Quinta Brunson 'Wasn't Prepared' For Abbott Elementary Fans' Reaction To Janine And Gregory's Breakup: 'People Were Very Mad At [Spoiler]'

"Abbott Elementary" broke up one of TV's most beloved couples last season... and fans were not happy about it. 

Season 5 of ABC's Emmy-winning schoolhouse comedy saw teachers/lovebirds Janine and Gregory split up (gasp!) after the pair clashed over where to go on vacation together. (Check out our full recap here.) And now Quinta Brunson — who created the series and stars as Janine — admits she didn't anticipate the passionate response that "Abbott" fans would have to the plot twist.

"I will say it was more than I bargained for," Brunson tells The Hollywood Reporter about the fan reaction. "People were very mad at Gregory. That one, I wasn't prepared for. I was like, 'Oh my God! Poor Gregory!' People were tearing him up, and I also didn't expect people to take Janine's side." 

Brunson "felt like we had made a very even argument" between Janine and Gregory in the script, "but you really don't know what's going to happen once you give it to the world." But she didn't mind getting fans riled up: "That was fun, though, for me... I was fine with it. That's what I wanted to happen." 

Thankfully, Janine and Gregory's breakup didn't last long. After a drunken night out where both of them drowned their sorrows and got wild — which ended up on our list of the year's best TV episodes — Janine and Gregory smoothed things over and came to a compromise, agreeing to fly to the Bahamas together after a school conference in Miami. Gregory even talked to Ava's boyfriend O'Shon about getting a ring (!), so perhaps a proposal is not too far in the future for these two.

We'll find out what's next for Janine and Gregory when "Abbott Elementary" returns for Season 6 on Wednesday, October 7 at 8:30 p.m. on ABC. (Get all of ABC's fall premiere dates here.) Are you rooting for Janine and Gregory to get engaged? And whose side did you take in their breakup? Let us know in a comment below!