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The Love Hypothesis

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'The Love Hypothesis' won Amazon's best romance book of 2021, has a near-perfect rating on Goodreads, and is all over TikTok. Here's why it's such a unique love story.

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• " The Love Hypothesis " grabbed the attention of romance readers everywhere in 2021.
• It was named Amazon's Best Romance Novel of 2021 and was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award.
• This book checks off all my boxes for a great romance read and is definitely worth the hype.

This year, Amazon named " The Love Hypothesis " by Ali Hazelwood the best romance book of the year. Even though it was only recently published in September 2021, "The Love Hypothesis" has quickly become a fan-favorite, with 88% of Goodreads reviewers giving it four- or five-star-level praise .

It was also nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award and is hugely popular amongst Book of the Month members , with only 1% of readers giving it a "disliked" rating.

"The Love Hypothesis" is about Olive Smith, a third-year Ph.D. candidate studying pancreatic cancer at Stanford. In an attempt to convince one of her best friends that she's moved on from an old crush, she impulsively kisses Dr. Adam Carlsen, the department's notoriously brutal (but undeniably attractive) professor. After the kiss, Adam and Olive agree to fake a relationship so she can prove to her friend that she's happily dating and he can convince their department that he isn't planning to leave anytime soon.

I'm a little picky about my romance novels , so giving this read every bit of a five-star review didn't come lightly. My standards are high because the best romance novels have the potential to expose readers to authentic and imperfect relationships and offer new topics of discussion without making us feel like it's a story we've already read. 

With all the hype surrounding this new romance read, I couldn't resist picking it up.

Here's why "The Love Hypothesis" is one of my favorite recent romance books:

1. the story focuses a lot on olive and adam's lives outside their romance, making their love story more believable and interesting..

Romance novels tend to fall into a few popular tropes such as " enemies-to-lovers " or "forbidden love." "The Love Hypothesis" combines two of the most popular tropes right now, "Fake dating" and "grumpy/sunshine," really well — I loved the contrast between Adam's serious attitude to Olive's bright and sugary one. 

But despite following these tropes, the story feels fresh because it's also largely about Olive's work and its meaning to her. The only other romance book I've read featuring a STEM heroine is "The Kiss Quotient" , so I loved seeing that representation and learning about something new. 

The story honestly reflected the challenges Ph.D. candidates face in academia and that authenticity — deepened by the author's personal experiences — brought the characters, the settings, and the romance to life even more as Olive and Adam faced challenges with funding, time-consuming research, and questioning their sense of purpose.

2. The steamier scenes are also awkward and realistic, which made them even better.

In romance books, there are a few different levels of how graphic a steamy scene can get , from little-to-no detail to explicitly outlined movements. (I personally prefer mine to "fade to black.")

There was only one chapter with adult content, and it was definitely graphic. While I made a ton of ridiculous faces while reading and tried to skim past the parts that made me audibly gasp, I loved that it wasn't a movie-made, perfect sex scene with graceful movements and smooth dialogue. The scene was a little awkward, imperfect, and full of consent and conversation, making it refreshingly real.

3. The book deals with other topics besides the main love story, making it a much deeper read.

While it's wonderful to get swept up in the magic of a romantic storyline, having a secondary plot that addresses real issues is what makes a romance novel truly great . 

Mild spoilers and content warnings ahead: While "The Love Hypothesis" is a fun romantic read, it also addresses the pain of familial death, power differentials, intimacy challenges, and, most prevalently, workplace sexual harassment. 

Love is beautiful, fun, and amazing, but "The Love Hypothesis" takes the opportunity to also include conversations about serious issues. While these topics may be tough for some readers, I think these plot points, hard conversations, and complicated emotions take "The Love Hypothesis" to the next level and make it a five-star read. 

The bottom line

"The Love Hypothesis" has everything I personally look for in a romance novel: A unique storyline, authentic characters, and an important message. If you're looking for a perfectly balanced romance read, "The Love Hypothesis" is worth the hype and definitely one of the best romance books to come out in the past year.

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Why The Love Hypothesis Could Kickstart More Romance Film Adaptations

Quick links, what is the love hypothesis about, the love hypothesis could pave the way for other unconventional adaptations, are authors like ali hazelwood and emily henry changing the perception of romance.

• Ali Hazelwood's The Love Hypothesis originally began as a Rey and Kylo Ren fanfiction focusing on the characters in a STEM setting, and the novel has achieved great success.
• The upcoming film adaptation of The Love Hypothesis could pave the way for more unconventional book adaptations.
• Authors like Ali Hazelwood and Emily Henry and works like Bridgerton and Red, White and Royal Blue are changing the perception of romance novels.

Ali Hazelwood's romance novel The Love Hypothesis took BookTok by storm in 2021, and part of its whimsical appeal was that it began as Star Wars fan fiction. Originally published in 2018 on Archive of Our Own as a work called "Head Over Feet," it detailed a modern interpretation of the relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren set against the backdrop of Stanford's graduate program. Though all the references to Star Wars were cut in the final draft of the novel, the similarities in characters are still there, and it's been a major part of why the novel was so successful.

Successful enough, in fact, that in October 2022, it was announced that Bisous Pictures, which specializes in romantic films, acquired the rights to the novel. The film adaptation is currently in pre-production. Depending on how successful it is, The Love Hypothesis has the potential to pave the way for more romance adaptations -- especially those that originated in equally unconventional locations.

Updated on April 15th, 2024 by Fawzia Khan: While The Love Hypothesis movie is still very much in preproduction and there are few updates about it, fans stay on tenterhooks for the STEM romance to come to life on screen. Ali Hazelwood's book is truly an outlier -- a fanfiction work that was turned into an independent novel, set in STEM, a setting so unusual that it had not been explored before. However, Hazelwood's storytelling turns even the science lab into a romantic playground, giving impetus to all sorts of romance subgenres that might not have been greenlit earlier. This feature has been updated with further information about romance novel adaptations and their future.

10 High Fantasy Romance Movies That Combine Love with Adventure

Star wars rebels foreshadowed rey and kylo ren's force bond.

The Love Hypothesis begins explosively: Stanford graduate student Olive plants a kiss on Dr. Adam Carlsen, a known grump who has gained a reputation for tanking the research dreams of many students. The kiss culminates into something bigger, and Olive decides to enter a fake relationship with Adam Carlsen in order to convince her best friend, Anh that she is over her ex-boyfriend Jeremy, whom Anh has feelings for. While Olive wants Anh to pursue happiness, Adam's motivations for the fake relationship lie in his research funding, which has been frozen by the university as they predict that he will leave their lab and move to another. Being in a relationship would give him a sense of permanence at Stanford, and Olive would regain a sense of dignity once Anh would pursue her romance without guilt. Neither Olive nor Adam is too enthused about this arrangement -- after all, Adam Carlsen is the bane of most graduate students' existence, and he's known throughout the program for his ruthlessness and, at times, rudeness. The Love Hypothesis has all the makings of a romance book headed to the big screen.

• The Love Hypothesis was published on September 14, 2021.
• It has a 4.15/5 rating on Goodreads, with nearly 150,000 reviews.

However, as their relationship progresses, they each have to come to terms with their feelings, which are beginning to transcend far beyond what their initial arrangement entailed. Their romance may be a farce, but Hazelwood uses well-known tropes in a fresh manner to make audiences feel butterflies as the two protagonists interact. The realities of life in academia, and Olive's own tragic backstory bring a lot of depth into the plot. Their growing love for each other is marred many times, especially when Adam's old friend, Dr. Tom Benton, decides to harrass Olive and derail her research, which makes her distance herself from him. The Love Hypothesis is a beautiful love story that will translate flawlessly to the big screen , especially because of how unique it is.

10 Best Magical Romance Movies With The Most Whimsical Plots

The Love Hypothesis is the most recent in a long line of movies adapted from fan works. In fact, Ali Hazelwood's trajectory from fanfic writer to New York Times bestselling author happened when Thao Le from the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency saw her works online and reached out to her to submit. In the past, authors like E.L. James have tried to downplay that the origins of their novels (the Fifty Shades trilogy, in this case) lay in fiction that was associated with existing properties. Seeing how the success of The Love Hypothesis was intrinsically tied up with the appeal of the Star Wars couple, it is becoming clear that the landscape of publication and cinematic adaptation has had a total overhaul. Increasingly, publishing houses are turning to well-known fan fiction authors to revise their works and send them out into the world. Often, these books sell well in part because of their obvious association with a better-known intellectual property, which then makes them prime candidates to be turned into films.

Similarly, the City of Bones series (including the associated movies and Shadowhunters television show ) has its roots in the Harry Potter series. If fan fiction evolves into a prevalent source for movies, the possibilities for future adaptations are endless. Films and TV shows based on graphic novels, such as Nimona and Heartstopper, have recently gained traction . Video game movies, no matter how controversial they tend to be, are slowly making their way into the cultural eye with big titles such as Uncharted or Five Nights at Freddy's . Though romantic movies in the past have been primarily based on published novels or entirely original, the increasing number of fan fiction and graphic novel adaptations could lead to a broader future for the romantic genre. If The Love Hypothesis is successful (which it likely will be), rom-coms may see a major renaissance, and perhaps the source material for them will be diversified as well.

10 Best TV Series With Amazing Romances

In short, yes. Both romance novels and fanfiction were long considered guilty pleasure genres, consumed by those who liked reading adult or "spicy" content. Fortunately, the success of The Love Hypothesis and other such books has brought this genre into the mainstream, as larger and larger studios are queuing up to adapt romance novels into movies. As "women-centric" movies become box office hits, romance novels have further opportunities for getting that coveted adaptation. In addition to Ali Hazelwood, Emily Henry has become a studio favorite, with every one of her romance novels getting the go-ahead for big-screen adaptations.

