There’s a reason It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover has sparked so much conversation—and it’s not just because of its insane popularity on BookTok in the last years. Even before TikTok, this book managed to find its way into the collections of all kinds of bookworms out there, and there is a reason behind its apparel. At first glance, it might seem like a typical romance, but as you dive in, you realize it’s very different from the usual love triangle. It’s a story of love, yes, but also a story of trauma and the difficult choices people face to protect themselves and those they care about.
In this post, we’re going to take a closer look at each of the book’s characters. Hoover doesn’t paint anyone in black-and-white terms—Lily, Ryle, and Atlas all have layers that make them feel real and human. So, let’s dig in and explore these characters who make this story so unforgettable.
If you need to refresh your memory before reading about the characters, here you will find our full summary and book review of the story!
Trigger Warning: This article covers themes of domestic violence, which might be distressing for some readers.
Lily Bloom (played by Blake Lively in the film adaptation, who we all met in Gossip Girl) is, without a doubt, the emotional core of It Ends With Us. When we first meet her, she’s 23 and reflecting on her father’s recent death and her inability to say anything nice about him during his funeral. She is empathetic, resilient, and ambitious, but at the same time, her past still haunts her. Lily’s goal is clear: she wants a life that’s nothing like her parents’ marriage, and she’s determined to build it for herself. With her inheritance, Lily opens a flower shop in Boston. The flower shop becomes a symbol of her independence, and it’s where she meets her first employee, Allysa, who also happens to be Ryle Kincaid's sister. Ryle is a successful neurosurgeon who Lily first meets in a chance rooftop encounter at the very beginning of the story. Sparks fly immediately between them, but Ryle makes it clear that he’s not interested in a committed relationship—he only does casual. Still, as they keep crossing paths, Ryle’s interest grows, and despite her initial reservations, Lily starts to fall for him.
At first, Ryle seems perfect: he’s intelligent, charming, supportive of her career, and soon becomes a part of her life and even her family. But there’s a darker side to him that soon surfaces. One night, in a moment of frustration, he lashes out physically. Shocked and heartbroken, Lily sees the shadows of her father’s abuse in Ryle, but she convinces herself that it is a one-time incident. Ryle’s profuse apologies and her own desire to believe he’s different from her father lead her to give him another chance.
At the same time, Lily finds herself turning to her past for comfort and clarity. She revisits the diaries she wrote as a teenager living in Maine, where she chronicled her first love, Atlas Corrigan. Atlas (played by Alex Neustaedter in his younger years) was a homeless boy Lily helped while she was in high school. The bond they formed was deep, built on trust, safety, and mutual support. Atlas became Lily’s refuge from the chaos of her home life. Unfortunately, they were separated in the worst way possible when Lily’s father discovered their relationship and brutally attacked Atlas. Afterward, he enlisted in the military and left Lily.
Atlas’s sudden reappearance as a successful chef in Boston stirs up old feelings and confusion for her. He’s everything that Ryle is not—steady, understanding, and deeply respectful of her boundaries. Atlas’s protective nature and his past connection with Lily put him at odds with Ryle, whose jealousy and insecurity begin to spiral out of control. This tension between Ryle and Atlas intensifies, especially when Ryle discovers Lily’s old journals and realizes the depth of their connection.
The breaking point comes when Lily realizes she’s pregnant. She’s forced to confront the reality of her situation—she doesn’t want her child to grow up witnessing abuse the way she did. This moment is pivotal; it’s when Lily understands that she has to break the cycle of violence, even though she still has feelings for Ryle.
In the end, Lily finds the courage to leave Ryle, prioritizing her daughter’s future and her own well-being over her conflicted feelings. She decides to co-parent with Ryle, but she sets firm boundaries to protect herself and her child. Eventually, she reconnects with Atlas, who has patiently respected her choices throughout her journey. Though the novel ends with the hope of a second chance between them, Lily’s story is ultimately about her own resilience and healing. She breaks free from the trauma of her past and sets a new path for herself and her daughter, Emerson (Emmy) determined to end the cycle of abuse once and for all.
Ryle Kincaid (portrayed by Justin Baldoni, who is also the director of the movie adaptation by Sony Pictures and Wayfarer Studios) is a tricky character to analyze. When he first meets Lily on that rooftop, he’s this confident, driven neurosurgeon who prefers having deep conversations to idle chit-chat. He’s very focused on his career, lives life on his own terms, and isn’t looking for anything serious. But the chemistry between him and Lily is undeniable, and eventually, he changes his mind, deciding he’s willing to try a committed relationship with her. In the beginning, he’s all in—showering her with attention, celebrating her ambitions, and blending into her life with a smoothness that seems almost too good to be true.
