Jenny Han responds to criticism of the ‘tiny ring’ from ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’

Jenny Han opened up about the backlash received by the engagement ring given to Belly by Jeremiah in The Summer I Turned Pretty.

In an interview with Variety, she said, "I really wanted something that felt modest, humble and sweet, that Belly could maybe stack. Just thinking of her style, it’s more simple. She’s not about the flashy rings."

"I think she would be more touched that he picked it out for her, and he knew what she would like,” she continued.

On the backlash to the ring and its size, the author remarked, "I think people were going in pretty hard on that ring! I thought it was really sweet."

The criticism of the character of Jeremiah, in particular, has been ramping up since the start of the season. The sudden proposal comes after he cheats on Belly twice, a move that turned fans away from his character completely. 

"Either way, people weren’t gonna like what he did. It would be ridiculous if he showed up with a two-carat ring. How did you buy that? He can definitely upgrade her in the future, once he’s more settled and making his own money," Han elaborated.

Having made her directorial debut in the series with the “peach scene”, she remarked, "I wanted it to feel different. I wanted the episode to really feel that we were looking at Belly through Conrad’s eyes, seeing everything from Conrad’s point of view. So normally, the show defaults to Belly’s point of view.”

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