Additionally, romance is no longer just about heterosexual couples. Red, White, and Royal Blue proved that LGBTQ+ love stories are very much the next step for the romance genre; a much-needed update to keep it current and with the times. Bridgerton's roaring success also brought forth an important aspect: romance fans want to hear diverse stories of different cultures too to reaffirm their belief that love is love, no matter where one is from. A growing acceptance of the romance genre, and the recognition of it as a true art form worthy of investment and adaptation has brought fresh growth to it, as well as to cinema.

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5 Psychological Theories of Love

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Carly Snyder, MD is a reproductive and perinatal psychiatrist who combines traditional psychiatry with integrative medicine-based treatments.

Anthony Harvie / Stone / Getty Images

Liking vs. Loving

• Color Wheel Model
• Triangular Theory
• Attachment Theory
• Compassionate vs. Passionate

Why do people fall in love ? And why are some forms of love long-lasting while others are so fleeting? Love is a basic human emotion, but understanding how and why it happens is not necessarily easy. Still, many have tried to learn more about this feel-good emotion.

Psychologists and researchers have proposed several different theories of love to explain how it forms as well as how it endures. Here are five of the major theories proposed to explain the psychology of love and other emotional attachments .

In 1970, psychologist Zick Rubin proposed an explanation for the difference between liking and loving . Sometimes we experience a great amount of appreciation and admiration for others. We enjoy spending time with a person and want to be around them. This is "liking," according to Rubin, and doesn't necessarily qualify as love.

Love is much deeper, more intense, and includes a strong desire for physical intimacy and contact. People who are "in like" enjoy each other's company, while those who are "in love" care as much about the other person's needs as they do their own.

Rubin believed that romantic love is made up of three elements:

• A close bond and dependent needs
• A predisposition to help
• Feelings of exclusiveness and absorption

Based on these elements, Rubin devised a questionnaire to assess a person's attitudes toward others. He found that scales ranging from liking to loving provided support for his conception of love.

The Color Wheel Model of Love

In his 1973 book The Colors of Love , psychologist John Lee provided another theory of love, which compared styles of love to the color wheel . Just as there are three primary colors, Lee suggested that there are also three primary styles of love:

• Eros : The term Eros stems from the Greek word meaning "passionate" or "erotic." Lee suggested that this type of love involves both physical and emotional passion. It represents love for an ideal person.
• Ludus :  Ludus comes from the Greek word meaning "game." This form of love is conceived as playful and fun but not necessarily serious. Those who exhibit this form of love are not ready for commitment and are wary of too much intimacy. So, it represents love as a game.
• Storge :  Storge stems from the Greek term meaning "natural affection." This form of love includes familial love between parents and children, siblings, and extended family members. This love can also develop out of friendship, where people who share interests and commitments gradually develop affection for one another. Therefore, it represents love as friendship .

Lee’s 6 Styles of Loving

Lee later proposed that just as the primary colors can be combined to create other colors, the three primary styles of love could also be combined to create secondary love styles. So, in 1977, Lee expanded the list of love styles.

The three new secondary love styles were:

• Mania : A combination of Eros and Ludus , representing obsessive love
• Pragma : A combination of Ludus and Storge , representing realistic and practical love
• Agape : A combination of Eros and Storge , representing selfless love

Triangular Theory of Love

In 1986, psychologist Robert Sternberg proposed the triangular theory of love. Under this theory, love has three components:

Different combinations of these three components result in different types of love. For example, combining intimacy and commitment results in compassionate love while combining passion and intimacy leads to romantic love.

According to Sternberg's triangular theory , relationships built on two or more elements are more enduring than those based on a single component. Sternberg uses the term consummate love to describe combining intimacy, passion, and commitment. While this type of love is the strongest and most enduring, Sternberg suggests that it is also rare.

Attachment Theory of Love

In 1987, Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver, two researchers from the University of Denver, shared their views on the psychology of love. They theorized that romantic love is a biosocial process similar to how children form attachments with their parents. Their theory is modeled after psychologist John Bowlby's attachment theory .

According to Hazan and Shaver's attachment theory of love, a person's attachment style is partially formed by the relationship they had with their parents in childhood. This same basic style then continues into adulthood, where it becomes part of their romantic relationships.

The three styles of adult attachment are:

• Anxious/ambivalent : A person with this style often worries that their partner doesn't love them. Sometimes they want to be with their partner so much that it scares the other person away.
• Avoidant : Someone with this style is uncomfortable getting close to others. They also typically experience difficulty with developing trust .
• Secure : As its name suggests, the secure attachment style involves being secure in the relationship. Someone who is secure has very few worries of abandonment or fears of someone else getting too close.

Based on Hazan and Shaver's research, secure attachment is the most common style. This is followed by the avoidant attachment style, then anxious/ambivalent attachment.

Hazan and Shaver also proposed that one's experiences in love and attachment affect their beliefs, which affect their relationship outcomes. It is a cyclical process that can be okay for people with a more secure attachment style but could also create issues for someone who is avoidant or anxious/ambivalent in their relationships.

Compassionate vs. Passionate Love

In 1988, psychologist Elaine Hatfield added to our theories of love by proposing that there are two basic types of love: compassionate love and passionate love .

• Compassionate love is characterized by mutual respect, attachment, affection, and trust. This love usually develops out of feelings of mutual understanding and shared respect for one another.
• Passionate love is characterized by intense emotions, sexual attraction , anxiety, and affection. When these intense emotions are reciprocated, people feel elated and fulfilled, while unreciprocated love leads to feelings of despondency and despair.

Hatfield suggests that passionate love arises when cultural expectations encourage falling in love, when the person meets one's preconceived ideas of ideal love, and when one experiences heightened physiological arousal in the presence of the other person. This love is transitory, according to Hatfield, usually lasting between 6 and 30 months.

Ideally, passionate love leads to compassionate love, which is far more enduring. While most people desire relationships that combine the security and stability of compassionate love with intense passionate love, Hatfield believes that this is rare.

Many theories of love exist, hoping to provide insight into how love forms and evolves. Each one contributes to what we know about this emotion, providing several possible explanations for how love-based relationships begin, grow, and change.

Rubin Z. Measurement of romantic love . J Personal Social Psychol . 1970;16(2):265-273. doi:10.1037/h0029841

Cramer K, Marcus J, Pomerleau C, Gillard K. Gender invariance in the Love Attitudes Scale based on Lee's color theory of love . Test Psychomet Methodol App Psychol . 2015;22(3):403-413. doi:10.4473/TPM22.3.6

Sternberg RJ. A triangular theory of love . Psychol Rev . 1986;93(2):119-135. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.93.2.119

Langeslag SJ, van Strien JW. Regulation of romantic love feelings: Preconceptions, strategies, and feasibility.   PLoS One . 2016;11(8):e0161087. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0161087

Hazan C, Shaver P. Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process . J Personal Social Psychol . 1987;52(3):511-524. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511

Hatfield E. Passionate and compassionate love . The Psychology of Love .

Earp BD, Wudarczyk OA, Foddy B, Savulescu J. Addicted to love: What is love addiction and when should it be treated?   Philos Psychiatr Psychol . 2017;24(1):77–92. doi:10.1353/ppp.2017.0011

Jin W, Xiang Y, Lei M. The deeper the love, the deeper the hate .  Front Psychol . 2017;8:1940. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01940

Leonti M, Casu L. Ethnopharmacology of love .  Front Pharmacol . 2018;9:567. doi:10.3389/fphar.2018.00567

Oravecz Z, Muth C, Vandekerckhove J. Do people agree on what makes one feel loved? A cognitive psychometric approach to the consensus on felt love.   PLoS One . 2016;11(4):e0152803. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152803

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Not In Love

A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science—from  New York Times  bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.

Rue Siebert might not have it  all , but she has  enough : a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.

Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through—and he’s a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can’t stop thinking about. The woman who’s off-limits to him.

Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business—one that plays for keeps.

A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance from the #1  New York Times  bestselling author of  Love, Theoretically  and  The Love Hypothesis.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again…

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Check & Mate

In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Love Hypothesis , life’s moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.

Mallory Greenleaf is  done  with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist….

From A Certain Point Of View (Star Wars)

Celebrate the lasting impact of  Return of the Jedi  with this exciting reimagining of the timeless  Star Wars  film featuring new perspectives from forty contributors.

On May 25, 1983,  Star Wars  cemented its legacy as the greatest movie franchise of all time with the release of  Return of the Jedi . In honor of its fortieth anniversary, forty storytellers re-create an iconic scene from  Return of the Jedi  through the eyes of a supporting character, from heroes and villains to droids and creatures.  From a Certain Point of View features contributions by bestselling authors and trendsetting artists.

Love, Theoretically

The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By  other  day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people-pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.

Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and arrogant older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And he’s the same Jack Smith who rules over the physics department at MIT, standing right between Elsie and her dream job.

Love On The Brain

Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project — a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia — Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school — archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

Loathe To Love You

From the  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Love Hypothesis  comes a collection of steamy, STEMinist novellas featuring a trio of engineers and their loves in loathing–with a special bonus chapter!

Under One Roof An environmental engineer discovers that scientists should never cohabitate when she finds herself stuck with the roommate from hell–a detestable big-oil lawyer who won’t leave the thermostat alone.

