Warning: Spoilers ahead for Bridgerton season 2 and the books.
Here is what happens next to Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma after Bridgerton season 2 in the book. Based on The Viscount Who Loved Me, the second novel in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, the Netflix romance series is all about Anthony and Kate’s budding relationship in season 2. The couple, who initially disliked each other before becoming lovers, had a lot to learn about each other and themselves before they entered into a relationship.
In Bridgerton season 2, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) has decided he is ready to be married, a family duty he has managed to avoid for a while now. When he meets Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) while riding their horses, they’re instantly taken with each other, but their relationship turns a bit contentious shortly after Kate overhears that Anthony has a checklist of what would make a dutiful wife. Learning he doesn’t want to marry for love also means that Kate becomes overprotective of her younger sister Edwina (Charithra Chandran) who is looking for a love match and is being courted by Anthony because Queen Charlotte has dubbed her the “diamond” of the season.
While the road to happiness was filled with a lot of roadblocks for the pair, Bridgerton season 2 ended with Anthony and Kate finally admitting they love each other and getting married. Kate remains in England and the couple is genuinely happy while also maintaining their competitive, banter-filled dynamic. Bridgerton season 2 may have culminated on a high note for Anthony and Kate, but what happens to them afterwards in the book? Let’s break things down.
Anthony & Kate Get Married Before He Reveals He Loves Her
Anthony and Kate bicker and banter, flirt and butt heads quite often in Quinn’s The Viscount Who Loved Me. It’s similar to how they are in the Netflix series, which sees their exchanges grow more heated. While Anthony and Kate don’t get married until after they declare their love for each other, the book sees the pair being married after they find themselves in a scandalous situation. And although they are happy after marriage, because they are so very attracted to each other, Anthony can’t bring himself to admit he loves Kate because he’s afraid he’ll die too soon. It isn’t until Kate and her sister are in a carriage accident that he can finally say the words. So while he entered into a marriage out of obligation, he did fall in love with Kate despite trying to separate those feelings from his union.
Anthony Bridgerton Lives Past The Age His Father Died
In Bridgerton, a big reason Anthony decides to cut love out of the marriage equation is because he doesn’t want to feel the same grief his mother felt when his father Edmund died. He saw much of the pain she felt and he never wanted to love someone enough to go through the same thing. At the same time, he never wanted to cause that same amount of grief for anyone else. Anthony got very close to that feeling when Kate suffered a head injury after falling off of her horse, but he realized that he would take the risk if it meant he didn’t miss out on being in love and reveling in it.
In The Viscount Who Loved Me, Anthony’s primary source of conflict is similar, but he also fears that he will die young the same way his father did at the age of 38-years-old. This idea haunts him and keeps him from opening up and giving his heart away to Kate. In the first epilogue of Quinn’s book (there are two!), the author jumps ahead in time to Anthony’s 39th birthday. He and Kate are still very much together and Anthony feels a sense of relief about living to see the age of 39. It means he’s overcome one of his worst fears and gets to continue being with Kate and his family. What’s more, being with Kate eased the unsettled emotions he had towards (what he believed to be) his imminent death, which is why he was able to be even more content when he realized he had more time than his father did.
Anthony & Kate Start A Family Of Their Own
Anthony and Kate go on to start a family of their own. They have four children together — Edmund, who is named after Anthony’s father, Miles, Charlotte, and Mary. In the epilogue of The Viscount Who Loved Me, only Miles is mentioned, but Quinn provided a family tree detailing the names of each of the Bridgerton siblings, their spouses, and children. Edmund is born in 1815, which is the year after Anthony and Kate are married. Though it’s unclear in which month he is born, it’s possible the couple will be shown awaiting the arrival of their son in Bridgerton season 3. Daphne and Simon’s son, August, was seen throughout Bridgerton season 2 and it’s more than likely season 3 will cover Kate’s pregnancy or jump ahead to after Edmund is born. Either way, the pair are quite content with their family in the books, with Miles even taking it upon himself to stop his parents from trying to play instruments pretty badly.
Anthony & Kate Grow Older Together & Are Still Competitive
Bridgerton season 2 ends with Anthony and Kate as happy newlyweds and it’s possible fans will continue seeing their relationship progress and blossom further during season 3 and season 4. For now, we only have Quinn’s books to go by. In the novel's second epilogue, 15 years have passed since Kate and Anthony got married and they’re still as competitive as ever — especially when it comes to claiming the famous mallet of death ahead of the Bridgerton family’s annual pall-mall game.
Crucially, Anthony and Kate are growing older together and, after 15 years of marriage, they are still deeply in love, even more so than when they were first married. They tease each other and still know how to push each other’s buttons (the vexing has not stopped), but they are still madly attracted to each other, bantering and flirting. There's a sense that Bridgerton's leading couple have only grown stronger together and enjoy being married, which is perhaps something fans will get to see on the show as well.