Does Colin find out about Penelope’s identity as Lady Whistledown in the Bridgerton books?

And could it force a rift between the pair?


During part one of Bridgerton season three, we see Penelope and Colin slowly start to move their relationship into a more romantic one, which ultimately culminates in the two kissing in their carriage with Colin proposing to Penelope. But one major aspect of their relationship still remains a secret which is that Colins still doesn’t know that Penelope is secretly Lady Whistledown, so how is this issue addressed in the book?

Via Netflix

In the book Lady Danbury issues a challenge to the rest of the ton to try and find out the true identity of Lady Whistledown and Colin suspects that the writer could be his sister Eloise. Soon after, Lady Whistledown announces she is retiring and in a wild twist, Cressida Cowper falsely admits that she is the acclaimed writer.

However, Colin is still convinced that Eloise is Lady Whistledown, and in a departure from the Netflix series, he and Penelope still haven’t admitted how they feel about each other. Colins ends up following Penelope into a church after attending a ball together and as she drops off an envelope he learns that she’s Lady Whistledown after all, oh the shock! He reveals himself to her and the two have an argument about her keeping her identity and secret from him, which then obviously ends up with them making out in the back of the carriage.

Bridgerton season three part two

Via Netflix

At that point, Colin proposes to Penelope and she accepts, but following their engagement, the pair run into issues as she refuses to let Lady Whistledown go and Colin becomes unsure of his true feelings towards her. Despite promising to write no more as Lady Whistledown, Penelope writes a new gossip column where she refutes Cressida’s claim of being her.

This leads to Colin and Penelope having another massive fight which then leads to them having sex and deciding to move their wedding date forward, how wholesome. Penelope then admits to Colins the reason why she created Lady Whistledown in the first place and that the column has made her independently wealthy.

After Penelope and Colin marry Cressida visits and reveals that she knows who Lady Whistledown really is and attempts to blackmail Penelope. However, Colin comes to the rescue and both he and Penelope decide to reveal to the rest of the ton that she was Lady Whistledown all along.

Part one of Bridgerton season three is available on Netflix now – For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes about Colin and Penelope like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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Featured image via Netflix.