'I just watched the new Bridget Jones movie, and I simply must talk about it.'

Thanks to our brand partner, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy.

Bridget Jones cannot cook, puts her foot in her mouth constantly and… we love her, just the way she is. 

Why? Well, because she is all of us. 

Through her diary entries, Bridget Jones — played by the ever fabulous Renée Zellweger — has a poignant way of making women feel seen.

And I felt that endearing familiarity ten-fold in the fourth installment of the film franchise, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy.

By now, we've experienced Bridget's life alongside her.

We've followed Bridget through every slightly messy chapter of her life — from her 30s as a self-proclaimed "spinster" dodging Daniel Cleaver's advances to finding love with Mark Darcy (despite his reindeer jumper).

Through breakups, makeups and an unexpected pregnancy later in life, Bridget has always been refreshingly real. Each stumble and triumph making us feel less alone in our own chaos.

But for me, it is Mad About The Boy that really has it all: Bridget re-entering the modern dating world, navigating grief and realising the true "rock and a hard place" that is single parenting.

Watch: The official trailer of Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy. Post continues after video.

So, let's roll back as I take you through some of the moments that made me feel like I was watching myself on screen.

We must start with a spoiler (sorry). The film opens with the death of Mark Darcy, who has been killed overseas in a landmine accident.

The one truth about grief that Bridget shows us so adeptly is that everyone runs their own race. There is no "magic antidote" to make the pain go away. Through her journey, we learn that rebuilding your identity feels impossibly hard, yet vital — even when you know a piece of you will always be missing. 

Like so many of us after loss (or even a breakup), Bridget takes those tentative steps toward starting fresh, learning how to show up for herself again — a journey that feels all too familiar.

It's that painfully uncomfortable phase where you're caught between wanting to hibernate forever and forcing yourself to rejoin the world. So, when Bridget does decide to start dating again, she turns to the world of apps.

I couldn't help but relate to her struggle of marketing herself in the ruthless realm of modern online dating, where every detail of your personal life has to be carefully curated into a profile that's funny, sexy (but not too sexy) and somehow includes an interest in at least one sport — without looking like you're trying too hard.

In an era of situationships and dating burnout, we've never needed Bridget more. She remains the imperfect heroine who makes us feel seen, understood and infinitely less alone in our romantic misadventures through her unfiltered inner monologue.

We've all found ourselves in Bridget-worthy situations — overthinking a text response, questioning if three laughing emojis is too many or desperately resisting the urge to Instagram-stalk a date's ex. 

The dating landscape may have evolved from answering machine messages to dating app algorithms, but that familiar flutter of hope and dread still feels exactly the same. Like Bridget, we're all just trying to navigate this maze of modern romance without completely losing our minds in the process.

And even after all her embarrassing moments and relatable chaos — the very things that made us fall in love with her — she remains a beacon of hope, reminding us that the best stories often come from the most awkward chapters of our lives.

Aside from her dating life, Bridget also faces one of the toughest challenges for women: balancing a career and motherhood. Determined to reclaim her professional self, she returns to work in a triumphant 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' moment — and she's brilliant at what she does. 

Image: Universal Pictures.

But at home, it's chaos.

Bridget's struggle is one we women know too well, but she reminds us that fear doesn't mean failure. She proves we are enough as parents, that a career matters too and that even when we give our all, our kids will still have struggles.

She may worry about messing up her children, but in the end, love is the one thing you can never get wrong.

And that's what Bridget Jones gives us: the grace to be ourselves.

She reminds us that life, unvarnished and unfiltered, is still beautiful — and that even if you're a self-proclaimed mess, you're still worthy of love.

We may feel the pressure to be everything to everyone: the capable boss, the sex kitten, the perfect mother. 

But Bridget Jones shatters those expectations.

Her life isn't perfect, but it's full. Full of children she loves, friends who stand by her, a brilliant mind and a heart that keeps loving — even when it hurts.

And honestly? That's the kind of story I'll watch again and again.

Catch Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy in cinemas from February 13, 2025.

Feature Image: Universal Pictures.

This Galentine's Day, Bridget is back. Grab the girls and see Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy in cinemas February 13.