The Summer I Turned Pretty is a show about a turning point in a young girl’s life, wrapped in trendy pop songs and beach sunsets. Belly Conklin has grown up around Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher. Every year, the Conklins — Belly’s brother, Stephen, and mom, Laurel — spend the summer at the Fisher family’s beach house with Jeremiah, Conrad, and their mom, Laurel’s best friend Susannah, in the idyllic (fictional) town of Cousins, Massachusetts. They host elaborate Fourth of July barbecues, relax by the beach, go sailing, and visit the local country club. Except for one fateful summer when, you guessed it, 16-year-old Belly finally “turns pretty” and the Fisher boys both suddenly begin to show romantic interest in her.
Once you get past a few bizarre facts (like that the boys go, “Oh man, she’s hot now” and instantly fall in love with her) the show has an earnest charm. Teen romance shows provide us plenty of examples of the various ways the dating process can go right or, alternatively, go really, really wrong when you’re still figuring out who you want to be. They provide us with an escapist fantasy, that is often as much about wealth, power, or status as it is about love. And it’s just fun to watch pretty people flail around trying to get it together as obstacle after improbable obstacle gets in their way.
The romance of the show isn’t solely in the (mildly incestuous) love triangle, though. It’s also the romance of reliving the rosy years of adolescence: graduating high school, going to your first party, building your self-esteem. Belly tries new experiences, makes new friends, and gets day-drunk on the Fourth of July. A sports injury leads her to a passion for Sports Psychology. A trip to Paris shows her she can be independent and rely on her own grit. In other words, she grows up.
The Summer I Turned Pretty had couples, hookups, and trysts galore. However, some are too briefly mentioned, or were between such minor characters, that we don’t really know what the relationship was like at all (John and Victoria, Lacie and Jeremiah, etc.) We excluded those pairings, but that still left plenty to explore! Below we take a look at the romances of The Summer I Turned Pretty, and rank them based on chemistry, intrigue, healthiness, tackiness, and, of course, rizz.
14.
Adam & Kalyeigh
This pairing features two insufferable people: Jeremiah and Conrad’s father/human disaster Adam, and secretary Kalyeigh, a girl who is physically incapable of reading the room. Why would Laurel ever want to meet you, Kayleigh? You slept with her best friend’s husband while she was dying of cancer! Workaholic Adam’s affair with Kayleigh was a horrible weight that Susannah had to carry. Later Conrad carried it as well, after he overheard his parents arguing about it. Plus, cheating with the secretary half your age is just so cliché. If you can’t be a decent person, at least be original. This affair is just another example of Adam’s bewildering emotional immaturity.
13.
Susannah & Adam
Susannah and Adam separated before she died, and for good reason. Adam was a rude, arrogant, and uninvolved father who frequently disappointed his children and avoided growth. Do you remember Adam telling Jeremiah, “Conrad would never have let this happen” after Jeremiah made a mistake, and had to do an extra college semester?
Susannah was a kindhearted but sometimes impulsive woman. Case in point: Why did she marry this man? It was one of her worst decisions. Adam’s obsession with chasing wealth betrays his regressive ideas of masculinity — he didn’t care about the emotional growth of his sons, just the status his wealth afforded him as a provider and self-sufficient man. And that’s not to mention the aforementioned affair with his secretary. It’s truly astounding that no one on this show has beaten his ass.
12.
Cam & Skye
In fairness, the show didn’t give us very much to work with here. Belly’s season 1 love interest Cam met the Fishers’ cousin Skye briefly in season 2, as they helped Belly and the Fisher brothers save the beach house from being sold after Susannah’s death. All the teens had a sunny day at the boardwalk before a late-night hang on the country club golf course. These two were both nerdy and sweet, and shared a certain endearing awkwardness. Plus, it was nice to see Skye get a bit of romance in their life. But this is a classic case of rizzlessness. Where’s the passion? Where’s the drama?!
11.
Conrad & Agnes
Conrad and Agnes had a casual relationship going at Stanford Medical School, but Agnes wanted something deeper. It’s a classic reason that a college relationship doesn’t work out, but there were no hard feelings, and the two became friends. Agnes is clearly stronger than the US marines. To date a man, fall in love with him, find out he’s emotionally unavailable, and then stay friends with him? Angelic behavior. But we want her to have a fresh start. Maybe with someone at her fancy medical student job!
10.
Steven & Shayla
Tale as old as time: she was the wealthy debutante, while he was working at the country club for extra cash. These two are great individually. But we can’t pretend that there wasn’t a personality mismatch there. Shayla was gorgeous, fashionable, and generally sweet. But there wasn’t really any development past that. It seemed Steven liked the idea of her — a popular rich girl — more than the actual relationship. What did they love about each other? What made them tick?
9.
Cam & Belly
We love Cam Cameron, the local boy that Belly meets at a beach bonfire in season 1. They have a date at the drive-in movie, he comes to her birthday dinner, and he shares his love of marine life with her. He packs her sandwiches for their dates! He’s sweet, communicative, and intelligent. But while this couple was very cute and innocent, it was also completely sexless in a way that was truly astounding. Cam is lovely, just not for Belly.
