The Main Characters in 'The Perfect Couple' All Had a Clear Motive to Kill Merritt, but Who Did It?

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Netflix's The Perfect Couple.

The Netflix limited mystery drama series The Perfect Couple, starring Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber, pulls you headfirst into its murder mystery right from the start (come on, we all knew Merritt was murdered). Merritt's (Meghann Fahy) death occurs during the rehearsal dinner, with her body later washing up on the shore the next morning, discovered by her best friend, Amelia (Eve Hewson).

We soon learn that Merritt was not only having an affair with Greer's (Nicole Kidman) husband, Tag (Liev Schreiber), but she was also pregnant. In typical romance murder mysteries with the same premise, the cheater is often eliminated out of jealousy or hatred, or to clear the way for lives to return to normal. However, Merritt’s murder is linked to something far more complex. Let's dive into who Merritt's killer is in The Perfect Couple and uncover their motive.

Merritt was murdered by Abby Winbury (Dakota Fanning), the pregnant wife of Thomas Winbury. While the revelation comes as a shock at the end, it’s not entirely surprising, given that Abby’s character doesn’t exactly come across as loving and caring.

Abby is an over-entitled wife who married into the wealthy Winbury family. When she’s not passing judgment on everyone else, she seems to care only about money or indulging in the lazy life of a stay-at-home rich wife. In Episode 1, Abby pressures Thomas (Jack Reynor) to secure funding from Tag for their apartment, reminding him repeatedly that he only has until the end of the month.

After Merritt’s death, Abby makes a fuss about getting a hair treatment for which she managed to book an appointment despite a typical five-month waitlist. When Thomas says they can’t leave, her reply, “Yeah sure, if you want me to get some toxic chemicals and slather them directly on my scalp, and poison our unborn daughter, then yeah, that’ll work,” underscores where she stands on the wealthy spectrum.

While Abby seemed eager to rush out just for a hair treatment, it soon became clear she was trying to avoid the police. Her actions, such as wiping down the dresser drawer and cleaning the dirty glass, initially led us to suspect Thomas might be responsible for Merritt’s murder and that Abby was covering up for him.

In reality, Abby killed Merritt to ensure Thomas’s trust fund would be released when Will turned 18, which was just weeks away. If Merritt had the baby she conceived with Tag, it would reset the Winbury trust, delaying access for another 18 years. Frustrated with Thomas’s inability to sort out their finances, Abby took matters into her own hands.

She needed the money for the apartment she had her sights set on and wasn’t about to let Merritt and Tag’s affair stand in her way.

That, coupled with Thomas’s infidelity with Isabel (Isabelle Adjani) and his arrogant attitude, is likely what drove Abby to drown Merritt and show no remorse.

If The Perfect Match had you on the edge of your seat with its never-ending suspense, you’re not alone. The murder mystery was tricky to solve because each main character had a clear motive to eliminate Merritt. Tag was a prime suspect due to his need to protect his marriage, though he was too obvious.

Producers led viewers to believe that Merritt was killed by a hitman hired by Greer, who later turned out to be her brother, with the help of Shooter (Ishaan Khattar), who had loaned her money. This turned out to be a well-played twist. Thomas was also a suspect, wanting to avoid further complications from Merritt, and Will, who had an attraction to her, ended up with the $18,000 bracelet Tag had bought for Merritt.

Then there was Isabel, who had lent Thomas $2.5 million. She could potentially get her money back once the trust was released, but would have to wait longer if Merritt had the baby. Clearly, producers wanted viewers to play detective, and we had a lot of fun doing just that while watching the limited series.

The Perfect Match is now streaming on Netflix.