'There was one scene in The Summer I Turned Pretty that enraged the internet. I asked the creator to explain herself.'

The Summer I Turned Pretty is back for season three, and whilst you might expect the biggest scandal to involve love triangles, family secrets, or someone dramatically running into the ocean (again), the internet has collectively lost its mind over something much smaller: a ring. A very, very small ring.

For the uninitiated, The Summer I Turned Pretty follows Belly as she navigates her complicated feelings for two brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher, against the backdrop of idyllic summer holidays. It's peak teen drama territory — beautiful young people making questionable decisions whilst wearing impeccable beachwear.

Season two ended with Belly making her choice between the Fisher brothers, ultimately choosing Jeremiah after a season of back-and-forth emotional turmoil. In season three, we pick up with Belly and Jeremiah together in college and Conrad still trying to process and move on from his feelings from Belly.

Watch the trailer for season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty. Article continues after video.

But this season, it's not the love triangle that's got everyone talking. It's the moment Jeremiah proposes to Belly with what can only be described as the world's most modest engagement ring. We're talking dainty. Understated. Practically microscopic. And honestly? The chaos that's erupted is absolutely hilarious.

The reaction has been swift and merciless. Social media has been ablaze with memes, hot takes, and intense outrage. The general consensus? Jeremiah is cheap, and Belly deserves better.

And it is relentless. Side-by-side comparisons with other fictional proposals. Jokes about needing a magnifying glass to see the diamond. Screenshots of the ring with arrows pointing to where the stone presumably exists.

laurel trying to see the ring #thesummeriturnedpretty pic.twitter.com/OrQbMjPHbd

— cami (@camismulti) July 23, 2025

“is it a diamond or like a sliver of tinfoil?” EXACTLY TAYLOR #TheSummerITurnedPretty pic.twitter.com/nHpQbrdXuL

— anjana (@maybeitsanjana) July 23, 2025

IF YOU SQUINT REALLY HARD YOU CAN SEE HE'S HOLDING A RING#thesummeriturnedpretty pic.twitter.com/uECWv2qexQ

— bree ❀ tsitp spoilers (@chappellofliv) July 23, 2025

To crack the curious case of the tiny engagement ring, Mamamia sat down with The Summer I Turned Pretty creator and writer Jenny Han, who has found herself in the unexpected position of defending a fictional man's ring budget.

"I didn't think people would go in that hard," Han admitted about the vitriol that ensued online.

"Because is it modest? Yes. But I also think that Belly wouldn't really want a big ring and I think that people would go equally in on him if he put a ring on his dad's credit card and got further into debt. That's not great either," she continued.

And, I mean, she makes a fair point. Imagine the internet's reaction if Jeremiah had gone into further debt for a bigger rock.

"Financially irresponsible!" they'd cry.

The man literally cannot win, which is precisely what makes this whole debacle so entertaining.

"So I think he's trying to make a smart decision with that smaller ring and wanting to buy something for her in the future with his own money that he's earning," Han explained.

So there you have it. The queen has spoken. The real tea is: Belly likes the ring. The person actually receiving it — you know, the one whose opinion arguably matters most — is happy with it.

This whole debacle says more about our collective obsession with ring size than it does about Jeremiah's commitment levels (though, I'll admit his commitment is under scrutiny for some other — very valid — reasons this season). When did we decide that love could only be measured in carats? When did a young man making a financially sensible decision become grounds for public shaming? And more importantly, when did we all become so invested in the spending habits of fictional teenagers that we're writing think pieces about it? (The answer is now, apparently.)

Image: Prime Video

Maybe Jeremiah's tiny ring isn't a symbol of cheapness — maybe it's a symbol of a generation that's tired of going into debt for Instagram moments. Maybe — like Jenny Han said — it's him being sensible and saving to buy her something later in life when he has the means. Or maybe it's just a TV show, and we all need to touch some grass.

But here's the thing — this is exactly how we love television, isn't it? A little online debate and rage never hurt anyone, especially when it's about fictional characters making fictional romantic decisions. The beauty of getting invested in TV drama is that we can have passionate opinions about people who don't actually exist, without any real-world consequences. It's therapeutic, really.

Either way, one thing's for certain: The Summer I Turned Pretty has given us the engagement ring discourse we never knew we needed, and frankly, we're here for every ridiculous minute of it.

Because at the end of the day, getting worked up about fictional ring sizes is harmless fun, and if we can't passionately defend our opinions about made-up people's jewellery choices, what's the point of the internet at all?

Feature Image: Prime Video.