8.
Belly & Benito
Belly meets Benito during her grand escape study abroad trip to Paris, through mutual friends. In the toasty warmth of the holiday season, these two develop a romance after a night drinking alone in a bar at Christmastime. It’s straight out of a Hallmark movie. There’s really not a lot more you can ask for from an international fling than driving through the Parisian streets in the snow and reciting Spanish poetry. But although it’s a perfect fairytale romance, it is just a fleeting moment, and it lacks the weight to rank it any higher here.
7.
Jeremiah & Redbird
We know very little about Redbird and Jeremiah. Here’s what we do know: They are exes and frat brother besties. Redbird is the life of the party: a loudmouth and mischievous guy. Jeremiah is a bisexual with golden retriever vibes. Given their shared fratty energies, we can just feel how good a couple they would have been. We would have loved to see more of them. Besides, just looking at the two of them in action, you know that they have some wild stories to tell. (Although we already know some of what went down in Cabo!)
6.
Laurel & John
Belly’s parents got married and had children young, and are divorced by the time the series starts. But in later seasons, the sparks fly again. Maybe The Parent Trap ruined us, but Laurel and John are cute together! Laurel’s discussion about how she lost herself in her marriage too young and needed time to find a life of her own was inspiring. Good for her to take the time and space to do that. But now that she has, we kind of ship them. Hooking up with your ex in high school or college is tasteless. But isn’t there something so chic about a love affair with someone, years later, when you’ve both matured and can live up to the expectations of your first love?
5.
Steven & Denise
Steven and Denise met while working for Adam Fisher at Breaker Capital, Adam’s venture capital firm. Denise – scrappy, sarcastic, and clever – at first was hostile towards Steven, but that passionate annoyance later evolved into teasing, affectionate companionship. These two could have had it all. They’re both brilliant and ambitious; What does The Summer I Turned Pretty have against a chic power couple? Maybe Steven and Denise weren’t endgame, but you can’t deny that they had chemistry. When were these two NOT flirting, pushing each other, teasing each other? In the end, they did start a company together. But hey, who says they can’t mix business with pleasure?
4.
Belly & Jeremiah
Belly and Jeremiah have known each other their whole lives. That shared history means they can have effortless fun together, and also support each other through the loss of Susannah. Jeremiah never got enough love and support from his dad, but Belly made him the center of her world and Jeremiah made her the center of his. She stood up for him, like at the dinner after Susannah’s memorial, when Jeremiah’s father referred to Conrad as the “soon-to-be-doctor” and Jeremiah as the “super-senior” in a painfully awkward and cruel toast. Belly and Jeremiah were there for each other in a moment when they both needed it. But like Jeremiah himself said, Belly and Conrad’s love is a force of nature. Why would we want him to feel second place in his own relationship? Plus, the breakup allowed him to mature. He got a job, he found a rhythm, and he built a world outside of Belly.
3.
Taylor & Steven
Taylor and Steven have been through it all. They were the on-and-off couple of everyone’s nightmares. They had some of the most intense fights, including one that literally ended in Steven getting hit by a car. And although they were a little too chaotic at first, that’s mostly due to their fiery, passionate personalities. The relationship allowed Taylor, Belly’s childhood best friend who’s always been a little boy crazy, to mature and realize she was worthy of being with someone intelligent and driven. Considering the dynamics she saw from her mom’s dysfunctional romantic entanglements, Taylor had probably internalized a lot of unhealthy ideas about dating. Throughout the seasons, we got to see her unlearn them, with Steven’s help. Plus, they’re just so pretty together. Everyone is spending so much time talking about Belly, Jeremiah and Conrad, we forget that we have Steven’s fine ass right there!
2.
Belly & Conrad
It makes sense that Belly was in love with Conrad all of her childhood years. He challenges Belly. He pushed her to study abroad. He was her childhood protector. Belly herself admits, “I loved him the way you can only do the first time around.” And again, in her own words: “It’s always been you, Conrad.” And Jeremiah himself said he has never seen Belly look at him the way she looks at Conrad. Of course, Conrad had his faults — aka major sadboi tendencies — which is why it took three seasons for them to finally be together for good. He often hides his feelings and is dishonest with Belly, a major problem in season 1 and 2. When faced with a challenge, like his and Belly’s famous prom fight, he often runs away to go lick his wounds instead of facing the problem head-on. He needed to grow up, become a better person, go to therapy, and work on himself in order to get there. Character growth, baby. Love encourages us to be better.
1.
Laurel & Cleveland
Laurel meets Cleveland during season 1 of the show. They run into each other in a bar, and end up hooking up in a car that same night. He is a successful, sophisticated author and all-around nice guy. We even see him lending Conrad a sympathetic ear all through season 1. Laurel & Cleveland get extra points because they had a very classy adult love affair. In the midst of all the teen angst, the dating life of a middle-aged woman was refreshing to see. Because what these two had was sexy! And it gave Laurel the opportunity to hang out at bars and let her hair down. Every mom needs that once in a while.