Why Regé-Jean Page's 'Bridgerton' Exit Wasn't A Surprise To Co-Star Phoebe Dynevor

Phoebe Dynevor is speaking out on "Bridgerton" love interest Regé-Jean Page's exit from the Netflix period drama.

Dynevor and Page had viewers falling in love with Daphne Bridgerton and Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, in the first season of "Bridgerton." Like most fans, the 26-year-old actress said she was sad that Page is not reprising his role for Season 2, but she's also eager to see the next chapter in the story of the Bridgerton family.

"Obviously, it's sad to see [Page] go, but I'm looking forward to being reunited with my family," she was quoted by E! News as saying on the "Variety Awards Circuit" podcast.

While Page's departure came as a shock to some fans, Dynevor said that it wasn't a surprise to her since the series is based on Julia Quinn's novels, with each book focusing on one of the eight Bridgerton siblings.

"I had a bit of a heads up, so I knew. But yeah, I guess it is a spanner," she explained. "But again, the show centers around the Bridgertons and there are eight books."

"And I think maybe the fans of the books were more aware of that happening than the fans of the show. Because I think the fans of the books know that every episode is about a different sibling. And we're very much passing on the baton to the lovely Johnny [Bailey], who plays Anthony and that will be the main storyline of season two and the story arc of season two," she continued.

Dynevor went on to recall some of the fond memories she has of filming on set with Page, revealing she enjoyed shooting their first dance together as Daphne and Simon.

"I remember shooting the last scene in episode one where Regé and I have, like, our first dance together," she recalled.

"And I remember thinking, 'Wow, this feels kind of special.' There were, like, fireworks going off behind us and it was, like, really romantic music. It felt like a really special moment, but you never know if it's going to come out on camera and the audience is going to feel that buzz, too. It's hard to tell," she added.

Following the announcement of his exit, a report claimed that Page was offered $50,000 per episode to return in the second season for three to five episodes. One unnamed source told Page Six he turned down the offer because "he wasn’t happy with what was planned for his character for Season 2, which would have kept him a player but not the focal point of the show."

"Bridgerton" producer Shonda Rhimes previously revealed that she was "shocked" by the intense reaction to Page's exit.

"I was really shocked, because usually that happens when I've killed off somebody that's been around for a while. Like, we didn't kill him, he's still alive," she told Vanity Fair. "[Regé-Jean] is a powerful, amazing actor and that meant we did our job — every season, our job is finding the right people and putting together this incredible, world-shifting romance."

"I don't know that I expected this much of an explosion, given that every book [in the Bridgerton series] is a different romance," she added. "What would be the ever-after of this combo? I mean, really: What would Regé-Jean do, you know what I mean? We gave them their happily ever after! And now we have this next couple coming. And so yeah, I was like, 'Whoa!'"

"Bridgerton" Season 2 will focus on Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and his love interest, Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley), like the second book of the series.