Stuck with You A civil engineer and her nemesis take their rivalry–and love–to the next level when they get stuck in a New York elevator.

Below Zero A NASA aerospace engineer’s frozen heart melts as she lies injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station and the only person willing to undertake the dangerous rescue mission is her longtime rival.

The Love Hypothesis

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor–and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive’s career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding…six-pack abs.

Under One Roof

As an environmental engineer, Mara knows all about the delicate nature of ecosystems. They require balance. And leaving the thermostat alone. And not stealing someone else’s food. And other rules Liam, her detestable big-oil lawyer of a roommate, knows nothing about. Okay, sure,  technically  she’s the interloper. Liam was already entrenched in his aunt’s house like some glowering grumpy giant when Mara moved in, with his big muscles and kissable mouth just sitting there on the couch tempting respectable scientists to the dark side…but Helena was  her  mentor and Mara’s not about to move out and give up her inheritance without a fight.

Stuck With You

Logically, Sadie knows that civil engineers are supposed to  build  bridges. However, as a woman of STEM she also understands that variables can change, and when you are stuck for hours in a tiny New York elevator with the man who broke your heart, you earn the right to burn that brawny, blond bridge to the ground. Erik can apologize all he wants, but to quote her rebel leader—she’d just as soon kiss a Wookiee.

Hannah’s got a bad feeling about this. Not only has the NASA aerospace engineer found herself injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station—but the one person willing to undertake the hazardous rescue mission is her longtime rival.

Ian has been many things to Hannah: the villain who tried to veto her expedition and ruin her career, the man who stars in her most deliciously lurid dreams…but he’s never played the hero. So why is he risking everything to be here? And why does his presence seem just as dangerous to her heart as the coming snowstorm?

Hi! Hey! Hello!

I’m Ali, and I write contemporary romcom novels about women in STEM and academia. I love cats, Nutella, and side ponytails. I’m also currently learning to crochet, so as you can tell I’m a super busy gal with an intense and exciting life! 

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The Love Hypothesis Movie: What We Know

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood has a movie adaptation in the works. For all the details about this film adaptation of The Love Hypothesis, here’s what’s we know about The Love Hypothesis movie:

What’s it about? What’s the plot of The Love Hypothesis?

In The Love Hypothesis , Olive is a third-year biology Ph.D. candidate who shares a kiss with a handsome stranger in order make her friend think that she’s in a relationship. She’s horrified when she realizes the “stranger” is Dr. Adam Carlson, a prominent professor in her department who is known for being a hypercritical and moody tyrant.

She and Adam each have reasons for needing to be in a relationship, and they agree to pretend to date for the sake of appearances. Of course, as she gets to know Adam, it’s only a matter of time before she starts feeling something for him, and it becomes clear that her little experiment in fake-dating just might combust…

See the Full Review and Summary of The Love Hypothesis from The Bibliofile.

What format will it be? Will the The Love Hypothesis adaptation be a Movie or a Series?

It’s planned as a feature movie .

Who’s behind it?

Bisous Pictures owns the rights to The Love Hypothesis.

From author Ali Hazelwood: “It’s a true privilege to have Elizabeth and such a talented and experienced team of people working on adapting The Love Hypothesis, and I’m very excited for this next step in Olive and Adam’s story!”

What’s the status of the The Love Hypothesis adaptation?

The adaptation is currently In Development . In an interview in July 2023 , Ali Hazelwood discussed her excitement at receiving the script for the upcoming adaptation and how the project was paused during the writer’s strike.

Who’s in the cast?

No casting details have been released yet.

See the full cast (when available) on IMDB .

When will it be released?

Currently unknown.

Is there a trailer or teaser available?

Not yet! Stay tuned.

The Love Hypothesis Movie Development Timeline

September 14, 2021 The Love Hypothesis (novel) is released.

October 7, 2022 Bisous Pictures Lands Rights To Ali Hazelwood’s ‘The Love Hypothesis’

July 7 2023 Ali Hazelwood discusses receiving the script for the The Love Hypothesis movie adaptation

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The Love Hypothesis

48 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapters 12-13

Chapters 14-15

Chapters 16-19

Chapter 20-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Different Types of Intelligence

Through the representation of academia , Olive’s difficulty to parse her emotions, and the differences between Olive and Malcolm , The Love Hypothesis shows how there are different types of intelligence. Olive, Adam, and others within the Stanford community possess intelligence, as evidenced by the fact they work in academia. Many of Olive’s thoughts about her experiment show how she understands the material and is always seeking new information with which to supplement what she already believes. Tom’s insults in later chapters reveal just how intelligent Olive is. While Tom also possesses a level of intelligence to remain in the field, even if that intelligence is only enough for him to copy and add to the work of others, his jealousy and view of Olive as a threat shows just how intelligent her thought processes are.

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Sternberg’s Triangular Theory and The 8 Types of Love

Eleanor Myers

Lab Manager at Duke University

Psychology Major at Princeton University

Eleanor Myers is a Princeton University psychology graduate.  At Princeton Eleanor studied language development as a research assistant in the Princeton Baby Lab. Eleanor is interested in how atypical child populations learn language, and how social cues and interactions can aid in language development. Eleanor currently works as a lab manager of the early childhood cognition lab at Duke University.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

On This Page:

Take-home Messages

• Robert Sternberg’s triangular theory of love is a theory that proposes three components of love, which combine in different ways to create eight kinds of love (Sternberg, 1986).
• The three components of love in the triangular theory of love are intimacy, passion, and decision/commitment (Sternberg, 1986).
• According to Sternberg, these three components of love combine to create eight kinds of love: nonlove, liking, infatuated love, empty love, romantic love, companionate love, fatuous love, and consummate love (Sternberg, 1986).

Robert Sternberg introduced his theory of love in a 1986 paper titled “A triangular theory of love” (Sternberg, 1986). This article will lay out the fundamental ideas of his theory discussed in this paper.

Three Components of Love

Within Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, he explains that there are three components of love:

• Intimacy : the closeness each partner feels to the other and the strength of the bond that binds them together. Partners high in intimacy like value and understand their partners.
• Passion : based on romantic feelings, physical attraction, and sexual intimacy with the partner.
• Decision/Commitment : represents cognitive factors such as acknowledging that one is in love and committed to maintaining the relationship.

According to Sternberg, these components are fundamental to what love is and interact in different ways to create various kinds of love (Sternberg, 1986).

Sternberg defines the intimacy component of love as “feelings of closeness, connectedness, and bondedness in loving relationships,” including “those feelings that give rise, essentially, to the experience of warmth in a loving relationship” and “largely, but not exclusively, deriving from emotional investment in the relationship” (Sternberg, 1986, p. 119).

The intimacy component of love typically remains stable over time, is somewhat able to be controlled, and people’s awareness of it tends to fluctuate, meaning that sometimes people are aware of these types of feelings towards others but sometimes they are not aware that they are experiencing intimate feelings (Sternberg, 1986).

The intimacy component plays a medium role in short-term relationships but plays a larger role in long-term relationships (Sternberg, 1986).

This component of love also tends to cause a moderate psychophysiological response in people (Sternberg, 1986).

Sternberg defines the passion component of love as “the drives that lead to romance, physical attraction, sexual consummation, and related phenomena in loving relationships.” This includes “those sources of motivational and other forms of arousal that lead to the experience of passion in a loving relationship,” and it’s largely, although not exclusively, derived from “motivational involvement in the relationship” (Sternberg, 1986, p. 119).

Aspects of the passion component of love are usually unstable and often change (Sternberg, 1986). People are usually not able to control whether or not these feelings are present in a relationship. Still, they tend to be aware of whether or not they are experiencing these types of feelings toward someone (Sternberg, 1986).

The passion component of love tends to have a large role in short-term relationships and only a medium role in long-term relationships (Sternberg, 1986).

This component tends to cause a high psychophysiological response in people (Sternberg, 1986).

This psychophysiological response tends to be more short-term, as our bodies cannot sustain a heightened psychophysiological state for extended periods of time.

Decision/Commitment

Finally, Sternberg defines the decision/commitment component of love as “in the short term, the decision that one loves someone else, and in the long term, the commitment to maintain that love.”

Commitment includes “the cognitive elements that are involved in decision making about the existence of and potential long-term commitment to a loving relationship” and “deriving largely, although not exclusively, from cognitive decision in and commitment to the relationship” (Sternberg, 1986, p. 119).

Like the intimacy component of love, the decision/commitment component also typically remains stable over time, and people’s awareness of it tends to fluctuate throughout time (Sternberg, 1986).

However, the decision/commitment component of love is more easily controlled than the intimacy component (Sternberg, 1986).

The decision/commitment component tends to play a very small part if any part, in short-term relationships and a large part in long-term relationships (Sternberg, 1986).

This makes sense, as it would be difficult to continue a relationship for a significant period of time without some sort of subconscious commitment to that person and the relationship overall.

8 Types of Love

According to Sternberg (1986), the 3 components (intimacy, passion, commitment) are fundamental to what love is and interact in different ways to create 8 types of love.

Relationships can become unbalanced if there is too great an investment in one component rather than the others or if one component is missing, such as romantic love (missing commitment) or companionate love (missing passion).

According to the theory, “true” (i.e., consummate) love is achieved when all three components are achieved.

The first type of love that Sternberg introduces is nonlove, which is when none of the three components of love are present in a relationship (Sternberg, 1986).

According to Sternberg, nonlove can be seen in the “casual interactions” in our everyday lives and actually “characterizes the large majority of our personal relationships” (Sternberg, 1986, p. 123).

