- - Emily Henry Breathed a ‘Huge Sigh of Relief’ After Watching “People We Meet on Vacation” for the First Time (Exclusive)

Yamillah HurtadoJanuary 8, 2026 at 9:17 AM

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Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Emily Henry at the LA premiere of 'People We Meet on Vacation' -

Author Emily Henry is excited for fans of her beloved novel, People We Meet on Vacation, to watch the film adaptation

“I really felt like the readers were going to be as in love with it as I am,” she told PEOPLE at the film’s LA Premiere

People We Meet on Vacation begins streaming Jan. 9 on Netflix

Emily Henry is excited for fans of her novel, People We Meet on Vacation, to watch the film adaptation.

At the LA premiere of Netflix’s upcoming romantic comedy, Henry spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about watching the film for the first time, Tom Blyth and Emily Bader’s chemistry and teased what fans of her beloved book can expect.

The author admitted she was nervous to see her love story on the big screen, but all of her stress quickly washed away upon watching it.

“I was so stressed out about it,” Henry shares. “I really wanted it to be something that readers would be super excited about. And so, I watched that whole first viewing with every muscle in my body gripped.”

“When I was done, I really [breathed] this huge sigh of relief where all the stress went out of my body because I really felt like the readers were going to be as in love with it as I am,” she added. “And that is all I could have ever hoped for.”

Henry noted that Brett Haley was “a dream to work with” and really understood what readers of the romance novel loved about Alex and Poppy’s story.

“He understood that this audience is really passionate and devoted,” she said. “They are your biggest support system, and you really need to keep them in the forefront of your mind the whole way.”

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“I couldn’t have been luckier because they were not obligated to include me in any way," the author added. "Brett really wanted to make sure that my voice was part of the movie because he wanted to make sure that the readers had someone representing them in every conversation.”

Daniel Escale/Netflix

Emily Bader and Tom Blyth in 'People We Meet on Vacation'

As for the stars of People We Meet on Vacation, Henry said she couldn’t imagine Alex and Poppy being played by anyone other than Blyth and Bader. After watching their chemistry read, Henry knew they were perfect for the roles.

“[In] the chemistry read, they were clearly playing in a way that I think is exactly the dynamic of those characters,” Henry explained.

“They both played the character exactly how they needed to be played so that they were not unbearably annoying,” she continued. “I mean, that’s a joke, but I think Emily has this little softness and this brightness where she can be razzing Tom and like ribbing him, and you can still feel the love and affection.”

“I think with his reactions to her, he could seem just really annoyed all the time, but he has this amazing way of having this little smirk," the author concluded. "They’re clearly delighted [with] each other.”

People We Meet on Vacation premieres on Netflix on Jan. 9.

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”