Colleen Hoover Finally Addresses the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni 'It Ends With Us' Fallout, and She's Ready to Move Forward

Few literary adaptations in recent memory have generated quite as much off-screen drama as ‘It Ends with Us,’ the film based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel about domestic violence. What should have been a straightforward awards-season success story instead became overshadowed by a very public legal battle between its two stars, leaving the author caught uncomfortably in the middle of a fight she never asked to be part of.

Now, as Hoover prepares for the release of her next big-screen adaptation, ‘Verity,’ she’s finally addressing that chapter with a noticeably different tone than the guarded, pained comments she gave when the controversy first broke. Speaking with Variety, Hoover reflected on the fallout between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni with a mixture of empathy and hard-won perspective.

“I feel for everyone, you know? As the author, I was — and am — so proud of that movie. I think they did a great job. I think Blake was great in it, Justin was great in it, Brandon was great in it, and I saw the completed film before any of that happened, or I knew it was happening, so I was proud of the film! And I still am. It was a huge hit,” Hoover said in comments given to Variety.

That reflection stands in noticeable contrast to how Hoover discussed the situation previously. In an interview with Elle in late 2025, she described the ongoing legal battle as feeling “like a circus,” admitting she was “embarrassed” to tell people she had written the source novel and that the controversy had “tainted” how she felt about a book originally inspired by her own mother’s experiences with domestic violence. At the time, Hoover made clear she was trying to stay removed from the negativity entirely, saying she didn’t want to “put someone else down to lift myself up” by weighing in further.

The dispute itself began during production on ‘It Ends with Us,’ eventually escalating into a lawsuit filed by Lively in December 2024 alleging unprofessional behavior on set, a case that is reportedly set to go to trial in 2026. Despite serving as an executive producer on the film, Hoover has maintained she was unaware of the tension between her stars while it was actually happening, only learning about the full scope of the situation after the movie had already been completed.

With that chapter now largely behind her, Hoover’s attention has shifted entirely to ‘Verity,’ another of her novels making its way to the screen, this time starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett. Speaking about the new project, Hoover said she’s grateful to be working on another adaptation and described the overall experience as genuinely positive, a sharp departure from the anxiety that colored her earlier press cycle.

“So, that’s what I focus on and I’m grateful that we’re here doing another one. It’s been a great experience and I think the aftermath is going to be a great experience. I’m just really, really excited for this release in a way that I don’t think I have been. I had a lot of nerves with the other ones, for a lot of different reasons, but this one is pure excitement,” Hoover added in the same Variety interview.

Hey, it’s Verity. Only in theaters October 2. #VerityFilm pic.twitter.com/tIC5kHzfQW
— Amazon MGM Studios (@AmazonMGMStudio) September 22, 2026

That excitement marks a meaningful shift for an author who has spent the better part of the past two years navigating unwanted scrutiny tied to one of her biggest literary successes. With ‘Verity’ set to release October 2 and carrying none of the off-screen baggage that complicated ‘It Ends with Us,’ Hoover appears genuinely eager to let this next adaptation stand entirely on its own.

Whether or not ‘Verity’ manages to avoid the kind of controversy that overshadowed her last big-screen outing, Hoover’s comments suggest she’s found a way to make peace with what happened, without needing to relitigate it publicly.