5 Beautiful Love Lessons From ‘Bridgerton’ Season 1 To Remind You Why You Love The Duke

The strongest kind of love is rooted in friendship.

Look, it’s clear that to an extent, Daphne and the Duke were always attracted to one another. But even despite that, they nourished their friendship first, choosing to spend time together not because they wanted something from the other (well, aside from fooling the Ton) but simply because they liked being in each other’s company. “To meet a beautiful woman is one thing,” Simon tells the Queen, “but to meet your best friend in the most beautiful of women is something entirely apart.” And it’s true—while love doesn’t necessarily need to start with friendship, it’s always all the more beautiful when it’s present in your relationship.

When you suppress your feelings, you lose the chance to feel something beautiful.

Simon clearly loves Daphne pretty early on in the show, though he deprives himself of it because he believes he doesn’t deserve her. Instead, he spends the first half of the show not only ignoring his own feelings but dissuading Daphne from pursuing him romantically. It isn’t until he realizes that he is the only thing holding him back from what he wants that he actually allows himself to pursue her—and it’s only then that he’s able to feel the full extent of her love.

The quality of love in your past does not reflect the quality of love in your future.

Simon always felt he was lacking love—which makes a lot of sense when you find out his mother died giving birth to him and his father never cared for him at all. Seeing how bleak his childhood was, it’s easy to see why it seems so easy for him to denounce marriage—after all, he never knew love before, so why should he need it? But here’s the same: Your past does not get to define your future. There is always a chance to experience true, healthy love, even if it isn’t something you’re used to. Never forget that.

Just because someone isn’t perfect, it doesn’t make them less worthy of love.

Daphne says (almost) exactly this to Simon at the end of the season, right before they finally reconcile. Simon’s father looked at him and only saw his faults, which made Simon grow up and only see the things that he was lacking, not what he had to offer. But none of this made Daphne love him less, because love isn’t about perfection. Every single human in the world is flawed in one way or another, and it doesn’t make any one of them less worthy of loving and being loved in return.

The right person will love you for your flaws.

Yes, there are certainly flaws that should be improved upon for the sake of your relationship (especially if they’re hurting your partner). This isn’t an excuse not to try to better yourself. That being said, there are people who will love you not despite your shortcomings but because they make up part of who you are—the person that they love. After all, love is about accepting a person as they are, not who you want them to be.