Why I’m Done Answering Questions About Your Least Favorite Couple

Got a burning question about Heath & Bella? Read this instead

Please bore someone else with your… questions.

Yes, I’m getting a little spicy in today’s post. But first, a few links for you:

• If you enjoyed the Olympic preview podcast episode I recorded with Sara Hildreth and Denne Michele Norris, you’ll be delighted to learn that we met up again after the Games for a full debrief (and to talk more shit about Guillaume Cizeron, of course). We might have to break out the podcast mics again for Worlds in a few weeks too, stay tuned.

• I did a fun interview on the Chapter Break Substack, and you can read it here:

The setback that turned this author into a bestseller ⭐️

• I still have not seen the Wuthering Heights movie, but I loved this video of Irish actor Daryl McCormack talking about the character of Heathcliff (he’s the voice of Heathcliff in a new Audible Original short by Gracie Oddie-James, but after this I’m adding him to my mental list of elite on-screen Heathcliff possibilities alongside Dev Patel). He hits on a lot of the aspects of the character I tried to incorporate into Heath in The Favorites, particularly the intensity of his attachment to Cathy / Katarina coming from not being just a marginalized person but someone who doesn’t know his origins and thus has no sense of identity at all.

  @audible_uk

  

  Audible UK on Instagram: "Love him or loathe him, Heathcliff is…

Okay, now for the spicy part! (Spoilers ahead for both The Favorites and the “Dear Katarina” Heath POV bonus story, consider yourself warned)

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Since The Favorites came out, by far the number one topic I’ve gotten messages from readers about is the relationship between Heath and Bella in general, and Heath’s infidelity in particular. While I always support rage toward men, some of y’all are so mad I feel like I need to remind you that Heath Rocha is a) not real, b) not your boyfriend, and c) could’ve behaved way worse (Emily Brontë’s Heathcliff is a rapist and a domestic abuser and a puppy strangler, folks!).

At first, I responded to every message with what I hoped was a thoughtful explanation, but this usually resulted in the person writing back with even more questions. I simply did not have the capacity to keep replying to every individual email and DM, so when it came time to create bonus content for the paperback release, I decided to write the “Dear Katarina” bonus story, which shows Heath’s relationship with Bella post-Vancouver Olympics from his POV.

I know not everyone has read this or has access to it (it’s in the U.S. paperback, eBook, and audiobook FYI), so to summarize: he is attracted to Bella and genuinely cares about her, but it’s not the same passionate love he feels for Kat — and that’s a major driver of his personal growth during the time he and Kat spend apart! He realizes that, while he loves Kat and always will, he doesn’t have to enmesh himself body and soul to have a connection with someone.

Also Bella Lin is simply not a long-term relationship girlie, and even if she were, she’d pick a guy much less emotionally needy than Heath. This is probably my favorite part of “Dear Katarina,” when Heath gets all in his feelings after he and Bella hook up, and she teaches him about the revolutionary concept of casual sex:

Anyway, I hoped the bonus story would stem the tide of the questions, but they keep on rolling in, so I decided to write this post with all my definitive answers re: Heath & Bella for the future reference of all crashing-out readers. Here goes:

• The first time Heath and Bella hook up, in the Vancouver Olympic Village, it is 100% revenge, both of them trying to hurt Kat the best way they know how. Later, they are friends with benefits, not in love (but they do love each other as friends, and of course they find each other attractive — hello, they are both super hot!).

• While Heath, Bella, and Kat are all living together in the lead-up to Sochi, Heath and Bella are not constantly banging behind Kat’s back. Kat makes it very clear to Heath that she is not interested in rekindling their relationship at that point, so he and Bella occasionally (very occasionally! calm down!!) blow off steam together.

• Kat and Heath are not “soulmates,” because soulmates are not real. I know Kat uses this term to refer to them earlier in the book, but she’s speaking as a sixteen year-old girl. Older, wiser Kat knows that there are many different kinds of love, none of which invalidate or diminish the others. This quote from the book sums up my feelings on the subject:

• After Kat and Heath get back together in the wake of Sochi and Mei is born, there is no further sexual relationship between Heath and Bella. They are friends, colleagues, and co-parents, that’s it. When Kat and Heath are “off again” in their tempestuous relationship, he is not running straight into Bella’s arms (and if he ever tried, she’d tell him to stop being a dumbass and go talk things out with Kat).

• Kat is legitimately very happy at the end of the book, with her “strange little family” of Heath, Bella, and Mei. As a queer person, the found family themes in this book are so important to me, and it honestly pisses me off when readers imply I wrote this ending to be shocking or contrary or to “punish” Kat by not giving her everything she wants in life. None of the characters get exactly what they want, but they end up finding what they need, and that to me is a much happier conclusion than some bullshit heteronormative Hollywood ending. (Also, if you think the ending is tragic because Kat doesn’t get her Olympic gold medal, congratulations, you missed the entire point of the book ✌️)

Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves in the comments — but if you still have more questions about Heath and Bella after reading this, then I invite you to make up whatever headcanon makes you happy, because I shall not be answering!