These relationships and interactions contain a complete lack of love, as none of the components of love are involved. This makes sense, as people would not typically express any sort of feelings of love for any brief encounter in their lives.

Liking (also called friendship)

The second type of love that Sternberg introduces is liking, which is when the intimacy component of love is present in a relationship, but the passion and decision/commitment components are not (Sternberg, 1986).

According to Sternberg, liking involves feelings of “closeness, bondedness, and warmth toward the other, without feelings of intense passion or long-term commitment” (Sternberg, 1986, p. 123).

Liking can be seen in the relationships in our lives that we refer to as friendships (Sternberg, 1986).

As we all know, friendships can exist at different levels, and according to Sternberg, if any other components of love are present in a friendship, then it is not considered liking but is considered a different kind of love (Sternberg, 1986).

Therefore, only friendships that lack the passion and decision/commitment components of love are considered to be the kind of love labeled as liking.

Infatuation

The third type of love that Sternberg introduces is infatuated love, which is when the passion component of love is present in a relationship, but the intimacy and decision/commitment components are not (Sternberg, 1986).

Sternberg’s Fatuous Love is a type of love that combines Passion (physical and romantic attraction) and Commitment (decision to maintain the relationship) but lacks Intimacy (deep connection and understanding). This love type is often characterized by whirlwind romances driven by passion but lacking true depth.

Sternberg places “love at first sight” in this category of love, which according to him, involves “a high degree of psychophysiological arousal, manifested in somatic symptoms such as increased heartbeat or even palpitations of the heart, increased hormonal secretions, erection of genitals (penis or clitoris), and so on” (Sternberg, 1986, p.124).

This kind of love develops very quickly, without time for any intimate feelings to grow or for a commitment to be made (Sternberg, 1986).

The fourth type of love that Sternberg introduces is empty love, which is when the decision/commitment component of love is present in a relationship, but the intimacy and passion components are not (Sternberg, 1986).

This type of love can commonly be found in some long-term relationships where the couple has lost feelings for one another.

However, Sternberg points out an interesting phenomenon regarding this kind of love: “In our society, we are most accustomed to empty love as it occurs as a final or near-final stage of a long-term relationship,” but “in other societies, empty love may be the first stage of a long-term relationship” (such as in an arranged marriage) (Sternberg, 1986, p. 124).

Romantic Love

The fifth type of love that Sternberg introduces is romantic love, which is when the intimacy and passion components of love are present in a relationship, but the decision/commitment component is not (Sternberg, 1986).

This kind of love can also be thought of as “liking with an added element, namely, the arousal brought about by physical attraction and its concomitants” (Sternberg, 1986, p. 124).

For a popular literary example of this kind of love, one can look at “Romeo and Juliet,” where the couple shares both intimate and passionate feelings towards one another but have made no real commitment to one another (Sternberg, 1986, p. 124).

Romantic love can also be found towards the beginning of some long-term relationships before the involved parties have committed to a long-term relationship with the other person.

Companionate Love

The sixth type of love that Sternberg introduces is companionate love when the intimacy and decision/commitment components of love are present in a relationship, but the passion component is not (Sternberg, 1986).

Sternberg’s Consummate Love refers to the ideal form of love that combines three components: Intimacy (deep connection and understanding), Passion (physical and romantic attraction), and Commitment (the decision to maintain love in the long term). It’s considered the most complete and balanced form of love.

Sternberg describes this type of love as “a long-term, committed friendship, the kind that frequently occurs in marriages in which the physical attraction (a major source of passion) has died down” (Sternberg, 1986, p. 124).

Because marriages typically involve such large amounts of the intimacy and decision/commitment components of love, they can often become forms of companionate love when the “spark” or the passion in the relationship is lost, commonly over time (Sternberg, 1986).

Fatuous Love

The seventh type of love that Sternberg introduces is fatuous love, which is when the passion and decision/commitment components of love are present in a relationship, but the intimacy component is not (Sternberg, 1986).

According to Sternberg, fatuous love “is the kind of love we sometimes associate with Hollywood, or with whirlwind courtships, in which a couple meets on Day X, gets engaged two weeks later, and marries the next month”, where “a commitment is made on the basis of passion without the stabilizing element of intimate involvement” (Sternberg, 1986, p. 124).

Because the intimate component of love takes time to develop, these relationships lack that aspect of love and their relationship may therefore be more likely to fail (Sternberg, 1986).

Consummate Love

Finally, the eighth type of love that Sternberg introduces is consummate love, which is when all three components of love are present in a relationship (Sternberg, 1986).

Nowadays, when one thinks of love, they are most likely thinking about consummate love. Additionally, consummate love is seemingly the type of love that most people aim to find (Sternberg, 1986).

Outside of romantic interests, an example of consummate love can be found in many parents” love for their children, often dubbed “unconditional love” (Sternberg, 1986).

Related Research

In 1999, researchers Lemieux and Hale provided support for Sternberg’s theory of triangular love with their study of undergraduates, in which they found that the three components of love were “significantly related to a measure of Relational Satisfaction” (Lemieux & Hale, 1999, p. 497).

The next year, in 2000, they conducted a similar study, this time with married participants, and also found “that each component was a significant predictor of relational satisfaction” (Lemieux & Hale, 2000, p. 941).

In 2009, researcher Deverich conducted a study regarding Sternberg’s triangular theory of love to discover whether or not adolescents could be in consummate love according to Sternberg’s theory (Deverich, 2009).

Interestingly, she found that “due to their inconsistencies in fulfilling Sternberg’s viewed loving components…adolescents are not capable of being consummately in love” (Deverich, 2009, p. 21).

Deverich, S. (2009). Love unveiled: Teenage love within the context of Sternberg’s triangular theory of love. Intuition, 5 , 21-25.

Lemieux, R., & Hale, J. L. (1999). Intimacy, passion, and commitment in young romantic relationships: Successfully measuring the triangular theory of love. Psychological reports, 85 (2), 497-503.

Lemieux, R., & Hale, J. L. (2000). Intimacy, passion, and commitment among married individuals: Further testing of the triangular theory of love. Psychological Reports, 87 (3), 941-948.

Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological review, 93 (2), 119.

Sternberg, R. J. (1987). Liking versus loving: A comparative evaluation of theories. Psychological Bulletin, 102 (3), 331.

Further Information

Lemieux, R., & Hale, J. L. (2000). Intimacy, passion, and commitment among married individuals: Further testing of the triangular theory of love. Psychological Reports, 87(3), 941-948.

Lemieux, R., & Hale, J. L. (1999). Intimacy, passion, and commitment in young romantic relationships: Successfully measuring the triangular theory of love. Psychological reports, 85(2), 497-503.

Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological review, 93(2), 119.

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The Love Hypothesis Paperback – September 14, 2021

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• Print length 400 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Berkley
• Publication date September 14, 2021
• Dimensions 5.48 x 1.06 x 8.2 inches
• ISBN-10 0593336828
• ISBN-13 978-0593336823
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Chapter One

Hypothesis: When given a choice between A (a slightly inconveniencing situation) and B (a colossal shitshow with devastating consequences), I will inevitably end up selecting B.

In Olive's defense, the man didn't seem to mind the kiss too much.

It did take him a moment to adjust-perfectly understandable, given the sudden circumstances. It was an awkward, uncomfortable, somewhat painful minute, in which Olive was simultaneously smashing her lips against his and pushing herself as high as her toes would extend to keep her mouth at the same level as his face. Did he have to be so tall? The kiss must have looked like some clumsy headbutt, and she grew anxious that she was not going to be able to pull the whole thing off. Her friend Anh, whom Olive had spotted coming her way a few seconds ago, was going to take one look at this and know at once that Olive and Kiss Dude couldn't possibly be two people in the middle of a date.

Then that agonizingly slow moment went by, and the kiss became . . . different. The man inhaled sharply and inclined his head a tiny bit, making Olive feel less like a squirrel monkey climbing a baobab tree, and his hands-which were large and pleasantly warm in the AC of the hallway-closed around her waist. They slid up a few inches, coming to wrap around Olive's rib cage and holding her to himself. Not too close, and not too far.

It was more of a prolonged peck than anything, but it was quite nice, and for the life span of a few seconds Olive forgot a large number of things, including the fact that she was pressed against a random, unknown dude. That she'd barely had the time to whisper "Can I please kiss you?" before locking lips with him. That what had originally driven her to put on this entire show was the hope of fooling Anh, her best friend in the whole world.

But a good kiss will do that: make a girl forget herself for a while. Olive found herself melting into a broad, solid chest that showed absolutely no give. Her hands traveled from a defined jaw into surprisingly thick and soft hair, and then-then she heard herself sigh, as if already out of breath, and that's when it hit her like a brick on the head, the realization that- No. No.

Nope, nope, no.

She should not be enjoying this. Random dude, and all that.

Olive gasped and pushed herself away from him, frantically looking for Anh. In the 11:00 p.m. bluish glow of the biology labs' hallway, her friend was nowhere to be seen. Weird. Olive was sure she had spotted her a few seconds earlier.

Kiss Dude, on the other hand, was standing right in front of her, lips parted, chest rising and a weird light flickering in his eyes, which was exactly when it dawned on her, the enormity of what she had just done. Of who she had just-

Fuck her life.

Fuck. Her. Life.

Because Dr. Adam Carlsen was a known ass.

This fact was not remarkable in and of itself, as in academia every position above the graduate student level (Olive's level, sadly) required some degree of assness in order to be held for any length of time, with tenured faculty at the very peak of the ass pyramid. Dr. Carlsen, though-he was exceptional. At least if the rumors were anything to go by.

