‘Bridget Jones was like a friend to me’

Nicola Miller, 39, from London, who lives with her partner Ben and their 18-month-old son, reflects on how this iconic ‘woman’s woman’ has shaped her life for the better

‘It was Bridget Jones who first coined the phrase “smug marrieds”, and with my long-term partner, child and settled life in the London suburbs, I suppose she’d say I now fall into that category – but I’ve never lost my affinity with Bridget that was forged when I myself was a 20-something singleton.

That was back in 2000 when, aged 21, I first picked up a copy of Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding. I’d just graduated from university and was travelling around America. I was instantly hooked. It was laugh-outloud funny, and I loved that Bridget was chaotic, clumsy and wore her heart on her sleeve. She made it acceptable to admit to wearing big pants and to sit sobbing with a bottle

of wine and a tub of ice cream because you’d been dumped!

I felt even more of a connection with the book, too, because my mum had given me the middle name Jane after Jane Austen and, of course, Bridget Jones’s Diary is based on one of Austen’s best-known books, Pride And Prejudice! But there were other similarities, too. After travelling, I settled in London working in PR, just like Bridget, bar-hopping with friends, nursing hangovers and going out with different guys. I had plenty of memorable dates, like the time I offered to cook dinner for a new boyfriend at his flat, forgetting I was a rubbish cook. In the end, I cajoled a friend into doing the meal for me – then had to smuggle it into my boyfriend’s home without

him realising. He never did find out!

Then, once I hit my 30s, like Bridget, I wanted to settle down. I remember re-reading the book after a long-term relationship had broken up. It comforted me, made me laugh, and helped me remember that there was life after heartbreak. There was one other aspect that stayed with me, too – Bridget’s solidarity with her female friends. She’s a woman’s woman, and that’s something I try to be, running a charity called A Mile In Her Shoes, which helps homeless women take up running as a way to improve their physical and mental health.

Even though Bridget Jones’s Diary was first published in 1996, she’s as relatable now as she was then – the only difference is that instead of keeping a diary, she’d be posting on Instagram. But I reckon, just like the rest of us, she’d still be counting down the minutes to a glass of wine after a hectic day...’

‘I loved that Bridget was chaotic, clumsy and wore her heart on her sleeve’