The rumors are true: ‘It Ends With Us’ is coming to Netflix

Colleen Hoover’s story of florist Lily Bloom leaving her abusive relationship with doctor Ryle Kincaid gripped readers when her novel was published in 2016. The movie adaptation of It Ends With Us was a huge hit in the summer of 2024, and now fans can watch it on Netflix.

The film will be available on the streaming platform on Dec. 9, 2024. Whether you saw Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni play the main characters on the big screen or heard about the buzz behind the book and movie for years, you can now check it out.

The disastrous marketing for It Ends With Us (like Lively’s focus on “floral” outfits) definitely overshadowed the purpose and message of the story itself. But the adaptation of Hoover’s tale still deserves to be seen, and fans who didn’t see it in theaters can watch it at home (or see it a second time). A TikTok user said the film should have a trigger warning, and hopefully Netflix will include one.

Hoover shared in an interview with TODAY that she wrote It Ends With Us because her mother got divorced from her abusive husband/Hoover’s father when Hoover was two years old. She said there was a lack of “resources” at the time. The author told The Hollywood Reporter that she wanted people to be “hopeful” after seeing the movie. She said, “I hope this movie helps people in the same way the book helped people.” The book definitely reached a lot of people: as of Sept. 2024, over 10 million copies were purchased around the world.

Walking away from an abusive relationship isn’t an easy task, and it’s heartbreaking to realize that someone isn’t necessarily safer when they get out. The Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence executive director, Wendy Mahoney, said, “The statistics are that women in abusive relationships are about 500 many times more at risk when they leave.” However, a story like Lily’s does create more awareness of domestic violence, and that’s the power of fiction (and why it’s so crucial). It can help someone recognize the signs of a loved one’s struggle, and they can be a support system and advocate for them. That’s why the marketing and conflict between Lively and Baldoni was so upsetting. It was a distraction from what really matters.

Baldoni put a lot of care and attention into adapting Hoover’s book. He could have just read the book and left it at that, but he went even further. According to Deadline, he worked with The NO MORE Foundation, an organization dedicated to ending domestic violence. Producer Alex Saks said that it was important for Lily to remember what happened to her at the end of the movie. Saks explained, “That’s a huge peak in the movie, both emotionally and story-wise. It’s this explosion that finally drives her out of this situation.” Baldoni emphasized the somber and tragic subject matter when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2022. He said that since actors are “told we’re not curing cancer,” that made him question “if we’re making the right movies.” He hoped that It Ends With Us “could save lives.”

Baldoni truly believes in this powerful story. When Netflix subscribers watch the movie in early December, Lily’s story will hopefully be the focal point once again, instead of everything that went down behind the scenes.