I Want Andy Sachs’ Hot Australian Boyfriend, Please

In the 20 years since The Devil Wears Prada made its fashionable debut, Andy Sachs’ boyfriend Nate has become a popular character to hate — a lightning rod for revisionist hot takes that point out he could’ve been more supportive of Andy’s burgeoning career.

Alas, Nate doesn’t factor into the film’s highly anticipated sequel. As director David Frankel recently told Gold Derby, “We wanted to show that Andy’s moving on, that you don’t stay connected to your early loves and early crushes, and she’s had relationships since then.”

But Andy does get a new love interest, Peter, and this time around, he’s an unambiguous sweetie pie. Spoilers ahead.

Peter is played by Australian actor and writer Patrick Brammall (who co-created and stars in the delightful comedy, Colin from Accounts, with his IRL wife Harriet Dyer). This new beau is a handsome contractor whose job Andy accidentally insults when she tours his apartment building, but he laughs off the slight with attractive affability.

Very soon into seeing each other, Peter familiarizes himself with Andy’s work, which shocks her because, as she points out, she’s been in longer relationships with guys who haven’t taken that initiative.

And later, when Andy laments the very real threats facing the field of journalism, and Peter doesn’t have quite the right words to comfort her, she gets (understandably) a little curt. But instead of pressing, he gives her some space — and lets her know he’d like to check back in when she returns from Milan. It’s a swoony kind of steadiness, this sense that you’re not one misstep away from wrecking things.

Indeed, when they reunite, they resolve to keep moving forward without trying to be perfect.

The romance subplot doesn’t take up a huge portion of the movie, but maybe that’s the idea? In giving Andy a lovely and nondramatic partner, The Devil Wears Prada 2 provides a hopeful perspective on what grown-up dating can look like — the promise that you might find a partner who blends into your life, instead of hoping you’ll change it.

Nate was hardly a true villain, but he and Andy were both reckoning with the growing pains that can accompany your life and career in your early 20s. Sometimes, the person you know and love from college acts different. And at a time when you’re particularly obsessed with defining who you are, that can be challenging. But Peter and Andy are at a stage where they can meet each other where they’re at, and it’s sweet to watch them navigate small bumps with maturity.

And crucially... they have fun! I want to follow them around the city and listen in on their playful repartee and watch as they pick out furnishings for Andy’s new place. Who needs the angst?