Book to Movie to Lawsuit: It Ends with Us

TW: Domestic Violence and Spoilers 

It Ends with Us, a novel by Colleen Hoover, based on her parents’ relationship, was released on the shelves of your favorite stores on Aug. 2, 2016, and became an instant hit. Almost eight years later, a movie version was released with many differences from the original content, and a lawsuit bloomed between the two stars.

The Lawsuit

The lead actress, Blake Lively (who played Lily Bloom), and director/actor, Justin Baldoni (who played Ryle Kincaid), significantly show viewers the tension and heartache between the two characters, but is that tension really just for show? 

During the press for the long-awaited movie, Lively and Baldoni appeared to keep their differences from each other. Even when the whole cast would take a group photo, Baldoni was not included, even though he directed and starred in the movie.  

What happened between Baldoni and the cast?

Well, that was all answered on Dec. 20, 2024. Lively accused Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, and others behind the film, of sexually harassing her and trying to destroy her reputation. 

The day after, December 21, the New York Times (NYT) posted an article on this case titled, “We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Campaign.” Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, called the allegations completely false. 

Lively officially sued Baldoni and his PR team on December 31, 2024. On that same day, Baldoni sued the NYT for $250 million for their story based on Lively’s claims in the LA Superior Court. 

Lively is married to the famous actor Ryan Reynolds, who recently starred in Deadpool & Wolverine. In that movie, the character Nicepool is speculated by people on social media to be a reference to Baldoni

Baldoni’s attorney said, “What I make of that is that if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of Justin Baldoni.” 

Baldoni sued Reynolds and Lively for $400 million two weeks later, on Jan. 16, 2025, with Lively saying that this is just what an abuser does. 

After this, so much more evidence has been released by Baldoni himself and his attorney, showing that Lively’s claims are most likely false. 

This involves behind-the-scenes footage from the film of a scene where Lively said she felt uncomfortable. There does not seem to be tension in the air between them. There is evidence from the production team that Lively and Reynolds tried to take over the movie when Baldoni was supposed to direct it, making it The Blake and Ryan Show. 

It appears that most people are on Baldoni’s side, with the look that this is a case where two big stars are trying to take over someone else's big moment. 

The Beginning of the End: The Plotline

It Ends with Us (book version) follows Lilly Bloom, a 23-year-old who moves to Boston to start a flower business after her father, Andrew Bloom, dies. 

She meets a 30-year-old neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid, and they fall in love. However, Kincaid began to abuse Bloom, and then claimed that it was a mistake and that he didn’t mean to do it. She is then reunited with his ex-school lover, Atlas Corrigan, whom she still thinks about. 

When Corrigan realizes Bloom is being abused, he gives her his number in case of an accident. This begins the spiral of abuse from the blooming love between Ryle and Lilly, and her path back to her old lover after one faithful night.

Age: Younger vs. Older

One of the biggest differences between the book and the movie is the age of the characters. In the book, Lilly is 23, Atlas is around 25, and Ryle is 30. However, in the movie, they are all much older. 

In an interview, Hoover said she felt like she made the characters way too young, especially Ryle, saying, “I didn't know that neurosurgeons went to school for like 50 years. There's not a 20-something neurosurgeon.”

BIBs vs. Roots

In the book, Atlas owns a restaurant called BIBs in honor of Lilly. BIBs is an acronym for “Better in Boston,” which was on a magnet Atlas gave to Lilly. 

However, Atlas’s restaurant is named Roots in the movie because Lilly taught Atlas all about plant roots when they were teenagers.  

Not to mention, the whole magnet is completely gone from the movie. The magnet was one of the things that set off Ryle in the book, and it should've been a part of it. 

Dear Ellen…

Lilly always writes a letter to Ellen DeGeneres in the book It Ends With Us about her life because she is such a big fan of her show. When Lilly had a child with Ryle, she had her baby girl’s name be Emerson Dory Bloom, Dory is the character Ellen played in Finding Nemo and its sequel. 

The letters to Ellen are another reason why Ryle goes ballistic on Lilly because she talks about the love she has with Atlas. 

In the movie, though, there is no mention of Ellen at all. I believe that this ruins the storyline. The letters were such an important part of Lilly and Atlas’s love story, and I feel that they should stay intact. 

Overall, the book and movie differ greatly. With the controversy following the movie and the intense differences, I believe that the book is a much better version.