He was the reason Olive's roommate, Malcolm, had to completely scrap two research projects and would likely end up graduating a year late; the one who had made Jeremy throw up from anxiety before his qualifying exams; the sole culprit for half the students in the department being forced to postpone their thesis defenses. Joe, who used to be in Olive's cohort and would take her to watch out-of-focus European movies with microscopic subtitles every Thursday night, had been a research assistant in Carlsen's lab, but he'd decided to drop out six months into it for "reasons." It was probably for the best, since most of Carlsen's remaining graduate assistants had perennially shaky hands and often looked like they hadn't slept in a year.

Dr. Carlsen might have been a young academic rock star and biology's wunderkind, but he was also mean and hypercritical, and it was obvious in the way he spoke, in the way he carried himself, that he thought himself the only person doing decent science within the Stanford biology department. Within the entire world, probably. He was a notoriously moody, obnoxious, terrifying dick.

And Olive had just kissed him.

She wasn't sure how long the silence lasted-only that he was the one to break it. He stood in front of Olive, ridiculously intimidating with dark eyes and even darker hair, staring down from who knows how many inches above six feet-he must have been over half a foot taller than she was. He scowled, an expression that she recognized from seeing him attend the departmental seminar, a look that usually preceded him raising his hand to point out some perceived fatal flaw in the speaker's work.

Adam Carlsen. Destroyer of research careers , Olive had once overheard her adviser say.

It's okay. It's fine. Totally fine. She was just going to pretend nothing had happened, nod at him politely, and tiptoe her way out of here. Yes, solid plan.

"Did you . . . Did you just kiss me?" He sounded puzzled, and maybe a little out of breath. His lips were full and plump and . . . God. Kissed. There was simply no way Olive could get away with denying what she had just done.

Still, it was worth a try.

Surprisingly, it seemed to work.

"Ah. Okay, then." Carlsen nodded and turned around, looking vaguely disoriented. He took a couple of steps down the hallway, reached the water fountain-maybe where he'd been headed in the first place.

Olive was starting to believe that she might actually be off the hook when he halted and turned back with a skeptical expression.

"Are you sure?"

"I-" She buried her face in her hands. "It's not the way it looks."

"Okay. I . . . Okay," he repeated slowly. His voice was deep and low and sounded a lot like he was on his way to get ting mad. Like maybe he was already mad. "What's going on here?"

There was simply no way to explain this. Any normal person would have found Olive's situation odd, but Adam Carlsen, who obviously considered empathy a bug and not a feature of humanity, could never understand. She let her hands fall to her sides and took a deep breath.

"I . . . listen, I don't mean to be rude, but this is really none of your business."

He stared at her for a moment, and then he nodded. "Yes. Of course." He must be getting back into his usual groove, because his tone had lost some of its surprise and was back to normal-dry. Laconic. "I'll just go back to my office and begin to work on my Title IX complaint."

Olive exhaled in relief. "Yeah. That would be great, since- Wait. Your what?"

He cocked his head. "Title IX is a federal law that protects against sexual misconduct within academic settings-"

"I know what Title IX is."

"I see. So you willfully chose to disregard it."

"I- What? No. No, I didn't!"

He shrugged. "I must be mistaken, then. Someone else must have assaulted me."

"Assault-I didn't 'assault' you."

"You did kiss me."

"But not really ."

"Without first securing my consent."

"I asked if I could kiss you!"

"And then did so without waiting for my response."

"What? You said yes."

"Excuse me?"

She frowned. "I asked if I could kiss you, and you said yes."

"Incorrect. You asked if you could kiss me and I snorted."

"I'm pretty sure I heard you said yes."

He lifted one eyebrow, and for a minute Olive let herself daydream of drowning someone. Dr. Carlsen. Herself. Both sounded like great options.

"Listen, I'm really sorry. It was a weird situation. Can we just forget that this happened?"

He studied her for a long moment, his angular face serious and something else, something that she couldn't quite decipher because she was too busy noticing all over again how damn towering and broad he was. Just massive. Olive had always been slight, just this side of too slender, but girls who are five eight rarely felt diminutive. At least until they found themselves standing next to Adam Carlsen. She'd known that he was tall, of course, from seeing him around the department or walking across campus, from sharing the elevator with him, but they'd never interacted. Never been this close.

Except for a second ago, Olive. When you almost put your tongue in his-

"Is something wrong?" He sounded almost concerned.

"What? No. No, there isn't."

"Because," he continued calmly, "kissing a stranger at midnight in a science lab might be a sign that there is."

"There isn't."

Carlsen nodded, thoughtful. "Very well. Expect mail in the next few days, then." He began to walk past her, and she turned to yell after him.

"You didn't even ask my name!"

"I'm sure anyone could figure it out, since you must have swiped your badge to get in the labs area after hours. Have a good night."

"Wait!" She leaned forward and stopped him with a hand on his wrist. He paused immediately, even though it was obvious that it would take him no effort to free himself, and stared pointedly at the spot where her fingers had wrapped around his skin-right below a wristwatch that probably cost half her yearly graduate salary. Or all of it.

She let go of him at once and took one step back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"The kiss. Explain."

Olive bit into her lower lip. She had truly screwed herself over. She had to tell him, now. "Anh Pham." She looked around to make sure Anh was really gone. "The girl who was passing by. She's a graduate student in the biology department."

Carlsen gave no indication of knowing who Anh was.

"Anh has . . ." Olive pushed a strand of brown hair behind her ear. This was where the story became embarrassing. Complicated, and a little juvenile sounding. "I was seeing this guy in the department. Jeremy Langley, he has red hair and works with Dr. . . . Anyway, we went out just a couple of times, and then I brought him to Anh's birthday party, and they just sort of hit it off and-"

Olive shut her eyes. Which was probably a bad idea, because now she could see it painted on her lids, how her best friend and her date had bantered in that bowling alley, as if they'd known each other their whole lives; the never-exhausted topics of conversation, the laughter, and then, at the end of the night, Jeremy following Anh's every move with his gaze. It had been painfully clear who he was interested in. Olive waved a hand and tried for a smile.

"Long story short, after Jeremy and I ended things he asked Anh out. She said no because of . . . girl code and all that, but I can tell that she really likes him. She's afraid to hurt my feelings, and no matter how many times I told her it was fine she wouldn't believe me."

Not to mention that the other day I overheard her confess to our friend Malcolm that she thought Jeremy was awesome, but she could never betray me by going out with him, and she sounded so dejected. Disappointed and insecure, not at all like the spunky, larger-than-life Anh I am used to.

"So I just lied and told her that I was already dating someone else. Because she's one of my closest friends and I'd never seen her like a guy this much and I want her to have the good things she deserves and I'm positive that she would do the same for me and-" Olive realized that she was rambling and that Carlsen couldn't have cared less. She stopped and swallowed, even though her mouth felt dry. "Tonight. I told her I'd be on a date tonight ."

"Ah." His expression was unreadable.

"But I'm not. So I decided to come in to work on an experiment, but Anh showed up, too. She wasn't supposed to be here. But she was. Coming this way. And I panicked-well." Olive wiped a hand down her face. "I didn't really think."

Carlsen didn't say anything, but it was there in his eyes that he was thinking. Obviously.

"I just needed her to believe that I was on a date."

He nodded. "So you kissed the first person you saw in the hallway. Perfectly logical."

Olive winced. "When you put it like that, perhaps it wasn't my best moment."

"But it wasn't my worst, either! I'm pretty sure Anh saw us. Now she'll think that I was on a date with you and she'll hopefully feel free to go out with Jeremy and-" She shook her head. "Listen. I'm so, so sorry about the kiss."

"Please, don't report me. I really thought I heard you say yes. I promise I didn't mean to . . ."

Suddenly, the enormity of what she had just done fully dawned on her. She had just kissed a random guy, a guy who happened to be the most notoriously unpleasant faculty member in the biology department. She'd misunderstood a snort for consent, she'd basically attacked him in the hallway, and now he was staring at her in that odd, pensive way, so large and focused and close to her, and . . .

Maybe it was the late night. Maybe it was that her last coffee had been sixteen hours ago. Maybe it was Adam Carlsen looking down at her, like that. All of a sudden, this entire situation was just too much.

"Actually, you're absolutely right. And I am so sorry. If you felt in any way harassed by me, you really should report me, because it's only fair. It was a horrible thing to do, though I really didn't want to . . . Not that my intentions matter; it's more like your perception of . . ."

Crap, crap, crap.

"I'm going to leave now, okay? Thank you, and . . . I am so, so, so sorry." Olive spun around on her heels and ran away down the hallway.

"Olive," she heard him call after her. "Olive, wait-"

She didn't stop. She sprinted down the stairs to the first floor and then out the building and across the pathways of the sparsely lit Stanford campus, running past a girl walking her dog and a group of students laughing in front of the library. She continued until she was standing in front of her apartment's door, stopping only to unlock it, making a beeline for her room in the hope of avoiding her roommate and whoever he might have brought home tonight. It wasn’t until she slumped on her bed, staring at the glow‑in‑the- dark stars glued to her ceiling, that she realized that she had neglected to check on her lab mice. She had also left her laptop on her bench and her sweatshirt somewhere in the lab, and she had completely forgotten to stop at the store and buy the coffee she’d promised Malcolm she’d get for tomorrow morning. Shit. What a disaster of a day. It never occurred to Olive that Dr. Adam Carlsen— known ass— had called her by her name.

