While some fans have been arguing the second season of Bridgerton isn’t sexy enough for them (as the first season had them clutching their pearls), the period drama’s star Jonathan Bailey is attempting to fill in the void. In a new piece for New York Times published on April 21, the British heartthrob stripped down to his teeny swimsuit, showing off his muscular frame. The actor wasn’t doing it just for the stans, however. He was, of course, discussing his love of swimming the English coast!
“These cold water swims are a recent thing, though,” Jonathan explained. “I like outdoor activities that’re bracing and stimulating: Being against, and leaning into, the elements has always been quite rewarding and meditative. It gives your mind and body the same experience at the same time, which feels like a reset, if just for a few minutes. The only other things that do that are exercise or sex. Or acting, depending on the performer.”
Jonathon plays Anthony Bridgerton in the uber-popular Netflix series based on the book series by Julia Quinn, which centers on the siblings of the Bridgerton family during the early 1800s in London. While the first season — which had fan’s drooling over the eye-popping sex scenes — focused on the courtship between Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page… we miss you Regé-Jean!), the second run follows Anthony’s love affair with Kate Sharma, played by Simone Ashley. It is based on the book The Viscount Who Loved Me from the series.
The speedo strip down doesn’t appear to be a new thing for Jonathan, as he shared a sexy photo album on his Instagram ahead of the series second season premiere, where he is seen in quite a few snaps rocking nothing but a swimsuit. In the shots, he flaunts his athletic prowess by doing a perfect handstand next to a pool, enjoys a meal with friends and reads a book — again, all in his speedo. If these pics, combined with the NYT ones, aren’t enough to satisfy fans, there’s always the second season of Bridgeton streaming now on Netflix.