Emily Henry’s Patience Paid Off

Emily Henry has been patient. Beloved for her contemporary romance novels, the No. 1 New York Times best-selling author felt stuck in limbo as the first film adaptation of her books, People We Meet on Vacation, languished in an apparently endless development process that began in 2022. While she wasn’t directly involved in the project, director Brett Haley frequently gave her updates — sometimes chatting with her multiple times a day — until Henry, 34, needed a break.

“At a certain point, I thought it was totally dead,” she tells Bustle. “I needed to take a step back. This is too painful to push this stone up this hill and not have any real control, but to want it so badly.”

But the wait was well worth it. Not long after that, the movie got the green light with a new script. People We Meet on Vacation finally made its splashy debut on Netflix earlier this month, topping the streamer’s most-watched list. Viewers were enamored by Alex (Tom Blyth) and Poppy (Emily Bader), two estranged friends who used to vacation with each other once a year. Now reunited in Barcelona for a wedding, the pair are forced to confront their past — and their long-ignored romantic tension.

Casting the right actors was pivotal to this friends-to-lovers tale, and Blyth and Bader’s chemistry earned Henry’s approval. Over Zoom, the author watched the two act out a scene in which Blyth cracks a deadpan joke that leaves Bader speechless until she lets out a laugh.

“I have been comparing it to the Julia Roberts laugh in Pretty Woman. It felt like light bursting out of her,” Henry says. “And then Tom did this tiny little smirk because his character Alex had delighted Poppy, and her surprise and delight had made him very happy. And that’s their exact dynamic in the book; they’re always performing for each other.”

Next, Henry is looking forward to seeing her other novels get the Hollywood treatment. She’s in the middle of writing a new draft of Funny Story and will adapt Happy Place, both of which will appear on Netflix. Book Lovers and Beach Read (which will be penned and directed by People We Meet on Vacation scribe Yulin Kuang) are making their way toward production. But she’s keeping her latest book, Great Big Beautiful Life, close to the chest. She’s written a script for it but has chosen not to option it — yet.

“We want to piece that together more slowly and intentionally, and have a little element of control over how it shapes up,” says Henry.

Below, Henry discusses her cameo, the secret to writing a good sex scene, and what she thinks about those casting rumors.

You have a cameo in the movie during the wedding in Spain. What made you want to appear in the film?

They asked me, “Do you want a cameo?” And I said, “I want to go to Spain.” Honestly, I feel like readers are going to be excited by that, because in a way, I’m their stand-in. Me getting to go and be in the movie is like a nod and wink to them.

Is there anything the film added to the story that you were surprised by?

To have new scenes, jokes, and near-misses between Alex and Poppy, that’s special. Those are some of my favorite parts of the movie. They’re a fun thing to be able to offer readers because the book will always exist exactly as it is. But that dance scene is fun and cute and in line with the characters. The whole road trip scene has dialogue and parts from the book, but they expanded it to give the viewer more of a chance to see the characters’ friendship develop.

I don’t write a lot of gags into my work. I like things to stay pretty grounded. In a book, it’s harder to get people to accept silly, zany things happening. But in a movie, we’re a little bit looser with reality, so we can do things that are a little bit more heightened. And the whole gag with the skinny dipping is really fun and feels so much like the characters.

Different romance tropes have inspired your books. What’s your favorite to read versus to write?

When it works for me — this is so basic — enemies to lovers is my favorite to read. I’m pickier about it because there are some things that I personally, as a reader, can’t come back from, and sometimes I’m like, “Why are they even enemies? I don’t think they're enemies.” I do like writing it because it’s an instant source of tension if they’re rivals or competing for something. Writing friends to lovers is so much harder.

I love, love, love reading marriage of convenience. Historical novels with a marriage of convenience are an easy way to my heart.

I think that’s why Bridgerton pulled me in.

The idea of two people very slowly and unwillingly falling in love with each other within the confines of a marriage, there’s something so sweet and beautiful about that. It speaks to the idea that you can fall in and out of love. Marriage is not always the same thing as a high-intensity, fun new relationship, and the idea that you can be partners in this situation, and then find your way to a life-changing romance is beautiful.

Intimacy is one of the hallmarks of romance. What do you think is the secret to writing a good sex scene?

The key to writing any compelling sex scene, though, is you have to get out of your head and stop judging yourself and your characters. The things that the characters are doing and saying to each other are very specific to their characters. So it feels like the kind of sex that could only happen between these two people.

An example of that, like in most of my books, if not all of them: There’s usually some kind of conversation about contraception. And those are different across the books because different characters would handle that differently. Some would be a little bit more loosey-goosey, and some would be like, “I’ve been on birth control for 15 years, and I also still use condoms.” All those things are important — little details show something deeper about their personality.

One of my group chats is really into fan casting your book adaptations.

OK, I need you to send me the transcript.

A rumor they’re excited about is Simone Ashley and Manny Jacinto for Book Lovers. What are your thoughts on fan casting?

I saw that rumor, and I think the fan casts are always good. [But] I never picture my characters to that extent. So when fans tell me who they see, it’s really helpful. It also makes me nervous because I want everyone in the world to be happy.

I will also say that I specifically have been thinking about Simone Ashley as a possible Nora since I saw her in Bridgerton. She plays an older sister in that. She’s so posh and elegant [in] the way she carries herself. She would be fantastic.

I think Manny Jacinto is way overdue for getting to play a sexy smarty. Ultimately, I do not have the decision-making power for any casting like that. But I always do take the fan casts to the [production] teams!

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.