Rege-Jean Page Jokingly Shade’s Bridgerton’s Mistress Twist

Just because Regé-Jean Page isn’t on Bridgerton anymore doesn’t mean he isn’t up to date with the show’s biggest story lives — and more divisive twists.

“I check in every now and then [on Bridgerton] because I have a lot of friends there and people I love, and they do wonderful work,” Page, 38, told DuJour on Monday, April 6.

He quipped: “I’m not fully up to date, but I know enough not to be running around asking anyone to be my mistress any time soon.”

The mistress mention was in reference to season 4 of the hit Netflix series where Benedict (Luke Thompson) received backlash for initially making a commitment to love interest Sophie (Yerin Ha) by asking her to be with him in secret.

Related: What Rege-Jean Page Has Said About ‘Bridgerton’ Return After His Departure

After playing Simon Basset in Bridgerton‘s first season, Regé-Jean Page explained that he was ready to move on — but is his decision permanent? Viewers quickly fell in love with Page and his character, the Duke of Hastings, when season 1 of the Netflix drama premiered in December 2020. His streamy onscreen romance with Phoebe […]

Page, for his part, hasn’t been on Bridgerton since it premiered in 2020. Bridgerton, which is based on the book series written by Julia Quinn, follows the members of the wealthy Bridgerton family as they search for love in 19th century London. Season 1 focused on Daphne’s (Phoebe Dynevor) unexpected connection with Simon.

After the show premiered, viewers fell in love with Page and his character, which made his departure that much more shocking. Netflix announced in April 2021 that Page would not be reprising his role as the Duke of Hastings despite plans for Daphne to appear in future seasons.

Page stood by his decision even though fans have publicly voiced their disappointment about not getting to see more of Simon’s story. While season 2 still featured several appearances from Daphne, Dynevor, 30, later confirmed her own exit from the series, which didn’t appear to be her choice.

More recently, Page attended Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood event last month where red carpet host Leah Henry asked him about how “a lot of people” on the internet have expressed interest in having his character Simon back on Bridgerton.

“Is there a chance you would ever return?” she asked, to which Page replied, “You know, it’s funny you say that, because I’m not on the internet.”

Henry doubled down by pointing out that fans “need” Page back. “I’m gonna have to take your word for it,” he replied.

After Henry tried one last time to ask if viewers will “see” him again, Page thanked the reporter for the interview and swiftly moved onto the next journalist on the red carpet. The awkward red carpet moment came after Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell addressed concerns that Simon could return — with a different actor in the role.

“We are not interested in recasting the characters,” Brownell told Variety in February. “I think it would feel like a disservice to everything Regé and Phoebe [Dynevor] set up in season 1, and all the beautiful work they put into those characters.”

Brownell didn’t rule out an onscreen return for them.

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“We would love to potentially have them back at some point, but I think, logistically, we want to make sure we bring them back when we have something really meaty for them,” she continued. “And to have them come back to say a line at a funeral [in season 4] and just prove that they were there, it wouldn’t feel right for many reasons.”

She concluded: “So I think in my mind, the camera doesn’t capture everything. They’re hypothetically there [this season] — it’s television. But we would love to find a time to bring everyone back at some point in the future.”

Bridgerton is currently streaming on Netflix.