In Heartstopper, Imogen Heaney is Nick’s friend and the first person from his friend group whom Nick comes out to. Rhea Norwood plays the role of Imogen.
Imogen and Nick have known each other since they were in seventh grade and are good friends. Initially, Imogen likes Nick as more than a friend but moves on when she realizes that he does not feel the same, only to end up with the wrong person.
A good friend
Imogen has a crush on Nick, and everyone can see it except Nick. She tries to drop hints, but Nick remains oblivious, even though the others tease him about her. In fact, he always treats her like a friend and nothing more.
Finally, Imogen confesses her feelings to Nick, who is left speechless. She gives him time to think about it. Later, she asks him out on a date in front of other people, and Nick, who is with Charlie, feels pressured to say yes.
Nick tries to cancel their date later but cannot do it when he finds out that Imogen’s dog died and that she is already upset. Eventually, Nick chooses to celebrate Charlie’s birthday instead of going on a date with Imogen.
As Nick and Imogen are friends, Nick decides to be honest with her about his feelings and tells her that he does not like her. Imogen appreciates his honesty and chooses to continue being his friend. She then moves on and makes it known to Nick that she likes someone else now.
When Nick decides to come out as bisexual and make his relationship with Charlie public, he tries to tell Imogen first. It turns out to be harder than expected, and when he does gather the courage to tell her, he realizes that Imogen already knows.
To her, it has been obvious that Nick and Charlie like each other. She does not know how to react, so she simply hugs him, which is good enough for Nick. She proves to be a good friend to him by making him feel accepted.
The difficulty of finding the right person
In the second season, Imogen starts liking Ben. Nick tries to warn her about Ben and tells her that he has done something terrible. However, Imogen does not have a lot of friends, and she believes that Ben genuinely likes her, so she dismisses Nick’s warning.
Imogen soon realizes that Nick was right when Ben ignores her and does not treat her well in Paris. She now knows that Ben only cares about having a girlfriend, not her. She decides to leave Ben on his own and join Charlie and Nick’s group to tour the city.
She then stands up to Ben and breaks up with him in front of their classmates. She points out that he is obsessed with Charlie and that he needs to resolve his issues. Although Imogen wants to be in a relationship, she decides to focus on herself because she now realizes that she deserves better than Ben.
When Nick and Charlie go to comfort her after her public breakup, she tells them that everything might have been easier if she liked girls. There seems to be a possibility of Imogen, who is often teased about being the token ally, liking girls as well.
Imogen used to be friends with a girl named Sahar, who is now Elle’s friend. Imogen and Sahar stopped being friends when Imogen got a boyfriend. Sahar tells Imogen that she is bisexual when Imogen assumes that she is straight.
This comes as a surprise to Imogen, as she did not know about Sahar’s sexuality, even though they used to be friends. While Imogen goes to the prom without a date, she admires Sahar from a distance, which suggests that things might change between them in the third season.
Also Read: Isaac’s self-discovery in Heartstopper season 2 explained