"She wants to dip her toe in to that water" - Bridgerton star Ruth Gemmell on Violet's 'garden blooming' in season 3

Whilst you may be excited for the 'Polin' love story to unfold, Ruth Gemmell says there's another potential romance on the cards in this season of Bridgerton. 

The long-awaited season 3 of Netflix's beloved show Bridgerton is finally with us, and with it comes more drama, feuds and, of course, romance. But there's one love story that perhaps we didn't see coming  – Violet Bridgerton's daring reemergence into the world of dating. 

It's not often audiences get to see more mature female characters pursue love and lust, especially after a first marriage, but Ruth Gemmell says that's all about to change.

After watching Violet and her late husband Edmund's tragic past play out in the last season of Bridgerton, viewers finally understood Lady Bridgerton's reluctance to entertain another suitor. 

And yet, in the Queen Charlotte spin-off show, that previous disinterest in romance shifted. In an exclusive interview with woman&home, Ruth Gemmell spoke to us about why things have begun to change for her character. 

"I think having seen two of her children marry and for love and be happy, it was like a mirror in front of her to see that Edmund had left a very big hole," she explains. "And no one can fill it, but it's left her lonely." 

Violet spoke of wanting to feel her garden in bloom again in the Queen Charlotte series, so is this what we'll see in season three? 

Ruth smiles, "So yes, we see that she wants to kind of dip her toe into that water. And I think now we begin to see her embracing life again. And she's going to do it really tentatively as only Violet will, but yes, I think she's kind of excited and nervous as to what her children might think." 

Not only is this return to romance a rather big deal for Violet in the Bridgerton world, it's also a new journey unfolding for mature female audiences to enjoy too. When talking to Ruth about her character's romantic storyline, the 56-year-old actor said: "I think in terms of life, you go through different relationships all the time. And you think at the end of one, you are always metaphorically on the shelf and you'll never meet anyone again." 

"Well, I got together with my husband a lot later in my life, and I think that's quite normal. People are quite lucky if they've had a very steady, easy run of it." 

Co-star Adoja Andoh, who plays the confident socialite Lady Danbury, added: "I think there's something about it, that's quite old-fashioned, to just go when you get to a certain age, no-one's interested.

"But you've probably got half of your life left to live – you wanna go out, to get dressed up and have fun, and you want to make mistakes and be messy, because that's what we're all still doing in our lives."

With an empowering and authentic energy filling the room, Queen Charlotte herself, Golda Rosheuvel, smiles as she says: "Yeah, there’s life in the old dog yet."

In true Bridgerton fashion, societal expectations luckily don't hold power for long as we can look forward to seeing the beloved character of Violet experience all the excitement women deserve, no matter her age or marital past. 

There is still one question that remains, who will be the worthy gentleman that catches Violet Bridgerton's eye and more importantly her heart? 

Bridgerton, Season 3 Part One is available to stream on Netflix from May 16 2024.