"If this Is love, I’m out": A deep dive into Belly and Jeremiah's codependent mess in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 takes a sharp emotional turn—and Belly gets caught in the fallout. What started off as a summer love triangle has now somehow spiraled into a cautionary tale of codependency between Belly and Jeremiah.

If you’re wondering, “Is this really what love looks like?”—you’re not alone, because I wonder that too. And let me tell you—the answer, bluntly, is a big fat no. Their relationship isn’t romantic or endearing. It’s exhausting, suffocating, and honestly? It’s a little too alarming.

Episodes 1 to 4 of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 clearly trade Conrad’s slow burns and longing stares for Jeremiah’s desperation and dysfunction. Instead of watching two people grow together, we’re watching Belly spiral and give up on herself in real time. She’s also giving up her dreams for someone who’s cheated on her twice and can barely manage his own emotions.

And what’s worse? The show doesn’t even try to disguise the toxicity anymore—it’s all front and center, stitched into every clingy interaction and impulsive decision.

Let’s break down why this relationship is one big red flag and why the both of them need to get into therapy ASAP.

Writer's Note: The opinions in this piece are solely writer's and reflect a personal interpretation of the characters and storylines from The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Belly & Jeremiah don’t function as individuals in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 - and that’s a problem

From the very start of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, it’s obvious that Belly and Jeremiah don’t know how to exist apart. Every major decision Belly makes is filtered through Jeremiah’s needs, which often come at the cost of her own well-being.

Whether it’s her Paris study abroad dream or just wanting an afternoon to study with Taylor and Anika, she constantly edits and filters herself to keep him emotionally afloat.

Their relationship in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 so far screams dependency. She can’t even bring up leaving for five months without Jeremiah acting like she’s abandoning him forever. It’s not sweet—it’s manipulative.

Her life revolves around cushioning his emotions, and that’s not love. That’s emotional labor disguised as romance. Contrast this with how Belly interacts with Conrad, and the difference is night and day.

With Conrad, she’s easy. She has space to think, to be herself, to speak without feeling like she’s walking on eggshells. That’s what healthy love looks like: autonomy, not absorption.

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Jeremiah’s emotional immaturity is dragging Belly down

Let’s just call it what it is: the Jeremiah in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 is emotionally stunted. He doesn’t want a partner; he wants a caretaker. Time and again, we see Belly step into that motherly role—reminding him about sunscreen, always speaking up on his behalf, calming him down when he’s feeling insecure about his brother, and cleaning up the messes and inferiority complex he constantly dumps on her.

That’s not a relationship, it’s parenting. And Jeremiah sees no issue with it. He even agrees to it unknowingly by saying:

"Belly's been the centre of my world...since I lost my mom."

And instead of encouraging Belly to chase her goals—like studying in Paris for the abroad study programme—he celebrates when she chooses him and the wedding planning over her work/study future.

He says;

"Good cause I didn't want you to go either..."

And that… that’s not romantic. That’s control masked as affection. That’s Ross & Rachel 2.0.

Belly accepts this imbalance because she thinks loving him means sacrificing herself. It’s a pattern rooted in guilt and grief—not a foundation for marriage.

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BellyJere's 4 year relationship is built on trauma bonding and not trust

What we’re seeing unfold every Wednesday in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 isn’t just romance gone wrong—it’s trauma bonding on full display. Belly and Jeremiah latched onto each other after Susannah’s death, mistaking shared grief for genuine compatibility. That kind of emotional high can feel intense, but it’s not sustainable. They’re clinging to each other out of fear, not love.

The red flags are impossible to ignore: secrets about Cabo and cheating twice with Lacie, decisions made in a rush, and a wedding being used solely to prove their love is real.

It’s not about building a life together—it’s about patching wounds with a fairy tale ending that frankly doesn’t exist.

Even their inner circles see it. Laurel and Adam’s rejection of their marriage isn’t cold, but it’s common sense. As Laurel puts it angrily to Belly in Episode 4 of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3:

"You don't even know yourself yet...how could you possibly know who you want to be with forever...Belly I understand if you decide to do this, I can't stop you. But you need to understand I won't be a part of it. I will not be at the wedding..."

If everyone who loves you is saying, “This is a mistake,” then… maybe it’s worth listening?

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Belly is losing herself - and the show is letting it happen

Watching Belly in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 is like watching someone disappear in slow motion. Her identity, her independence, her spark—it’s all been swallowed up by Jeremiah’s constant wants and needs.

She’s no longer making choices for herself; she’s reacting to his every insecurity, even at the expense of making fun of Conrad. Her world has become a performance to keep him happy.

In episode after episode, Belly chooses him over herself. She abandons her study abroad plans. She argues and isolates herself from Laurel. She clings to a wedding that no one in the family supports. And for what? Because she “promised” Susannah to always be there for him? That’s not commitment—it’s guilt-driven obligation.

It’s heartbreaking because we’ve seen a better version of Belly. With Conrad, she’s calm, reflective, and still her own person. Their Christmas 2.0 scenes? A reminder that real love lets you exist freely—even when it hurts.

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Conrad is growing while Jeremiah is still stuck

While Belly and Jeremiah spiral, Conrad is doing the one thing no one else seems to be doing in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3: growing up, evolving, and being in therapy.

He’s making hard choices. He even puts aside his own pain to be Jeremiah’s best man—just to make Belly’s life easier. That’s maturity. That’s love. Real love.

Jeremiah, on the other hand, remains stagnant. Still insecure. Still controlling. Still stuck in the idea that Belly is the only thing that makes him whole. It’s clear that he doesn’t want a wife—he wants an emotional crutch. And Belly? She deserves better.

Conrad’s selflessness only highlights Jeremiah’s shortcomings more. Where one brother supports Belly’s autonomy, the other sees her freedom as a threat. That’s the core of this entire mess.

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The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 paints a painfully accurate portrait of how love can go wrong when it’s built on grief, guilt, and neediness.

Watching Belly give up her future to hold Jeremiah together is the furthest thing from romantic. It’s clear now—this isn’t love; it’s loss disguised as devotion.

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