The Breakup Bob Is the New Breakup Bang

Key Takeaways

• In the season finale of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty,” Lola Tung’s character Belly cuts a dramatic French bob.
• The hair change follows a significant breakup, leading us to believe the breakup bob is the new breakup bang.

At the end of Season 3, Episode 10 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, our long-haired heroine turns up at a Parisian hair salon and declares she’s “ready for something new.” Spoiler alert, if you haven’t seen the show, but Belly Conklin has recently called off her wedding. She’s moved to France as her post-breakup mode of escape, but there’s a sense that closure hasn’t come for her until months after arriving in the city of lights, when she sits down in that salon chair.

Flash-forward to the series finale, which aired Wednesday, September 17, and we finally have a reveal of the haircut.

No, Belly didn’t get breakup bangs. Also, she goes by Isabel now.

And Isabel is rocking a French breakup bob.

Amazon/MGM Studios

Haircuts as Fresh Starts

Everyone talks about how hairstylists are talk therapists, but there’s also something to be said for the energy work that goes down when you’re in a chair. Your cells carry emotions, and your split ends are full of dead ones that are ready to move on and take those old feelings with them.

“Each strand is a tiny chronicle of every emotional, hormonal, and nutritional experience,” Andi Scarbrough, co-owner of Framed Salon in Santa Monica, previously told Byrdie.

@thesummeriturnedpretty/Instagram

While there’s no doubt a breakup bang is powerful, chopping every strand of hair by way of a bob has to be even more freeing.

“I think women often cut their hair after a breakup or when they want to let go of old baggage and signal to people that they’re ready for change,” explained The Summer I Turned Pretty author Jenny Han while chatting with Vogue about the cut. “The idea is that if you look different, then you can feel different.”

Oh, and one more thing: Besides the obvious symbolism of a haircut as a fresh start, it’s worth noting that in the first episode of Season 3, Belly’s then beau, Jeremiah Fisher, had told her, “Hey, don’t ever cut your hair, okay?”

I think her chop had more to do with her personal taste and needs than trying to spite him in any way, but it does feel nice to rebel a little. Oui, our girl is free. (For a little bit, at least. And naturally, Conrad Fisher loves her short hair.)

Belly’s French Bob

@thesummeriturnedpretty/Instagram

Belly’s bob features some shorter face framing that gradually transitions into the haircut’s just-shoulder-brushing full length. Its a look that works well with actress Lola Tung’s signature glossy and thick dark hair. As far as styling goes, not much is needed—the curved cut even looked amazing when Belly took her scooter helmet off and gave her locks a little shake.

“I was excited when I learned that Belly was getting a bob,” the actress told Vogue. “It’s nice to see her make that decision for herself, almost as a physical representation of the growth and change she’s experienced.”

@thesummeriturnedpretty/Instagram

The Breakup Bob Trend

Belly certainly didn’t invent the breakup bob. Selena Gomez showed off a lob after finally breaking things off with Justin Bieber back in 2018, and Taylor Swift went super short and platinum after she ended things with Calvin Harris. The Jonas Brothers have also inspired a number of chops, for what it’s worth—it’s not just those Fisher boys.

Still, Belly’s embrace of a life-altering short cut will likely inform a new generation of heartsick divas. Out with the old and in with the new, ya know? The old is your ends, and the new might just (if you’re lucky) be Connie baby.