regard for personal boundaries, causing Coughlan to feel so distressed that she "wanted to die" and expressed that "I hate this so much." Coughlan's comments come as she reflected on her experience filming Season 3, where she had lost weight to fit into the show's period costumes, yet still faced public scrutiny about her body size. The Irish actress expressed frustration with industry standards, noting that despite being a size 10 during filming, she was still labeled as "plus size" and questioned "How fucked are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen?"
Bridgerton is an American alternative history regency romance television series created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix. Based on the book series of the same name by Julia Quinn, it is Shondaland's first scripted show for Netflix. It follows the close-knit siblings of the noble and influential Bridge...
Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body. The concept of body image is used in several disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, philosophy, cultural and feminist studies; the ...
Nicola Mary Coughlan (; born 9 January 1987) is an Irish actress. She is best known for her roles as Clare Devlin in the Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls (2018–2022) and Penelope Featherington in the Netflix period drama Bridgerton (2020–present). She earned a Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination for p...
Mar 5, 2026 3:34pm PT Nicola Coughlan Says Drunk ‘Bridgerton’ Fan Went Up to Her in a Bathroom and ‘Started Talking About My Body’ and ‘I Wanted to Die. I Hate This So Much’ By Zack Sharf Plus Icon Zack Sharf Digital News Director ZSharf Latest ‘Project Hail Mary’ Director Says ‘There’s No Green Screen in the Movie Whatsoever’ but Clarifies There’s 2,018 VFX Shots: ‘Not a Single Green or Blue Screen Was Used’ 8 hours ago Jodie Sweetin Says Candace Cameron Bure ‘Does Her Thing and We Sit on Very Opposite Sides’ After Claim ‘Full House’ Co-Star ‘Has Gone a Bit Dave Chappelle-y’ 1 day ago Maggie Gyllenhaal Says ‘The Bride’ Test Screenings Criticized Film’s Sexual Violence and Warner Bros. Boss Told Her ‘You Can’t Have Frankenstein Lick Black Vomit Off the Bride’s Neck’ 2 days ago See All “ Bridgerton ” star Nicola Coughlan told Elle UK magazine that she was once confronted by a drunk fan of the Netflix smash hit while in a bathroom. The inebriated woman proceeded to openly discuss Coughlan’s body while right in front of her much to the actor’s dismay. Coughlan plays Penelope on the Netflix series, with the show’s third season focusing on her love story with Colin Bridgerton. “You know what was really bizarre was, when I was shooting that series, I was exercising a lot because I knew I had to, so I had lost a bunch of weight – I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size 8,” Coughlan told Elle about Season 3. “And then people talked about how I was plus size and I was like, ‘How fucked are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen?'” Related Stories France’s Epicentre Boards Alfredo Castro Pic, ‘Dog Legs’
