Bridget "Bee" Vreeland

Bridget Vreeland
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants character
Bridget Vreeland played by Blake Lively in films
First appearance	Book Series: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (novel) Movie Series: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (film)
Last appearance	Book Series: Sisterhood Everlasting Movie Series: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
Created by	Ann Brashares
Portrayed by	Blake Lively Ashley Hale (young Bridget)
Information
Nickname(s)	Bee
Gender	Female
Occupation	Collegiate Soccer Coach
Family	Franz Vreeland (father) Marlene "Marly" Vreeland (mother; deceased) Pervis "Perry" Vreeland (twin brother)
Spouse(s)	Eric Richman (boyfriend)
Relatives	Greta Randolph (grandmother) Pervis Randolph (uncle)

Bridget "Bee" Vreeland is a main character in the 2001 novel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She is portrayed by Blake Lively in the 2005 film adaptation of the first book, and the 2008 sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

Overview

Bridget Vreeland is the second-born among her best friends. However, in the movie, she is the first. She and her friends grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. Her mother, Marlene, usually known as Marly, a debutante from Alabama, committed suicide (due to prolonged mental problems) a few years prior to the start of the series, when Bee and her brother were eleven years old, which causes a strain in the relationship between Bridget, her father, and her twin brother, Perry (Pervis). She is noticeably closer to her friends than her immediate family. Bridget excels in soccer and is known as the superstar of the group. She is also the most daring and courageous, often acting on impulse rather than reason. She usually does not think twice before doing something no matter how dangerous it is. Despite seeming to be the strongest of the four, she is actually the most vulnerable, often making self-destructive decisions when the consequences of her actions prove to be too much. Bridget's most notable physical characteristic is the long, pale, fairytale blonde hair that she inherited from her mother and grandmother. Her hair is what makes men of any age look too long, provoke catcalls, and make hairdressers proclaim it a miracle. People often automatically assume that the blonde is fake, as proven in Forever in Blue by Carmen's supposed friend in college, Julia who says to Carmen, Bridget must be dying her hair behind her friends' backs. Carmen, Lena and Tibby, Bridget's best friends since birth often worry about Bridget because of her impulsive decisions. Bridget's nickname is 'Bee'. Bridget is also hardworking. In the Second Summer of the Sisterhood she arrives at her grandmother, Greta's home in Alabama and works tirelessly in the attic transforming it into a bedroom. Marly and Bridget have many things in common like their intensity and beauty but Marly is described by Greta as giving up too easily.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

The day after she and her friends discover the magic of the pants, Bridget leaves for soccer camp in Baja California, Mexico. Upon arriving there, a soccer coach, Eric Richman, immediately catches Bridget's attention and she relentlessly pursues him, despite the camp's anti-fraternizing policy. She shamelessly flirts with him even to the point of lying about her age and following Eric to a bar. She beat Eric in racing twice. Bridget becomes popular among her fellow campers for her great soccer skills and often shows off in the field, particularly in Eric's presence. These actions earn her the scorn of her soccer coach, Molly, who wants to transform Bridget from a show-off into a real player. Meanwhile, Eric continues to shun her advances until she passes by his cabin one night and the two are intimate on the beach. This encounter proves to be too much for Bridget and she ends up staying in bed and avoiding everyone. Eventually, Eric asks Bridget to walk with him and tells her that their encounter was his fault and that if they met under different circumstances, he would worship her the way she deserves. Despite this, she still feels hurt. Still feeling down, Lena arrives in Baja to take her home and try to make everything better.

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood

A year after her heartbreak from Eric, Bridget has greatly changed. The active, daring, and soccer aficionado has now quit soccer, become a couch potato, dyed her blonde hair a shade of ash brown and is now just a shadow of her former self.

Early in the summer, Bridget finds five letters in her father's desk, all addressed to her and her twin brother from their estranged maternal grandmother. Impulsively, Bridget packs her bags for Alabama to meet Greta. Upon arriving there, Bridget assumes the alias Gilda Tomko and offers to do odd jobs for her grandmother. Unaware of Gilda's real identity, Greta tells Bridget to clean out her attic so that it may be suitable for renting out. In doing so, Bridget is able to reconnect with her grandmother without disclosing who she really is and learn about Marly growing up.

Bridget learns that her mother was very popular in Alabama during her youth; from the cheerful pictures of her mother back then, she finds it hard to believe the story's real tragic end. During Marly's college days, she was sent to a mental institution for attempting suicide. Bridget learns that her father was her mother's college history professor and their relationship cost him his job and forced them to move to Washington D.C. after their marriage. Greta also tells her (still under the identity of Gilda) that during the last years of Marly's life, she tried to persuade Bridget's father to get help for Marly, but he shunned Greta and told her not to contact their family.