And honestly? It is.
Because we soon find out, Ryle has his own demons, and they’re not ones he can just sweep under the rug. His past is marked by an incredibly traumatic event: when he was a child, he accidentally shot and killed his own brother, Emerson. The guilt from this incident has clearly shaped him in profound ways, driving him to become a neurosurgeon (almost like he’s trying to save lives as penance), but it’s also left him with severe emotional scars. He struggles with sudden, uncontrollable bouts of anger—rages that, unfortunately, make their way into his relationship with Lily.
At first, Ryle’s aggression is presented almost as a one-off—a moment where he “loses control.” He’s quick to apologize, filled with remorse, and practically begs Lily for forgiveness. And Lily, who’s already invested in the idea of their future together, wants to believe him. She doesn’t want to see Ryle as an abuser, because that would mean confronting her worst fear—that she’s repeating her mother’s life. Ryle convinces her—and maybe even himself—that he’s different, that he can change, and that his love for her is stronger than his anger.
As the story progresses, though, he only gets worse. His jealousy, especially regarding Atlas, escalates alarmingly. He becomes possessive, intrusive, and violent, lashing out at Lily in ways that are deeply unsettling. The more he tries to control his rage, the more he ends up losing control and each new apology starts to sound hollow, as his behavior follows a painfully familiar cycle: outburst, regret, promises to change… and then outburst again. One thing becomes clear: Ryle’s past trauma may explain why he’s like this, but it doesn’t excuse it.
What makes Ryle’s character so complex—and infuriating—is that he’s not a one-dimensional villain; he’s real, he’s flawed, and in some moments, he genuinely seems to want to do and be better. There’s a part of him that deeply loves Lily, but that part is tangled up with so much unresolved anger and self-hatred that he ultimately becomes toxic and even outright dangerous. And that’s the real tragedy of Ryle—he’s a man who has the capacity to be kind, supportive, and loving. Yet, his inability to confront his trauma and seek real healing turns him into someone unforgivable. His moments of vulnerability, like when he opens up about Emerson’s death, are heartbreaking, but they’re not enough to counteract the damage he does.
In the end, Ryle is both a victim of his own past and a perpetrator of abuse, a combination that makes him hard to just hate but also impossible to sympathize with.
Atlas Corrigan (portrayed by Brandon Sklenar in his adult years) is so much more than just Lily’s first love. He is the kind of character who quietly steals your heart. As a teenager, young Atlas’s faced with unimaginable hardships—homeless, abandoned by his own family, and struggling with the kind of loneliness and despair that could easily break a person. Despite all this, Atlas manages to keep a gentle and self-deprecating sense of humor. He’s resourceful and resilient yet hesitant to let anyone, even Lily (young Lily played by Isabela Ferrer), see just how vulnerable he really feels. But when she finds him living in an abandoned house and begins offering him food and support, he finally accepts help, albeit reluctantly. She becomes the one person who truly sees him, and in doing so, she saves him in more ways than one.
Atlas’s love for Lily isn’t an ordinary teenage crush; it becomes the foundation upon which he builds his life. Even after they are separated, he holds onto the hope that he can one day be the kind of person she deserves. He joins the Marines, works his way up, and eventually becomes a successful chef, creating a stable, fulfilling life for himself. In a way, everything he achieves is a testament to the promise he made to himself—to be worthy of the girl who showed him kindness when no one else did. And so as an adult, Atlas is everything Ryle isn’t. While Ryle is impulsive and aggressive, Atlas is calm, patient, and deeply compassionate. Even when he reconnects with Lily and sees that she’s with Ryle, he respects her relationship and doesn’t try to disrupt her happiness. When he suspects she’s in trouble, his first instinct is to help, but he never imposes himself on her life.
Atlas’s love for Lily is selfless and steady, the kind that doesn’t demand anything in return. He’s willing to wait for her, giving her the space to figure things out on her own, even if that means risking his own heartbreak.
In the end, Atlas and Lily’s relationship feels like a reward for everything they’ve endured separately. After years of pain and growth, they’re finally in a place where they can come together in a healthy, respectful way.
