Who does Lily end up with in ‘It Ends With Us?’

Warning: The following article contains references to domestic abuse. Please read with care.

As Deadpool slashes its way to the top of the box office, Ryan Reynold’s real-life wife is getting her fair share of screen time. Blake Lively stars in a highly-anticipated new film It Ends With Us, based on Colleen Hoover’s massively popular book.

It Ends With Us appears to have all the hallmarks of a classic romance, but take a deep dive into the pages of the source material and you’ll realize that isn’t exactly the case. Lively stars a florist with an entirely too-on-the-nose name: Lily Bloom. Struggling to overcome the realities of her parents’ abusive relationship, she sets off on the world and meets a man who seemingly has everything — looks, charm, and a successful career as a doctor. But you know what they say about an abusive relationship in act one. Lily’s romance with Ryle (Justin Baldoni) gets intense fast, making for a story full of twists and turns — and perhaps not the plot you may initially think of.

Who does Lily wind up choosing in It Ends With Us?

After a whirlwind courtship, Lily and Ryle seem to be made for each other, until one fateful night when Ryle loses his temper. It turns out that this story has romantic leanings, but it is really about ending the cycle of abuse. Ryle becomes more and more violent with Lily until one night when he tries to assault Lily sexually. Throughout these trials, Lily reconnects with her childhood sweetheart, Atlas (Brandon Sklenar).

Atlas is everything Ryle is not: supportive, understanding, and respectful of Lily’s boundaries. Shaping a romance around domestic abuse is a tricky story to pull off and as fate would have it in the end, Lily doesn’t end up with her abuser. After learning that she is pregnant, Lily decides that she doesn’t want to raise a child in a violent environment. She divorces Ryle and sets her mind on raising her daughter in a loving atmosphere.

These topics are heavy and may not instantly jive with a romantic story. By some miracle, however, Ryle agrees to the divorce which hopefully puts a stop to the cycle of trauma. And just to make sure that this film isn’t entirely too depressing, there is a happy ending. Though they kept their distance due to the sensitive situations mentioned above, Atlas and Lily finally admit their feelings for one another. It Ends With Us may not exactly match everyone’s experience, but what work of fiction ever really does? Instead, Atlas and Lily’s experience paves the way for a committed and loving relationship which is continued in the sequel novel, It Starts With Us.