During her stay, Bridget also reconnects with her childhood friend, Billy Kline, and rediscovers the pleasure of playing soccer. When her job in the attic is done, Greta asks her to move in there and Bridget gladly accepts. During a rainstorm, the power goes out. Bridget sees Greta inject herself with insulin which reminds Bridget of the last years in Marly's life; she runs out of the house in the rain, remembering the moment she saw her mother dead. Shortly before dawn, Bridget returns home and Greta combs her hair, just like all the times she has done when Bridget was young. Bridget asks Greta if she knows who she is and Greta admits she has known all along.

Upon learning about Lena's problems, Bridget goes home instantly but promises her grandmother that she'll come back for a visit with Perry. Billy helps Bridget with her bags at the bus stop and they kiss. Bridget then returns home to comfort Lena, just as Lena had comforted her the previous summer.

Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood

Bridget goes to soccer camp in Pennsylvania, and is shocked to discover that one of her fellow coaches is none other than Eric. She finds her feelings for him reawakened but is stunned by the discovery that he has a girlfriend, Kaya. Bridget tries to avoid him, but her plan is shot down when she and Eric are made partners.

Not wanting to upset Eric, Bridget selflessly puts her feelings aside and respects the relationship between Eric and Kaya. The two develop a friendship despite Bridget’s uncertainties. It is also revealed that she and Eric did indeed sleep together the first summer they met.

Later, Bridget comes down with a fever, and Eric finds her in her cabin very ill. Eric carries her to his cabin and takes care of her. They fall asleep together, and Bridget wakes up to find him holding her. She feels confused and betrayed when he then leaves the camp for an unknown reason and decides that she won’t hope for his attention anymore. As much as she prides herself on making this summer with Eric different from the first one, it begins to feel the same because once again, she is left wondering why he left her. She trains her soccer team hard, and they go on to defeat Eric’s in the championship.

Bridget later questions Eric about his departure, and Eric reveals that he returned to New York to break up with his girlfriend because of his feelings for Bridget. He tells her he was ashamed of what he did the summer they met and felt he didn't deserve her. At first, she asks him if he got closer to her just to leave her, but he lets her know otherwise. He tells her that he thinks they were always meant to be, and they become a couple.

Forever In Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood

Bridget feels slightly at odds with the idea of being "taken." She decides to take a trip to Turkey to help with an archaeological dig, along with several classmates from Brown. Eric, her boyfriend, has decided to coach a soccer camp in Mexico. Bridget meets a handsome professor named Peter in Turkey with whom there is a mutual attraction. He is, however, unattainable because he is married, much older than she is, and has two children. Despite this, the two share a kiss. Peter's family then makes a surprise visit to celebrate his thirtieth birthday, and Bridget, seeing this, decides that she can't carry on the fling and that it is time for her to grow up. She also realizes that she is becoming the person she will be for the rest of her life and doesn't want to be like this. Upon returning home, she tries to piece her family's life together. She attempts to become closer to her twin brother, Perry, who has dropped out of college and became a social recluse, but she doesn't want to pressure him. Eric calls her and surprises her with his arrival, and Bridget is pleasantly surprised when her father and brother help her clean the house. Eric stays the night at her house, and they end up having sex. After Eric leaves the next morning, she begins looking through old boxed up memories in her basement and finds mementos of her mother and her younger self. She realizes that her father does care because he has taken the time to save these things. She comes to terms with who her family is and buys Perry a rabbit, hoping it will help him venture into the outside world more. She realizes that her family does have something to give.

In this book, as well as all the others we are able to see a comparison between Bridget and her mother. Not only do they share the same hair colour, but they also attempt to date a college professor. Bridget is notoriously reckless like her mother and a social queen. Although Bridget never makes the connection it becomes apparently obvious to the reader that the two are eerily similar. This resemblance to her mother can be seen with all the other sisters as well.

Sisterhood Everlasting

Ten years following the last sisterhood book, Bridget now lives in San Francisco, California with her longtime boyfriend, Eric. She wants to settle down with him, but a part of her is restless. When the "sisters" go to Greece and Tibby dies unexpectedly, Bridget leaves Eric, and soon after finds out she is pregnant with his child. Despite this, she knows she needs to go to Australia where Tibby had been living together with Brian to at least try to piece together what exactly happened to Tibby. Bridget goes to the home Brian and Tibby lived in Australia, and Bridget learns Tibby had a daughter before she died, named Bailey. Bridget and Bailey form a very tight bond, and though she initially wants to terminate her pregnancy, after she meets Bailey she decides not to. On April 2nd, when all the sisters are due to reunite in the country home Tibby bought for all of them, Bridget reunites with Eric and moves in to the icehouse, along with Lena and Carmen, who have rooms elsewhere about the property.

Other references

Bridget is mentioned in 3 Willows by Jo who remembers her as a counselor from soccer camp. Jo remembers that Bridget was dating Eric and that some girls at the camp saw them kissing.