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (September 14, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593336828
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593336823
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.7 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.48 x 1.06 x 8.2 inches
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About the author

Ali hazelwood.

Ali Hazelwood is a multi-published author—alas, of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, crocheting, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her two feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).

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• v.14(1); 2013 Jan

The biochemistry of love: an oxytocin hypothesis

C Sue Carter

1 C Sue Carter and Stephen W Porges are research scientists at the Research Triangle Institute International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA

Stephen W Porges

Love is deeply biological. It pervades every aspect of our lives and has inspired countless works of art. Love also has a profound effect on our mental and physical state. A ‘broken heart’ or a failed relationship can have disastrous effects; bereavement disrupts human physiology and might even precipitate death. Without loving relationships, humans fail to flourish, even if all of their other basic needs are met.

As such, love is clearly not ‘just’ an emotion; it is a biological process that is both dynamic and bidirectional in several dimensions. Social interactions between individuals, for example, trigger cognitive and physiological processes that influence emotional and mental states. In turn, these changes influence future social interactions. Similarly, the maintenance of loving relationships requires constant feedback through sensory and cognitive systems; the body seeks love and responds constantly to interaction with loved ones or to the absence of such interaction.

Without loving relationships, humans fail to flourish, even if all of their other basic needs are met

Although evidence exists for the healing power of love, it is only recently that science has turned its attention to providing a physiological explanation. The study of love, in this context, offers insight into many important topics including the biological basis of interpersonal relationships and why and how disruptions in social bonds have such pervasive consequences for behaviour and physiology. Some of the answers will be found in our growing knowledge of the neurobiological and endocrinological mechanisms of social behaviour and interpersonal engagement.

Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. Theodosius Dobzhansky's famous dictum also holds true for explaining the evolution of love. Life on Earth is fundamentally social: the ability to interact dynamically with other living organisms to support mutual homeostasis, growth and reproduction evolved early. Social interactions are present in primitive invertebrates and even among prokaryotes: bacteria recognize and approach members of their own species. Bacteria also reproduce more successfully in the presence of their own kind and are able to form communities with physical and chemical characteristics that go far beyond the capabilities of the individual cell [ 1 ].

As another example, insect species have evolved particularly complex social systems, known as ‘eusociality’. Characterized by a division of labour, eusociality seems to have evolved independently at least 11 times. Research in honey-bees indicates that a complex set of genes and their interactions regulate eusociality, and that these resulted from an “accelerated form of evolution” [ 2 ]. In other words, molecular mechanisms favouring high levels of sociality seem to be on an evolutionary fast track.

The evolutionary pathways that led from reptiles to mammals allowed the emergence of the unique anatomical systems and biochemical mechanisms that enable social engagement and selectively reciprocal sociality. Reptiles show minimal parental investment in offspring and form non-selective relationships between individuals. Pet owners might become emotionally attached to their turtle or snake, but this relationship is not reciprocal. By contrast, many mammals show intense parental investment in offspring and form lasting bonds with the offspring. Several mammalian species—including humans, wolves and prairie voles—also develop long-lasting, reciprocal and selective relationships between adults, with several features of what humans experience as ‘love’. In turn, these reciprocal interactions trigger dynamic feedback mechanisms that foster growth and health.

Of course, human love is more complex than simple feedback mechanisms. Love might create its own reality. The biology of love originates in the primitive parts of the brain—the emotional core of the human nervous system—that evolved long before the cerebral cortex. The brain of a human ‘in love’ is flooded with sensations, often transmitted by the vagus nerve, creating much of what we experience as emotion. The modern cortex struggles to interpret the primal messages of love, and weaves a narrative around incoming visceral experiences, potentially reacting to that narrative rather than reality.

Science & Society Series on Sex and Science

Sex is the greatest invention of all time: not only has sexual reproduction facilitated the evolution of higher life forms, it has had a profound influence on human history, culture and society. This series explores our attempts to understand the influence of sex in the natural world, and the biological, medical and cultural aspects of sexual reproduction, gender and sexual pleasure.

It also is helpful to realize that mammalian social behaviour is supported by biological components that were repurposed or co-opted over the course of mammalian evolution, eventually allowing lasting relationships between adults. One element that repeatedly features in the biochemistry of love is the neuropeptide oxytocin. In large mammals, oxytocin adopts a central role in reproduction by helping to expel the big-brained baby from the uterus, ejecting milk and sealing a selective and lasting bond between mother and offspring [ 3 ]. Mammalian offspring crucially depend on their mother's milk for some time after birth. Human mothers also form a strong and lasting bond with their newborns immediately after birth, in a time period that is essential for the nourishment and survival of the baby. However, women who give birth by caesarean section without going through labour, or who opt not to breast-feed, still form a strong emotional bond with their children. Furthermore, fathers, grandparents and adoptive parents also form lifelong attachments to children. Preliminary evidence suggests that simply the presence of an infant releases oxytocin in adults [ 4 , 5 ]. The baby virtually ‘forces’ us to love it ( Fig 1 ).

As a one-year-old Mandrill infant solicits attention, she gains eye contact with her mother. © 2012 Jessie Williams.

Emotional bonds can also form during periods of extreme duress, especially when the survival of one individual depends on the presence and support of another. There is also evidence that oxytocin is released in response to acutely stressful experiences, possibly serving as hormonal ‘insurance’ against overwhelming stress. Oxytocin might help to assure that parents and others will engage with and care for infants, to stabilize loving relationships and to ensure that, in times of need, we will seek and receive support from others.

The case for a major role for oxytocin in love is strong, but until recently has been based largely on extrapolation from research on parental behaviour [ 4 ] or social behaviours in animals [ 5 , 6 ]. However, human experiments have shown that intranasal delivery of oxytocin can facilitate social behaviours, including eye contact and social cognition [ 7 ]—behaviours that are at the heart of love.

Of course, oxytocin is not the molecular equivalent of love. It is just one important component of a complex neurochemical system that allows the body to adapt to highly emotive situations. The systems necessary for reciprocal social interactions involve extensive neural networks through the brain and autonomic nervous system that are dynamic and constantly changing during the lifespan of an individual. We also know that the properties of oxytocin are not predetermined or fixed. Oxytocin's cellular receptors are regulated by other hormones and epigenetic factors. These receptors change and adapt on the basis of life experiences. Both oxytocin and the experience of love change over time. In spite of limitations, new knowledge of the properties of oxytocin has proven useful in explaining several enigmatic features of love.

To dissect the anatomy and chemistry of love, scientists needed a biological equivalent of the Rosetta stone. Just as the actual stone helped linguists to decipher an archaic language by comparison to a known one, animal models are helping biologists draw parallels between ancient physiology and contemporary behaviours. Studies of socially monogamous mammals that form long-lasting social bonds, such as prairie voles, are helping scientists to understand the biology of human social behaviour.

The modern cortex struggles to interpret the primal messages of love, and weaves a narrative around incoming visceral experiences, potentially reacting to that narrative rather than reality

Research in voles indicates that, as in humans, oxytocin has a major role in social interactions and parental behaviour [ 5 , 6 , 8 ]. Of course, oxytocin does not act alone. Its release and actions depend on many other neurochemicals, including endogenous opioids and dopamine [ 9 ]. Particularly important to social bonding are the interactions between oxytocin and a related peptide, vasopressin. The systems regulated by oxytocin and vasopressin are sometimes redundant. Both peptides are implicated in behaviours that require social engagement by either males or females, such as huddling over an infant [ 5 ]. It was necessary in voles, for example, to block both oxytocin and vasopressin receptors to induce a significant reduction in social engagement either among adults or between adults and infants. Blocking only one of these two receptors did not eliminate social approach or contact. However, antagonists for either the oxytocin or vasopressin receptor inhibited the selective sociality, which is essential for the expression of a social bond [ 10 , 11 ]. If we accept selective social bonds, parenting and mate protection as proxies for love in humans, research in animals supports the hypothesis that oxytocin and vasopressin interact to allow the dynamic behavioural states and behaviours necessary for love.

Oxytocin and vasopressin have shared functions, but they are not identical in their actions. The specific behavioural roles of oxytocin and vasopressin are especially difficult to untangle because they are components of an integrated neural network with many points of intersection. Moreover, the genes that regulate the production of oxytocin and vasopressin are located on the same chromosome, possibly allowing a co-ordinated synthesis or release of these peptides. Both peptides can bind to, and have, antagonist or agonist effects on each other's receptors. Furthermore, the pathways necessary for reciprocal social behaviour are constantly adapting: these peptides and the systems that they regulate are always in flux.

In spite of these difficulties, some of the functions of oxytocin and vasopressin have been identified. Vasopressin is associated with physical and emotional mobilization, and supports vigilance and behaviours needed for guarding a partner or territory [ 6 ], as well as other forms of adaptive self-defence [ 12 ]. Vasopressin might also protect against ‘shutting down’ physiologically in the face of danger. In many mammalian species, mothers behave agonistically in defence of their young, possibly through the interactive actions of vasopressin and oxytocin [ 13 ]. Before mating, prairie voles are generally social, even towards strangers. However, within approximately one day of mating, they begin to show high levels of aggression towards intruders [ 14 ], possibly serving to protect or guard a mate, family or territory. This mating-induced aggression is especially obvious in males.

