Who is the better Fisher brother?

‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ fans take sides: Jeremiah or Conrad

Jazzy Afghani and Elsa Rhyne

October 17, 2025

Belly Conklin faced a romantic dilemma when she had to choose between Conrad, the responsible future doctor, and Jeremiah, the beachy carefree frat boy.

Imagine sitting in front of your TV, popcorn in hand.

You are watching Jeremiah Fisher order a $750, two tier, 70% cacao dark chocolate wedding cake with a raspberry coulis filling and a mirror glaze finish instead of buying his future wife a wedding ring with a diamond that can be easily seen without a microscope.

This dilemma is only part of the drama in “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” the popular Amazon Prime series based on the bestselling novels by Jenny Han.

Season 3 of the romance series with a dividing love triangle was released at the end of the summer and wrapped up in September with die-hard fans still fighting over which Fisher brother is better for the story’s protagonist, Isabel Conklin (Belly). Is it Jeremiah or Conrad?

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Cal High students definitely have their thoughts, and they have at least a year to debate it before the anticipated film comes out to wrap up America’s national Wednesday nightmare once and for all.

Team Jeremiah

Throughout the first two seasons, Jeremiah is Belly’s fun-loving and charismatic love interest.

He has not loved Belly his whole life like Conrad, but Jeremiah has been Belly’s best friend for years. He’s been there for Belly when she needed him the most. Then he changed.

“This season, they portrayed Jere as an irresponsible brat,” freshman Shriya Ray said. “But he was the one who was handling his mom’s cancer and supported her [Belly] when Conrad left.”

But after a few years of college with Belly, Jeremiah cheats on her during a frat trip to Cabo. They were in the weird middle ground between being broken up and on a break. Jeremiah and Belly had a mutual agreement that they did not want to be together for the time being, which is why some Team Jeremiah fans stayed loyal to him while others have abandoned ship.

But the few who have stayed faithful have their reasons.

“I feel like Jenny Han sabotaged Jere’s character to push everyone onto Conrad’s side, which makes us look away from all the positive pieces that Jere has contributed,” Ray said. “I feel like him and Belly had a more compatible connection with a lot less pain.”

Team Conrad

Conrad is Jeremiah’s opposite in every way. Pining for Belly since the first season, he shows passion and a deep love for her. He remained loyal and faithful throughout the show, and for this reason, he is the team most fans support.

“Team Conrad always, because I know he treats Belly a lot better,” junior Rhea Shenoi said. “No one should get cheated on twice.”
Conrad, who is studying to become a doctor, is often viewed as smart and trustworthy. Compare this to Jeremiah, who is viewed as financially irresponsible because of his debt from not graduating college.

“Conrad is more emotionally intelligent, and Jeremiah is a man-child,” sophomore Audrey Chang said.

Since childhood, Belly has had a crush on Conrad. They dated until his mother’s passing in Season 2, when Conrad became emotionally distant and depressed due to his grief. This led to their dramatic breakup during Belly’s junior prom and a brash confrontation at Conrad’s mothers funeral.

“She kind of made the whole thing about herself,” freshman Phoenix Weston said.

But Belly and Conrad share a deep history together, and many fans believe they will be a happy couple for the rest of their lives.

“[I’m] Team Conrad,” sophomore Izzy Keate said. “I read the books so I already knew the ending, and I feel like he’s a more relatable character other than the man-child.”

Principal Demetrius Ball even weighed in on the topic during a press conference with The Californian. Even though he wasn’t familiar with the show, he made his choice clear.

“Oh, I don’t like that haircut,” Ball said when shown a picture of Jeremiah.

Others like Conrad for the little differences.

“Conrad just has better style,” sophomore Divij Bhatia said.

Team… Nobody?

Unlike most fans, some viewers don’t want Belly to find love and wonder why she should have to choose between the Fisher brothers at all. Shouldn’t she find someone who loves her, regardless if they are a Fisher brother or not?

Other fans just dislike Belly.

“She can never make up her mind who she wants,” Weston said.

Belly is often viewed as indecisive, as she switches between brothers interchangeably as the seasons progress, and this leads many viewers to dislike her for this.

In the end, Belly made her choice, leaving viewers with unanswered questions.

About the Contributors

Jazzy Afghani, Staff Writer

Freshman Jasmine Afghani, who usually goes by Jazzy, is excited for her first year writing for The Californian, though at some point she would like to try photography. She has had experience being on the Yearbook staff in middle school, and has also taken a Digital Photography class. She joined newspaper to improve her writing and social skills, and maybe a little bit for the college credit. She is excited to write a variety of stories and hopes to bring a new, exciting voice to the paper. She enjoys reading excessively, one of her favorite books being The Book Thief, listening to music such as SZA, Katseye and Travis Scott, as well as going to jiu jitsu or wrestling practice almost every day. You can also find her doing various grandma crafts, from embroidery, to cross stitch, as well as baking occasionally. She is enjoying her time at Cal so far, and hopes to return to newspaper next year as well.

Elsa Rhyne, Staff Writer

This will be Elsa Rhyne’s first year as a staff writer for The Californian. She is a freshman, and is still grossed out by the amount of Giants fans at Cal (go Dodgers)! Elsa is excited to write stories and interview people, and joined a newspaper to improve her writing skills. She is on the girls’ golf team, and you’ll often find her on the golf range or at practice. Some of her hobbies include reading, annoying her sister, and doomscrolling on Instagram reels (it’s really a problem at this point). You can always find her cracking a joke that she thinks is funny, but really isn’t. Newslite dreads the day she decides to write for them.

Lincoln Stanley, Artist

To most, Lincoln is an inherent daydreamer, distracted by literally anything that moves. But contrary to popular belief he’s thoroughly and unapologetically locked in. He joined the newspaper halfway through the second semester and has been stumbling through his time in the class. He is an illustrator for the paper, basically meaning he doodles in the corner of the room while the rest of the staff does all the important stuff. Despite all the medications he’s taking he cannot mute the everlasting and ever-annoying voices in his head. “ADHD isn’t cool, its not niche and it’s hell,” he says. He enjoys consuming unhealthy amounts of fried rice and speaks fluent in the language of “IDontGiveACrap.”