A surprising update about 'The White Lotus' has debunked a major season three theory

Disclaimer: The White Lotus season one and two spoilers ahead

The White Lotus season three is officially on its way, with the highly-anticipated next instalment set for release in 2025. And with viral teaser trailers and on-set anecdotes released on a regular basis, the HBO show is making non-stop headlines.

The third and final season will be set in Koh Samui, Thailand, starring major A-list names, from Leslie Bibb, Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey, to Aimee Lou Wood and Lalisa Manobal.

It is returning cast member Natasha Rothwell who has made the most headlines, with credible fan theories surrounding her character's storyline.

Rothwell returns to The White Lotus as Belinda, the spa manager in Hawaii, from the show's first season, who almost went into business with billionaire guest Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge). However, her hopes of opening her own spa are dashed when McQuoid later changes her mind.

Following McQuoid's death at the end of season two, orchestrated by her husband Greg, fan theories have speculated that Belinda might in fact have inherited McQuoid's fortune in a surprise plot twist. And it was thought that this could explain Rothwell's return, with Belinda potentially visiting The White Lotus hotel as a wealthy guest.

Rothwell herself weighed in on the speculation around her character's return, and in doing so, she appeared to shut down the popular theory.

According to the actress, Belinda will be visiting The White Lotus in Thailand as part of a work exchange program. And while she will technically be staying as a guest, she is still an employee of the hotel group.

"She's still working at the White Lotus, and she's in Thailand doing sort of an exchange program to learn more about the wellness programs that the Thailand White Lotus offers," Rothwell explained to Entertainment Weekly. "She's going to be a guest for the first time, even though she's taking classes and it's a work trip. She's staying at the hotel, which is something that she hasn't done before, and so we get to see her really dip her toe in the other side of life of the upstairs/downstairs of White Lotus."

Rothwell continued: "She gets a firsthand look at some of the things that I think went unnoticed by her [in] season one. It's a really cool exploration of status and her journey and reconciling the fact that her dreams of owning the spa never came to fruition, so what do you do? 'I'm going to pick myself up and learn something new,' and still grow in her own way."

"It was so different this time," Rothwell has previously explained in a 2024 interview on Sirius XM’s The Jess Cagle Show with Julia Cunningham. "This show was quite humble season one - you know like we didn’t know what it was gonna be. It wasn’t 'The White Lotus'. It was just this really cool opportunity to work with one of my idols, Mike White.

“It did a lot for me personally and professionally,” she later continued. “And so to see what Mike has done with the series, it’s incredible. And this final season, it’s bigger. It’s more insane. I personally, and again, I’m biased, but I think it’s the best one yet.”

Mike White has also weighed in on the highly-anticipated third season, promising a “supersized” show in 2025.

“I don’t know what people will think, but I am super excited, so at least for my own barometer, that’s a good thing," he previously explained, adding: "It’s going to be longer, bigger [and] crazier... I’m super excited about the content of the season.”

The White Lotus season three is set for release on 16 February 2025.