Summer I Turned Pretty's Gavin Casalegno Speaks Out on Jeremiah Hate
It's the summer that Gavin Casalegno cleared the air.
The Summer I Turned Pretty star—who plays Jeremiah Fischer in the Amazon Prime hit—broke his silence on the intense hate his character has been receiving throughout the current third and final season of the series.
And for Gavin, the negativity he's received about his character—who is currently set to marry Lola Tung's Belly character, despite cheating on her just weeks before—is "pretty comical."
"They tend to dislike him, yes," the 25-year-old told The New York Times in an interview published Aug. 22. "I don't check Instagram anymore, so I haven't really seen that much hate. The only thing that I see is my sister sending me the memes that are really funny."
He continued, "I think it's important to also understand and realize that this is a fictional story—and it's also not me."
Gavin, who married wife Cheyanne King last summer, explained that while he and Jeremiah are both very "social," he feels a bit more grown up than his character.
"As far as the immature side of things and the partying, I was never a partyer," he said. "It's not who I am at all."
And while he can separate himself from the negativity his character has been receiving, he shared that it can still be a challenge to see so many mean comments.
As he put it, "I don't think there's a single human being in the world who can carry the emotional negativity to the degree that stuff like this happens."
However, he reflected that while his time on the show, which was inspired by author Jenny Han's book series of the same name, has been hard work, it's been well worth it, calling it a "dream job."
"I had seen Jenny Han's work in the past and I felt like this would be a great project to be a part of. I wasn't wrong," he shared. "This story is so wonderful in that it really makes people reminisce about love. It brings people back to their childhoods and summers and first loves—it's super relatable."
For more on the latest season of The Summer I Turned Pretty, read on.
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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