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It Ends with Us ending explained: What happens in the book's final chapters (ahead of the Blake Lively movie)
It Ends with Us' ending made us cry ugly tears.
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Few books have been as ripe for adaptation as Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us. It has drama, romance, and an all-too-relatable premise of trying to break the cycle of domestic abuse. Movie fans are about to learn what fans of the book already know – the ending of It Ends with Us is going to knock them for an emotional loop.
Wondering who Lily ends up with or how the book ends? Here is our spoiler-filled explanation of It Ends with Us’ ending.
What happens in the It Ends with Us ending?
Lily’s relationship with her husband Ryle is a turbulent one. The two share an instant connection, but their romance soon begins to show too many similarities to the abusive marriage Lily’s mother had with her father. As a child, Ryle accidentally shot and killed his brother, an incident that leads him to have moments of intense rage. The worst of these happens when Ryle finds Lily’s journals and discovers her platonic relationship with her childhood friend Atlas. He attempts to rape his wife and headbutts her so hard she loses consciousness.
Lily calls Atlas to take her to the hospital after she escapes from Ryle. While at the hospital, she discovers she is pregnant. After discussing her situation with her mother and Atlas, Lily decides that she doesn’t want to raise her daughter in the same kind of abusive household she grew up in. Despite Ryle’s attempts to convince her otherwise, she opts to allow Ryle to help her through the last few months of her pregnancy before filing for divorce.
11 months later, the epilogue shows Lily pushing her daughter Emmy in a stroller when she runs into Atlas. Lily has left Ryle and the two are in a co-parenting relationship rather than a romantic one. Atlas expresses his willingness to be with Lily when she is ready – a desire that Lily reciprocates. The novel ends with the pair of them seeming to begin a healthier, more loving relationship together.
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