This memorable 'It Ends With Us' line was left out of the movie. Justin Baldoni reveals why

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the book and movie versions of "It Ends With Us."

Colleen Hoover is one of the most popular authors alive, and “It Ends With Us” is her most popular book. Now, the novel is getting the big-screen treatment in an adaptation produced by, directed by and starring Justin Baldoni, opposite Blake Lively.

Readers will find the movie faithful to Hoover’s original tale, which she says was inspired by her parents’ abusive marriage. In the story, Lily Bloom falls for a neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, who becomes violent once she's already invested in their relationship. Through a chance encounter with her childhood friend and first love, Atlas Corrigan, Lily sees an alternative.

Speaking to TODAY.com, director (and star) Baldoni says he compelled to "protect" the book whie making the movie. In previous interviews, Baldoni shared that the book made him sob. He was so passionate about it he petitioned Hoover directly; his letter won her over.

"I’ve been a fierce protector of the book and Lily’s story and her emotional arc, and not wanting to change it much. That's what I promised Colleen: I will protect this book," he says.

Baldoni says he hopes "the showcasing of what an unhealthy relationship looks like was done with truth and with integrity and with honesty."

But there are a few differences, which we’ll break down below.

More 'It Ends With Us'

• <a href="https://www.today.com/popculture/movies/justin-baldoni-it-ends-with-us-interview-rcna165792" target="_blank">EXCLUSIVE: Justin Baldoni on ‘It Ends With Us’ and the ‘complex personalities’ behind it</a>

A fan-favorite line was left out of the movie

One iconic line from the book was left out of the movie: “Just keep swimming.”

This motivational phrase was popularized by character Dory in Pixar’s 2003 film “Finding Nemo,” and it was used again in “It Ends With Us.”

In an Instagram video shared Aug. 23, director Justin Baldoni explained that they “couldn’t put everything from the book into the movie.”

He noted, however, that the popular line can instead be found elsewhere in the flick.

“If you watch the movie, look in Lily’s bedroom on her wall, there’s a poster. I’m not going to say what it’s of, but you’ll see a little homage to maybe the movie or the saying, if you will," Baldoni said in the video.

Dory’s catchphrase is also referenced in a special scene in the film where a clown fish plushie is seen across the room to reference Marlin from “Finding Nemo.”

“If you blink, you might miss it,” Baldoni added.

Then, lastly, the phrase can once again be referenced in another scene in the film when Lily and Atlas connect for the first time at his restaurant.

“Right by the bathroom, if you look in between them, there is a frame on the wall with a very similar saying," Baldoni said.

Lily and Ryle are older in the movie

If you’ve been following news of the movie’s release, then you definitely already know about the characters' ages.

At 36, Lively is older than her character was originally written. Responding to fans' uproar, Hoover called the characters’ initial ages in the book a “mistake.”

“As an author, we make mistakes,” she told Jenna Bush Hager in a 2023 interview. “There’s no 28-year-old neurosurgeons, you know? You go to school for 15 years. And so to make corrections to what I messed up in the book, we aged the characters up somewhat.”

The Ellen DeGeneres of it all

Ellen DeGeneres is a major — really major — part of the book.

Lily watches her show every day after school, then writes letters to her. Through this format, she’s able to open up about the turmoil in her home life, from her abusive father to her blossoming bond with Atlas. Ellen becomes the one adult in her life she can trust (and, of course, she’s not really in her life).

The letters don’t exist in the movie in a major way, but there are small easter eggs for fans. When Lily returns to her childhood bedroom for her fathers funeral, she thumbs through a journal that seems to contain the letters to Ellen. Further, Lily and Atlas watch “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on the couch together.

Atlas’ restaurant’s name

Atlas never forgot Lily, as she learns when she runs into him at his restaurant. In both versions, the restaurant's name is an inside reference that only Lily would know.

In the book, Atlas names the restaurant Bib, an acronym for “Better in Boston,” because his dream as a kid was to return to Boston since things were … better there. Atlas tells Lily in a flashback that she’ll always be able to find him in Boston, and she does.

He names the restaurant Root in the movie, a reference to a moment he and Lily share as kids talking about the strength of an oak tree. This proves significant, since it shows the depth of his bond with Lily. It also plays an important role in her relationship with Ryle. After Ryle reads an interview with Atlas in which he reveals the significance of the name, he becomes incensed.

In the book, Ryle also reads Lily’s childhood journals and learns more about the history between Lily and Atlas.

Plus, Atlas’ backstory is more detailed in the book

The book fleshes out Atlas' backstory.

He becomes homeless and moves into the abandoned house next to Lily's. She brings him food and they become friends — and then more than that. In the movie, Atlas explains he simply got kicked out of the house, and seems to allude to his mom's boyfriend.

It's more explicit in the book. His mom’s boyfriend was abusive and they got into a fight.

Lily and her mom have an in-depth heart-to-heart in the book

The title of the book, “It Ends With Us,” is a reference to the cycle of violence that Lily is determined to end with her daughter. Of course, it had to start somewhere — and it started with her mom.

In the book, she visits her mom and reveals the truth of her relationship with Ryle and her pregnancy. While she fears that her mom will encourage her to stay with her husband, her mom outright says, “Don’t be like me, Lily.”

She also commends Lily for not saying anything negative about her father at his funeral: “It was the proudest I have ever been of you. You were the only one in my life who ever stood up for me.” She tells Lily to be the girl she was at the funeral, “Brave and bold.”

The conversation between Lily and her mom in the movie is more succinct and takes place when her mom already knows she's pregnant and they are setting up her baby's room.

Ryle stays in Lily's life more in the book

The end of the relationship unspools differently. In the book, Ryle finds out Lily is pregnant when he unexpectedly returns from England for a meeting that Marshall organizes. They have a blowout.

From there, they stay in each others’ lives. "Aside from the fact that there’s absolutely no physical relationship between us, things feel like they’ve kind of gone back to how they used to be,” Lily says in the book. Ryle even drives her to the hospital to give birth.

In the movie, Ryle and Lily don’t see each other again until he visits the hospital.

Sitting in the hospital room, in both the book and the movie, Lily challenges Ryle think of his actions as if they were happening to his daughter. What would he do? This appears to lead to a breakthrough moment of understanding for his character. Lily officially ends their marriage in the same scene.

The movie never clarifies how close they stay, while the book is clear that he's still an involved father with daughter Emerson.

Last words

The book and movie end with Lily running into Atlas. In the movie, she’s alone at a market. Her mom is watching her daughter at a park nearby.

In the book, she’s walking her toddler daughter to see Ryle when she runs into Atlas. The book ends with the words, “Is that … is this your baby?” He was in the room when she learned she was pregnant, so it’s not that much of a surprise.

Unlike the book, their encounter in the movie is sealed with a kiss, confirming that the spark they had as teenagers is still there.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com