Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Celebrity News

    Why The New Bridget Jones Book Has Broken Our Hearts

    Bridget Jones fans have taken to Twitter to express their horror at new plot twists in Helen Fielding's upcoming Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

    By Marie Claire
    Published 30 September 2013 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Bridget Jones - Mad About the Boy - Marie Claire - Marie Claire UK
    Bridget Jones - Mad About the Boy - Marie Claire - Marie Claire UK
    (Image credit: Rex Features)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Bridget Jones fans have taken to Twitter to express their horror at new plot twists in Helen Fielding's upcoming Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

    Bridget Jones fans have taken to Twitter to express their horror at new plot twists in Helen Fielding's upcoming Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.

    Extracts from the highly anticipated book, the third instalment in the best-selling Bridget Jones series, that were published in this weekend's Sunday Times Magazine, revealed that author Helen Fielding has killed off fan favourite and lead romantic character, Mark Darcy (immortalised on-screen by Colin Firth).

    The new book sees Bridge as a 51-year-old widowed mother-of-two - '35 if anyone asks' - who is dating a toy boy as she comes to grips with the death of Mark five years earlier.

    Bridget Jones - Mad About the Boy - Marie Claire - Marie Claire UK

    Bridget Jones - Mad About the Boy - Marie Claire - Marie Claire UK
    (Image credit: Rex Features)

    Fans immediately took to Twitter to express their shock and horror at this unexpected twist, claiming they were 'traumatised,' 'gutted' and perplexedly asking 'Why?!' Other Bridget Jones lovers declared the news put them off reading the book entirely.

    You may like
    • B _ W - Woman reading book with wine in natural sunlight - TVS 9 of Britain's 10 Bestselling Novels Begin With a Dead Woman. I Asked Authors, Literary Experts and a Criminal Behavioural Analyst Why
    • Wicker husband: Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Coleman in the new film Wicker Move Over Regular Men and AI Boyfriends, The “Wicker Husband” Has Arrived
    • Obsession is a 2025 American supernatural psychological horror film The Horror of Having a Crush in the Social Media Age

    Bridget Jones - Mad About the Boy - Marie Claire - Marie Claire UK

    Bridget Jones - Mad About the Boy - Marie Claire - Marie Claire UK
    (Image credit: Rex Features)

    The published extracts also reveal that Bridge is still counting calories and text messages from her latest paramour, while ex-flame Daniel Cleaver is very much in Bridget's life as 'naughty godfather' to Bridget's two children, Mabel and Billy, 'who can be relied upon for babysitting duties and inappropriate sexual advances towards their mother.'

    The plot focuses on Bridget's debut film script - 'a modern-day update of a Chekhov classic, set in Queen's Park' - her new toy boy Roxster and follows Bridge as she tries to navigate the minefields of Internet dating and alpha mums at the school gate.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    The book rights have reportedly already been purchased, so Renee Zellweger is likely to reprise her alter-ego on the big screen and embark on a cake-only diet shortly.

    But will fans be too angry to watch?

    Bridget Jones is back! The 8 questions we want answered...

    24 iconic women who have rocked our world

    Marie Claire
    Social Links Navigation

    The leading destination for fashion, beauty, shopping and finger-on-the-pulse views on the latest issues. Marie Claire's travel content helps you delight in discovering new destinations around the globe, offering a unique – and sometimes unchartered – travel experience. From new hotel openings to the destinations tipped to take over our travel calendars, this iconic name has it covered.

    Read more
    B _ W - Woman reading book with wine in natural sunlight - TVS
    Culture 9 of Britain's 10 Bestselling Novels Begin With a Dead Woman. I Asked Authors, Literary Experts and a Criminal Behavioural Analyst Why
    Wicker husband: Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Coleman in the new film Wicker
    Relationships Move Over Regular Men and AI Boyfriends, The “Wicker Husband” Has Arrived
     
     
    Obsession is a 2025 American supernatural psychological horror film
    Life The Horror of Having a Crush in the Social Media Age
    Book Talks: Sarah Wang, New Skin
    Culture Book Talks: Sarah Wang, New Skin
     
     
    Latest in Celebrity News
    Olivia Rodrigo performing on stage in a babydoll dress that sparked online debate, later prompting the singer to speak out about the sexualisation of girlhood and double standards facing young women.
    Celebrity News “We Really Normalise Pedophilia in Our Culture”: What Olivia Rodrigo's Babydoll Dress Backlash Reveals About Girlhood
    Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan'
    Celebrity News Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
     
     
    Anne Hathaway attends the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada 2
    Celebrity News Anne Hathaway Has Spoken Out About Her 10-Year Health Battle
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona
    Royal News Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
     
     
    Latest in News
    Kinda Chic Trend
    Shopping Is "Kinda Chic" Kinda Cringe? Everyone's Favourite Fashion Word Just Went Completely Out of Fashion
    Daisy Edgar-Jones wearing a lace camisole
    Shopping When a T-Shirt Feels Too Plain, Try the Trending Top Alexa Chung, Tracee Ellis Ross and Daisy Edgar-Jones Are Wearing
     
     
    Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: The Foundation Using Exosome Technology, the Treatment That Transformed My Skin Texture—Plus, the Ever-Earlier Advent Calendar Race
    Kaia Gerber
    Shopping Everything Kaia Gerber Wears Is a Masterclass in Minimalism—These Are the Pieces and Brands She Always Goes Back to
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.