Summer I Turned Pretty's Lola Tung Reacts to Hatred of Jeremiah’s Ring
It's the summer the internet couldn't stop talking about Belly Conklin's sliver of tinfoil—er—diamond.
Lola Tung spoke out in defense of the engagement ring that Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno) picked out for her character in the third season of Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty after the bling got bashed by viewers for being too small and cheap-looking.
"Jeremiah was trying to be a little smart buying a ring that wasn't crazy expensive," the 22-year-old told Pop Sugar Australia July 29. "And he knows her style and it's a very practical ring and very beautiful and simple."
In fact, Lola believes all the hate that Jeremiah—who, prior to the jewelry purchase, had already racked up $20,000 in debt from his dad Adam Fisher (Tom Everett Scott) after failing to complete the necessary credit requirements to graduate college on time—has received over the ring choice is kind of uncalled for.
"I think it's a little much," she said during a July 29 interview with Pedestrian TV. "I love that ring, I do."
For Lola, the simple design is a reflection of the pair's "young" love. As she put it, "It's very them."
Lola added, "It's not about material things, you know?"
Indeed, some fans might beg to differ. After all, following Jeremiah's second proposal in episode two of season three (his first didn't involve a ring or him getting on one knee), many joked that they could barely see the jewelry.
As one user wrote on X July 25 alongside a photo of Lola's character showing off her bling, "Belly said, 'The summer we looked for Jeremiah's ring.'"
Sharing a GIF of a man using a telescope, another user added, "Me looking at the ring jeremiah gave belly."
But does Lola’s love for the divisive ring put her on Team Jeremiah over Team Conrad (Christopher Briney)? Lola's staying put on Team Belly for now.
“I very much understand her brain and where she’s coming from,” she told the Television Academy in a July 23 interview. “She’s the main character in her story and I’ll always support wherever her heart is leading her.”
However, she admits that, by the time Belly's story concludes in the season finale, there will be some tears.
“Everybody at some point throughout the show, throughout all three seasons, will be a little bit heartbroken,” Lola recently told E! News. “It's just how it goes. And there is heartache that comes with love and with big love stories and with complicated love stories.”
For more on season three of The Summer I Turned Pretty—and how it's different from the third installment of Jenny's book series—keep reading.
While We’ll Always Have Summer begins with Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) finishing up her freshman year at Finch University, season three of The Summer I Turned Pretty actually takes place at the end of her junior year.
That means, by the time Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno) cheats on Belly with Lacie Barone (Lily Donoghue), they had been dating for four years in the series, not two.
Before Belly opens her dorm room ahead of her freshman year—a flashback that takes place in the first five minutes of the season premiere—her brother Steven Conklin (Sean Kaufman) quickly scribbled “Belly” over her full name, “Isabel,” on the door. In subsequent scenes, her college friend Anika Johnson (Sofia Bryant) calls her Belly.
However, in the book, Belly didn’t correct anyone who called her by her government name.
“I didn’t plan to start going by Isabel. It just happened,” she said in the book. “I remember the way I fumbled with my key and how I looked up at the door and saw it. ‘Isabel,’ it was in glue-on rhinestones.”
Then, she introduced herself as Isabel to her roommate Jillian Chapel and moving forward, it’s what everyone at Finch called her.
Jenny Han’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before—the first in its own trilogy, later adapted for Netflix— might’ve been published three years after We’ll Always Have Summer, but the series was sure to pay homage with small Easter eggs.
For instance, Belly had a photo of her and Jeremiah dressed up as Peter Kavinsky and Lara Jean Covey on her dorm wall. The novel’s sequel, P.S. I Still Love You, was a hint in the crossword puzzle Conrad Fisher (Chris Briney) was doing with Belly during Christmas.
The TV series began exploring Conrad's mental health struggles, including anxiety attacks, during the first season while he tried to keep it together after learning that his and Jeremiah's mom Susannah Fisher (Rachel Blanchard) was diagnosed with cancer again.
By the third, the Stanford University student was seen sitting with a therapist before he planned his return to Cousins Beach for a dedication in Susannah’s honor. During his session, he and his doctor explored his concerns around attending the event, although he doesn’t delve into his complicated love triangle. At least he’s there, right?
In the series, Belly learns that she was taken off the waitlist to study abroad in Paris the following semester, which means she can’t room with Anika in the fall. (Jeremiah hadn’t even proposed at this point.)
However, in the book, she changes her boarding plans because of her unexpected engagement. Anika still understands as she tells Belly in the text, “I’m not mad. I mean, yeah, it sucks that we won’t be living together, but I’ll figure something out.”
While Taylor Jewel (Rain Spencer) and Steven’s relationship isn’t explored in any of the books, their on-and-off romance becomes a secondary storyline in the latest season. Although Taylor is dating frat boy Davis and Steven is dating Mia, the pair had been having an affair since reuniting in Manhattan during spring break (the same week Jeramiah cheated on Belly).
After Steven tells Taylor, while they’re driving, that he broke up with Mia so they could try to rekindle their relationship, an overwhelmed Taylor demands that he pull over. When she gets out, Steven is T-boned by another car while making a U-turn, which puts him in a medically induced coma. Don’t worry, though, he makes a full recovery.
Although the same can’t be said for their relationship—at least at this point in the season.
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