If You’re In Love With Trinkets’ Ben, Actor Andrew Jacobs’ Plan Is Working

Historically, the love interests on Netflix's Trinkets have been a mixed bag, ranging from pure-hearted soccer star Noah (Odiseas Georgiadis) to the local indie rock icons who were almost definitely too old to be dating Tabitha (Quintessa Swindell) and Elodie (Brianna Hildebrand), respectively. In the Trinkets' second and final season, Tabitha finally gets a boyfriend who's finally worthy of her — and he happens to be Moe’s (Kiana Madeira) brother.

Ben, played by Andrew Jacobs, is first mentioned in passing in season 1. We learn that Moe took the fall for a friend of his, which is how she found up in Shoplifters’ Anonymous in the first place; we also learn that, like Moe’s incarcerated dad, he’s “away.” Jacobs, who has gone through struggles of his own, told Refinery29 over the phone that he was able to relate to his character a lot.

“I’ve had my troubled background and my personal, my big dream of trying to get out of whatever troubles I’ve had and trying to make a better life for myself, so I can definitely relate to Ben,” he said. 

That said, playing a character with so much build-up also came with a certain amount of pressure. “I wanted to just make sure that the way I was portraying Ben, it would have the fans fall in love with him,” Jacobs added.

On-screen, viewers fall for Ben — a budding chef who wants to go to culinary school — right along with Tabitha. The two grow closer while healing from their pasts: Ben is discovering how to move forward, and Tabitha is, too. When we first meet Tabitha in season 1, she’s stuck in an abusive relationship with Brady (Brandon Butler); later, she starts dating brooding bartender Luca (Henry Zaga), who seems promising at first before he blows her off and steals her credit card. While her family pushes her to stay with Brady and her friends know and approve of Luca, Tabitha has to keep her romance with Ben a secret, mostly from Moe. The irony, of course, is that despite his rocky past and bad boy packaging, Ben is the first boyfriend who’s really good for her. Soon after they get together, Tabitha tells him that he makes her feel safe.

“You know what everyone says, don’t judge a book by its cover,” Jacobs said. “I definitely think with Ben, everyone’s going to automatically assume he’s gonna be bad for Tabitha and it’s a complete 180 from what Brady is.” 

Showrunner Sarah Goldfinger agreed. “She’s almost family, so he has to be responsible for her feelings and I think she’s never had that before,” she told Refinery29. “I think that even though their love isn’t meant to be forever and ever, they met at a very specific time in their lives and really helped each other cross the road, so to speak.”

Ultimately, Tabitha chooses to end the relationship and focus on her art, friendships, and future. One of the first things she does is break into school with Elodie and Moe and set up a powerful art display, exposing Brady’s abusive behaviour. According to Goldfinger, both Tabitha’s relationship with Ben and decision to stay single led to this moment. “I think he’s in a really difficult life place and, you know, she’s in a difficult life place, and in some ways, they’re helping each other heal,” she said. “Which is really beautiful and, potentially, also what gives Tabitha some of the courage to come out at the end.”

As Moe lovingly points out in season 2, Tabitha has a tendency to move from one boyfriend to the next. While it’s hinted in the finale’s last moments that both Elodie and Moe find romantic love, the final shot of Tabitha shows her by herself, gazing up at her own photograph hanging in a gallery. It's a perfect ending for Tabitha, who, Jacobs says, will benefit from "being on their own and becoming her own person and then, I think, realizing who they are." But, in part, it's Tabitha's healthy, positive relationships — with both her friends and with Ben — that help her get to that point.