Allysa (played by Jenny Slate), Ryle’s sister and Lily’s best friend, is one of the book’s brightest supporting characters. She walks into Lily’s life with zero pretense, offering to help with her new flower shop simply because she wants something meaningful to do. Allysa is wealthy—thanks to her husband, Marshall, who sold a successful app—yet she’s down-to-earth and genuinely warm. She brings a sense of stability and fun into Lily’s world, which has always been complicated by her family trauma and, eventually, her relationship with Ryle. Allysa is both a friend and a grounding force for Lily, and their bond is one of the few uncomplicated relationships in Lily’s life.
But Allysa’s role isn’t just to be Lily’s confidante—she also provides a window into Ryle. As his sister, Allysa knows him better than anyone and gives Lily insights into his past, including hints about his struggles with commitment and his complicated personality. However, when Lily eventually confides in her about Ryle’s abuse, Allysa doesn’t hesitate to stand by her friend. Despite her love for her brother, Allysa draws a line in the sand, refusing to condone his behavior and encouraging Lily to think of her own safety first. It’s an admirable moment that shows just how strong her moral compass is and how much she values Lily’s well-being.
Lily’s mother, Jenny (played by Amy Morton), is an understated but crucial character in It Ends with Us. As a survivor of her own abusive marriage with Andrew Bloom, Jenny is both a cautionary figure and, in a way, an inspiration for Lily. For much of Lily’s life, she viewed her mother as weak for staying with her father, silently resenting her for not leaving. But as Lily finds herself in a similar situation with Ryle, her perspective on her mother starts to shift. Through Jenny, Lily learns that leaving an abusive relationship is more complex than it seems from the outside, and she begins to understand the immense strength it takes to break that cycle.
Jenny’s conversation with Lily after the abuse is one of the most powerful moments in the book. She doesn’t pressure Lily to stay or leave; instead, she offers empathy and shares her own regrets about staying too long. Jenny’s quiet support helps Lily realize she deserves a better life, encouraging her to make the brave choice that her mother never could.
Marshall (Hasan Minhaj), Allysa’s husband, brings levity and humor to the story, but he's also a reminder of what a healthy relationship looks like. He's a supportive, playful partner to Allysa, and his interactions with her demonstrate mutual respect and genuine affection. While he’s mostly a secondary character, Marshall’s relationship with Allysa acts as a counterpoint to the darker dynamics between Lily and Ryle.
In his easygoing, loyal way, Marshall also becomes a quiet ally to Lily. He’s never intrusive, but he’s always there in the background, supporting Allysa and, by extension, supporting Lily too. He’s the kind of character you might overlook at first, but by the end, he represents the type of loving, stable partnership that feels so rare in the world of It Ends with Us.
So there you have it, bookworms, that’s our exploration of Colleen Hoover’s characters. No matter our opinions on them, one thing is for sure; each character in this novel serves a purpose. Ryle embodies the charm and darkness of a flawed partner, showing how love can blur into control and harm. Atlas, on the other hand, represents patience, stability, and genuine care, providing Lily with a sense of safety and hope. Even secondary characters like Allysa offer insight into the support systems that help—or sometimes complicate—survivors’ decisions.
Ultimately, Hoover uses these characters to explore the nuances of abuse and the courage it takes to break away. It’s a challenging story with no easy resolutions, but it gives readers a raw, if imperfect, look at how love, trauma, and healing intertwine.
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Yes, a few characters from the book didn’t make it into the movie adaptation. Two notable omissions are Lucy, Lily’s roommate, and Devin, her gay friend and former co-worker from the marketing firm she used to work at. While they aren't central to the main plot, these characters add layers to Lily's life and personality in the book, offering friendship and a bit of a support network outside of her relationships with Ryle and Atlas.
Lily names her daughter Emerson after Ryle’s late brother, who died tragically when Ryle was a child. This choice is layered with meaning. On one hand, it’s a way for Lily to honor the love she once shared with Ryle, despite everything that happened between them. Emerson’s name represents a hope that the cycle of trauma and violence that has affected both Ryle and Lily’s lives won’t continue into the next generation. By choosing a name so deeply tied to both her past and Ryle's, Lily is acknowledging their shared history while still moving forward on her own terms.
First and foremost, Nina is a reader; she devours literature with gusto, from classic novels to contemporary poetry to graphic novels and everything in between. She believes that within each story, there's a universe waiting to be explored, and loves exploring with company. She's often found sharing her perspective on characters, plot twists, and literary themes with friends. When her friends get tired of listening to her ranting, she writes blog posts sharing her explorations with the other bookworms of the internet. In recent years she has developed an inexplicable addiction to matcha lattes, but has asked us not to talk about that.