By contrast, oxytocin is associated with immobility without fear. This includes relaxed physiological states and postures that allow birth, lactation and consensual sexual behaviour. Although not essential for parenting, the increase of oxytocin associated with birth and lactation might make it easier for a woman to be less anxious around her newborn and to experience and express loving feelings for her child [ 15 ]. In highly social species such as prairie voles, and presumably in humans, the intricate molecular dances of oxytocin and vasopressin fine-tune the coexistence of care-taking and protective aggression.

The biology of fatherhood is less well studied. However, male care of offspring also seems to rely on both oxytocin and vasopressin [ 5 ]; even sexually naive male prairie voles show spontaneous parental behaviour in the presence of an infant [ 14 ]. However, the stimuli from infants or the nature of the social interactions that release oxytocin and vasopressin might differ between the sexes [ 4 ].

Parental care and support in a safe environment are particularly important for mental health in social mammals, including humans and prairie voles. Studies of rodents and lactating women suggest that oxytocin has the capacity to modulate the behavioural and autonomic distress that typically follows separation from a mother, child or partner, reducing defensive behaviours and thereby supporting growth and health [ 6 ].

During early life in particular, trauma or neglect might produce behaviours and emotional states in humans that are socially pathological. As the processes involved in creating social behaviours and social emotions are delicately balanced, they might be triggered in inappropriate contexts, leading to aggression towards friends or family. Alternatively, bonds might be formed with prospective partners who fail to provide social support or protection.

Males seem to be especially vulnerable to the negative effects of early experiences, possibly explaining their increased sensitivity to developmental disorders. Autism spectrum disorders, for example, defined in part by atypical social behaviours, are estimated to be three to ten times more common in males than females. The implication of sex differences in the nervous system, and in response to stressful experiences for social behaviour, is only slowly becoming apparent [ 8 ]. Both males and females produce vasopressin and oxytocin and are capable of responding to both hormones. However, in brain regions that are involved in defensive aggression, such as the extended amygdala and lateral septum, the production of vasopressin is androgen-dependent. Thus, in the face of a threat, males might experience higher central levels of vasopressin.

In highly social species […] the intricate molecular dances of oxytocin and vasopressin fine-tune the coexistence of care-taking and protective aggression

Oxytocin and vasopressin pathways, including the peptides and their receptors, are regulated by coordinated genetic, hormonal and epigenetic factors that influence the adaptive and behavioural functions of these peptides across the animal's lifespan. As a result, the endocrine and behavioural consequences of stress or a challenge might be different for males and females [ 16 ]. When unpaired prairie voles were exposed to an intense but brief stressor, such as a few minutes of swimming or injection of the adrenal hormone corticosterone, the males (but not females) quickly formed new pair bonds. These and other experiments suggest that males and females have different coping strategies, and possibly experience both stressful experiences and even love in ways that are gender-specific.

Love is an epigenetic phenomenon: social behaviours, emotional attachment to others and long-lasting reciprocal relationships are plastic and adaptive and so is the biology on which they are based. Because of this and the influence on parental behaviour and physiology, the impact of an early experience can pass to the next generation [ 17 ]. Infants of traumatized or highly stressed parents might be chronically exposed to vasopressin, either through their own increased production of the peptide, or through higher levels of vasopressin in maternal milk. Such increased exposure could sensitize the infant to defensive behaviours or create a life-long tendency to overreact to threat. On the basis of research in rats, it seems, that in response to adverse early experiences or chronic isolation, the genes for vasopressin receptors can become upregulated [ 18 ], leading to an increased sensitivity to acute stressors or anxiety that might persist throughout life.

…oxytocin exposure early in life not only regulates our ability to love and form social bonds, it also has an impact on our health and well-being

Epigenetic programming triggered by early life experiences is adaptive in allowing neuroendocrine systems to project and plan for future behavioural demands. However, epigenetic changes that are long-lasting can also create atypical social or emotional behaviours [ 17 ] that might be more likely to surface in later life, and in the face of social or emotional challenges. Exposure to exogenous hormones in early life might also be epigenetic. Prairie voles, for example, treated with vasopressin post-natally were more aggressive later in life, whereas those exposed to a vasopressin antagonist showed less aggression in adulthood. Conversely, the exposure of infants to slightly increased levels of oxytocin during development increased the tendency to show a pair bond in voles. However, these studies also showed that a single exposure to a higher level of oxytocin in early life could disrupt the later capacity to pair bond [ 8 ]. There is little doubt that either early social experiences or the effects of developmental exposure to these neuropeptides can potentially have long-lasting effects on behaviour. Both parental care and exposure to oxytocin in early life can permanently modify hormonal systems, altering the capacity to form relationships and influence the expression of love across the lifespan. Our preliminary findings in voles suggest further that early life experience affects the methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene and its expression [ 19 ]. Thus, we can plausibly argue that “love is epigenetic.”

Given the power of positive social experiences, it is not surprising that a lack of social relationships might also lead to alterations in behaviour and concurrently changes in oxytocin and vasopressin pathways. We have found that social isolation reduced the expression of the gene for the oxytocin receptor, and at the same time increased the expression of genes for the vasopressin peptide (H.P. Nazarloo and C.S. Carter, unpublished data). In female prairie voles, isolation was also accompanied by an increase in blood levels of oxytocin, possibly as a coping mechanism. However, over time, isolated prairie voles of both sexes showed increases in measures of depression, anxiety and physiological arousal, and these changes were seen even when endogenous oxytocin was elevated. Thus, even the hormonal insurance provided by endogenous oxytocin in the face of the chronic stress of isolation was not sufficient to dampen the consequences of living alone. Predictably, when isolated voles were given additional exogenous oxytocin this treatment restored many of these functions to normal [ 20 ].

On the basis of such encouraging findings, dozens of ongoing clinical trials are attempting to examine the therapeutic potential of oxytocin in disorders ranging from autism to heart disease (Clinicaltrials.gov). Of course, as in voles, the effects are likely to depend on the history of the individual and the context, and to be dose-dependent. With power comes responsibility, and the power of oxytocin needs to be respected.

Although research has only begun to examine the physiological effects of these peptides beyond social behaviour, there is a wealth of new evidence indicating that oxytocin influences physiological responses to stress and injury. Thus, oxytocin exposure early in life not only regulates our ability to love and form social bonds, it also has an impact on our health and well-being. Oxytocin modulates the hypothalamic–pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, especially in response to disruptions in homeostasis [ 6 ], and coordinates demands on the immune system and energy balance. Long-term secure relationships provide emotional support and downregulate reactivity of the HPA axis, whereas intense stressors, including birth, trigger activation of the HPA axis and sympathetic nervous system. The ability of oxytocin to regulate these systems probably explains the exceptional capacity of most women to cope with the challenges of child-birth and child-rearing. The same molecules that allow us to give and receive love, also link our need for others with health and well-being.

The protective effects of positive sociality seem to rely on the same cocktail of hormones that carry a biological message of ‘love’ throughout the body

Of course, love is not without danger. The behaviours and strong emotions triggered by love might leave us vulnerable. Failed relationships can have devastating, even deadly, effects. In ‘modern’ societies humans can survive, at least after childhood, with little or no human contact. Communication technology, social media, electronic parenting and many other technological advances of the past century might place both children and adults at risk for social isolation and disorders of the autonomic nervous system, including deficits in their capacity for social engagement and love [ 21 ].

Social engagement actually helps us to cope with stress. The same hormones and areas of the brain that increase the capacity of the body to survive stress also enable us to better adapt to an ever-changing social and physical environment. Individuals with strong emotional support and relationships are more resilient in the face of stressors than those who feel isolated or lonely. Lesions in bodily tissues, including the brain, heal more quickly in animals that are living socially compared with those in isolation [ 22 ]. The protective effects of positive sociality seem to rely on the same cocktail of hormones that carry a biological message of ‘love’ throughout the body.

As only one example, the molecules associated with love have restorative properties, including the ability to literally heal a ‘broken heart’. Oxytocin receptors are expressed in the heart, and precursors for oxytocin seem to be crucial for the development of the fetal heart [ 23 ]. Oxytocin exerts protective and restorative effects in part through its capacity to convert undifferentiated stem cells into cardiomyocytes. Oxytocin can facilitate adult neurogenesis and tissue repair, especially after a stressful experience. We know that oxytocin has direct anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties in in vitro models of atherosclerosis [ 24 ]. The heart seems to rely on oxytocin as part of a normal process of protection and self-healing.

A life without love is not a life fully lived. Although research into mechanisms through which love protects us against stress and disease is in its infancy, this knowledge will ultimately increase our understanding of the way that our emotions have an impact on health and disease. We have much to learn about love and much to learn from love.

Acknowledgments

Discussions of ‘love and forgiveness’ with members of the Fetzer Institute's Advisory Council on Natural Sciences led to this essay and are gratefully acknowledged. We especially appreciate thoughtful editorial input from James Harris. Studies from the authors' laboratories were sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. We also express our gratitude for this support to our colleagues whose input and hard work informed the ideas expressed in this article.

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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10 kim yang-gi and na chae-yeon are actually husband and wife, their actions are suspiciously similar.

Behind every King and Queen are the people who stand by their side and aid them at every opportunity. In Queen of Tears , Lawyer Kim Yang-gi (Moon Tae-yoo) has always been Baek Hyun-woo’s biggest confidant when he has been in trouble, while secretary Na Chae-yeon (Yoon Bo-mi) has tended to Hong Hae-in’s every need without question. They have proved their loyalty to Hae-in and Hyun-woo consistently throughout the series. However, several clues point to another connection between these two characters .

