According to the first look photos of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, which were released on March 31, Conrad Girls may be in trouble. Although fans are melting over the teasers, it's hard not to notice the Jeremiah and Belly couple photos throughout the newly released pictures.
Some Conrad, Steven, and Taylor teasers are mixed within, but 80 percent of the images focus on shots of Jeremiah cozying up to Belly. As a Conrad Girl, I'm not okay. Many fans speculated a few weeks ago about a change in the trilogy's ending from books to screen, based on the season 3 announcement poster, thinking nothing would come of it. But it seems Jenny Han has some "surprises" up her sleeves for longtime fans of the books.
Jenny Han, the author of The Summer I Turned Pretty, told Entertainment Weekly that fans may be surprised by the ending: "There are going to be surprises," she says. "There are the things that they know and then there are things they think they know, and then there's going to be, hopefully, things that surprise them."
Some fans yell, "No Jenny, we know the ending," in TikTok comment threads across many reaction posts under the hashtag #tsitpseason3. I couldn't agree more. Fans know Belly ended up with Conrad after she found out Jeremiah had cheated on her during spring break. But with a few tweaks here and there from books to screen, could the outcome have changed?
We're unsure. So far, all we have is a group beach hangout, a solo shot of Belly enjoying life, many couple photos of Jeremiah and Belly with one showing Steven's disapproving stare, a solo shot of doctor Conrad, a sweet moment between Belly and her mom in her college dorm, and finally a close up of Steven and Taylor. All the photos are spectacular and magical, yet not one Bonrad is among the season 3 teaser photos.
The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 first look photos
Overall, the images show us a glimpse of Belly's first year of college. If there are surprises, as Jenny Han says, then I'm unsure what to expect. But like many others, I'm heartbroken that we don't know Belly's love life fate like we thought. Maybe it's a good thing Jenny didn't make the ending predictable for longtime fans. Maybe we're in for the best season yet – Belly's best year yet.
Even though I am Team Conrad over Team Jeremiah any day, I agree with Lola Tung (Belly) when she said to Entertainment Weekly that she's "always admired" how Jenny makes sure whatever's coming next in "every season and decision, that it purely serves the story." Jenny won't go rogue unless it benefits the story and the world she's created, which makes my heart melt with how much she adores her characters and the actors breathing life into them every episode. Tung also noted that Jenny is "giving the fans something really special and giving us something really special to work with."
Team Jeremiah will be over the moon, as Jellyfish is in full swing, as they attend college and fall more in love. Jenny Han teased that with the time jump, Lola (Belly) and Gavin Casalegno (Jeremiah) quickly met their characters where they were, with an already established relationship. Their chemistry is "seamless" as onscreen best friends and lovers.
Steven (Sean Kaufman) doesn't look very happy watching his sister make heart eyes at Jeremiah; we can strongly assume he's still team Conrad.
Although there aren't any Bonrad photos, we received a glowing doctor update on Conrad. Jenny confirmed that "Conrad has been away at Stanford for a while" as we return for season 3.
Staylor fans cheer! The teaser includes a close-up of the budding romance. Although Taylor (Rain Spencer) and Steven's relationship wasn't mentioned in the books, it has soared onscreen.
Cue the tears! Laurel (Jackie Chung) and Belly sit in her freshman dorm room. It doesn't seem real that our girl is all grown up.
Whether The Summer I Turn Pretty fans ship Conrad or Jeremiah with Belly or prefer her to choose herself, we agree that season three is a chance for Belly to grow as a person. Although she's grown up a lot in the first two seasons, she still has much to learn as she enters college. I can only imagine, with a time jump to college, all the adventures and misadventures our favorite Cousin Beach residents will have throughout 11 episodes. The final season premieres on Amazon Prime Video in July 2025.