Both Kim Yang-gi and Na Chae-yeon have mentioned their significant others throughout the series, though they have conveniently never been seen in a scene alongside one another. They also have very similar actions which point towards this theory. When Yang-gi attempts to comfort Hyun-woo in episode 7, he outstretches his arms wide, only for Hyun-woo to reject his advances. The same action was repeated in episode 9 when Na Chae-yeon visited Hae-in in Yongdu-ri. Though this may be a small addition to an already-packed finale, it would be great to see this connection confirmed.

9 Hong Beom-ja and Yeong-song Become Official

Their love could be one that lasts.

Queen of Tears has not been short of emotional romances, with lead couple Hong Hae-in and Baek Hyun-woo’s relationship being fraught with complications. Even the second lead couple, Hong Soo-cheol and Cheon Da-hye’s relationship has been wracked with tension, leaving little time for the heart-warming feeling romance lovers yearn for. However, Hong Beom-ja’s (Kim Jung-nan) infatuation with Yongdu-ri’s Yeong-song (Kim Young-min) could be just the sweet new couple the audience needs .

As an overly emotional triple divorcee and an ex-convict, Beom-ja is one of the most misunderstood members of the Hong family. Yet, Yeong-song seems to understand her where others failed to and their chemistry is as clear as day. Seeing Beom-ja finally find happiness with a new man could be just what Queen of Tears needs to satiate fans' needs for the next new romance.

8 Hong Soo-cheol and Cheon Da-hye Move To Yongdu-ri Permanently

They both seem to thrive in the countryside.

Hong Soo-cheol (Kwak Dong-yeon) has shown time and time again that he would do anything for his family, even if Cheon Da-hye (Lee Joo-bin) did leave him twice. Though with Da-hye’s allegiances now switched and her love for her husband truly affirmed, Soo-cheol and Da-hye could look for a fresh start away from the busy city life they had always known, and choose to raise Geon-woo in the countryside alongside Hyun-woo’s family in Yongdu-ri.

Hong Soo-cheol has already begun to step away from city life after electing to stay in Yongdu-ri with Hyun-woo’s family after the rest of the Hong family relocated back to Seoul. Hong Soo-cheol already seems more comfortable than ever in his life away from the world of corporate business, as does his wife, Cheon Da-hye, who flexes her vegetable-cutting skills with ease. It’s likely that Soo-cheol and Da-hye will choose to shed the troubles of the past and remain in Yongdu-ri to find success outside of Seoul.

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7 yoon eun-sung's plan backfires, his love for hong hae-in is his fatal flaw.

Throughout Queen of Tears , Yoon Eun-sung’s (Park Sung-hoon) attachment to Hong Hae-in has been downright unsettling. His obsession with Hae-in has never faltered and his desire to make Hae-in his wife will no doubt continue into the show’s final episodes. Episode 14 saw Hae-in being left in Eun-sung’s care after life-saving brain surgery left her without her long-term memory. Now with Hyun-woo indisposed too, Eun-sung will likely try and make Hae-in imprint on him so that they can live together happily in the fantasy he has created for himself. However, this could also be his downfall.

Yoon Eun-sung has shown consistently throughout the series that he will go to any lengths to make Hae-in his, much to the despair of his mother, Mo Seul-hee (Lee Mi-sook). Yet Eun-sung’s focus on Hae-in could mean that Seul-hee’s or Hyun-woo’s team could take advantage of the situation and make Eun-sung finally pay for his devious actions . Plus, with Hae-in remembering Hyun-woo post-surgery, it’s also possible that securing Hae-in would be harder than Eun-sung thought, which could lead to him losing her trust and acting through rage, rather than rationally.

6 Yoon Eun-sung and Mo Seul-hee Will Be Arrested

Baek hyun-woo will be proven innocent.

A plot twist in episode 14 of Queen of Tears saw Baek Hyun-woo being falsely accused of murder and arrested despite professing his innocence. Until this point, Hyun-woo and his team had been preparing a plan to release Yoon Eun-sung’s crimes to the public, only to have been thwarted by the jealous Eun-sung at the very last minute. Yet Baek Hyun-woo’s team isn’t likely to take things lying down and could be the key to finally putting Eun-sung and Seul-hee behind bars.

In the preview for Episode 15, Hyun-woo’s best friend and lawyer Kim Yong-gi has been shown to have begun gathering evidence which is presumably to help release Hyun-woo from prison. Though, as Hyun-woo’s team have already been gathering evidence to prove Hyun-woo’s innocence, it’s likely they will also try and convict Mo Seul-hee and Yoon Eun-sung along the way to return Queen’s group to the Hong family for good .

5 Hong Beom-seok Will Return to Korea

He could be the new face of queens group.

The absence of Chairperson Hong Man-dae’s (Kim Gap-soo) estranged eldest son Hong Beom-seok (Park Yoon-hee) has been a looming presence over Queen of Tears . Hong Beom-seok’s absence was especially noticeable during the funeral of Chairperson Hong Man-dae after he was told he would not be able to attend by his father. However, as Hong Man-dae has now passed, all eyes are turning to Hong Beom-seok and what he could mean for the future of Queens Group .

Despite not being involved with Queens Group for nineteen years, Hong Beom-seok could be the one to take the helm as the new chairperson after his father’s death. There has already been some discussion regarding Beom-seok and the shares he possesses, which could help tip things back in favor of the Hong family. However, Hong Beom-seok’s estrangement from his father is one of the loose threads that Queen of Tears has yet to tie up, and with Hong Beom-seok being an unknown variable to the audience, it could shake up the Queens of Tears finale in a new way.

4 The Hong Family Regain Power of Queen’s Group

Though their attitude has completely changed.

Though their time in Yongdu-ri was full of discovery for the Hong family, they still intend to claim what is rightfully theirs and return as the owners of Queens group. They were unrightfully ousted from their position by Mo Seul-hee and Yoon Eun-sung, who previously took the position through the acquisition of shares, ultimately making Yoon Eun-sung the biggest shareholder. Though the Hong family unsuccessfully located Hong Man-dae’s secret fund, the Chairperson’s death could have worked in their favor .

The death of Chairperson Hong Man-dae means that the Hong family accumulated his shares in Queens group , which had previously belonged to Mo Seul-hee. If they manage to get a hold of their frozen shares too, the Hong family will be able to contest Yoon Eun-sung for power with only a 3.4% difference in the shares they will hold. Plus, with the possible return of Hong Beom-seok to Korea, the Hong family’s chances of returning to power are stronger than ever.

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3 hong hae-in regains her memories, she could find her way back to baek hyun-woo.

The Mitch Alborn quote “ Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone ,” appears in Queen of Tears episode 13 below Hong Hae-in, who poses for a photo above it. This quote relates to the concept of death, and until this point relates to how Hae-in thought her memory could live on even after her death as she refused surgery to die as herself. However, following the events of episode 14, the quote could certainly be taken into a different context and suggest that Hae-in’s memories could potentially return for good .

Thanks to a revolutionary operation, Hong Hae-in is given a new life despite sacrificing her old self and her memories in order to do so. Yet against all odds, the first memory of Hae-in’s new life is that of her love, Baek Hyun-woo. The appearance of this quote feels like no coincidence and could hint at Hae-in reigniting her love with Hyun-woo once again. This is further supported by Hae-in's fruit cutting skills in Episode 1, which is a skill she does not learn until Episode 9, suggesting that Hae-in could make a full recovery .

2 Hong Hae-in Gets Pregnant

Baek soo-bin could make an appearance.

The loss of Hong Hae-in and Baek Hyun-woo’s first child has been a theme that has continued throughout the series. The importance of their child to Hae-in and Hyun-woo characters has not been understated once, with the child’s due date being both the password on Hae-in’s phone along with the password to Hyun-woo’s apartment. The loss of their child was also a large part of the reason Hae-in and Hyun-woo drifted apart in the first place. Yet, several signs point to a future pregnancy towards the end of the series .

Hong Hae-in was very close to her grandfather and greatly admired him. In Queen of Tears ’ first episode, Hae-in’s grandfather chooses a name for their future child (Soo-bin), which Hae-in will likely honor after his passing. Hae-in’s white blood cell count could also be raised due to a potential pregnancy. Though this seems less likely now as Hae-in received surgery, nothing in Queen of Tears seems coincidental and the constant reference to Hae-in and Hyun-woo’s lost child could point to what lies ahead in the couple’s future .

1 Hong Hae-in and Baek Hyun-woo Get Remarried

Lady luck has been on their side after all.

Hong Hae-in told Baek Hyun-woo that she would be with him in every life, and now finding herself re-born without her long-term memory, she could fall for Hyun-woo all over again. All signs were pointing to Hae-in and Hyun-woo’s re-marriage, as Hae-in recently accepted Hyun-woo’s re-proposal and the two rekindled their relationship with a newlywed feeling. Yet even despite Hyun-woo being unable to be by Hae-in’s side post-surgery as he had promised, there is hope that Hae-in and Hyun-woo’s bond will reform stronger than ever .

Baek Hyun-woo’s memory has already impacted Hong Hae-in post-surgery as he is the sole thing she remembers from her old life. The final moments of episode 14 and episode 15’s trailer also seem to point to Hae-in’s lingering emotions for Hyun-woo and could help Hae-in discover who she was but also help her to remember her loved ones. Queen of Tears episode 1’s opening also hints at this, with Hyun-woo recounting his luck as Hae-in’s husband. Luck has followed them since their first trip to Germany, and could mean Hae-in and Hyun-woo become lucky in love once more .

Queen of Tears' final episodes will air on Saturday and Sunday on TVN. Previous episodes are available to watch on Netflix.

Queen Of Tears (2024)