The 2026 adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s “Verity” changed the way I viewed its biggest mystery

Warning: Spoilers for Verity ahead!

For me, Verity was a book I read once and never picked up again. Before that, I had mostly read Colleen Hoover’s contemporary romances, like Reminders of Him and Regretting You, so I assumed all her books followed a similar genre. I was very wrong. 

I have to say: the book did have me hooked, sitting on the edge of my seat after every page. However, the manuscript itself? That traumatized me. Some of its contents were so dark and disturbing that I genuinely had to put the book down and go outside to touch some grass. So, going into the 2026 movie adaptation, I was curious to see how it would handle the story’s biggest mystery: Should we believe Verity’s manuscript, or her letter?

When I first read Verity, I leaned toward believing the manuscript. Its disturbing details made it difficult to imagine that Verity could have simply invented everything. The letter at the end offered a completely different explanation, leaving me questioning what I’d just read. 

The book also included Lowen’s sleepwalking, adding another layer of uncertainty about the reliability of our narrator. Since we experience the story largely through Lowen’s perspective, how could we know whether everything she witnessed actually happened? 

I was so caught up in the manuscript’s darkness that I barely remembered some other parts of the book. And yes, I completely forgot Chastin even existed! The exclusion of Verity and Jeremy’s third child from the movie completely altered the perception of the manuscript and its “truths”, changing the family dynamic we see on screen. 

One of the biggest differences I noticed was how much of the manuscript the movie left out. Honestly, I was glad. Some of the pregnancy-related material was genuinely disturbing, and I cannot imagine watching all of it play out on screen. 

But cutting those details also changed how believable Verity’s explanation felt. In the movie, her manuscript is presented as a writing exercise in which she explores the opposite of what she actually thinks or feels. Because the movie’s version is less extreme, I found myself more willing to believe the letter. 

The movie also made Verity more human by showing glimpses of her public persona, including interviews. Instead of seeing her almost entirely through the horrifying manuscript, we get to see a warmer side of her, making it easier to understand why someone might believe her.  

That made me reconsider everything, especially the parts about her children. Was the manuscript really proof of how much Verity hated them? Or, if she was writing the opposite of her true feelings, could it actually reveal just how much she loved them?

The ending was another major difference. In the book, Lowen destroys the letter, making me think she ultimately chooses Jeremy’s side. In the movie, she keeps it hidden from him. That small change completely shifts the ending. Instead of feeling like the mystery has been put to rest, we see Lowen realizing that she may never truly know who Jeremy is. 

Could Verity’s letter be the truth, or was it simply another attempt to manipulate people around her? The movie’s final moment about truth only makes that question harder to answer. Neither version gives us a completely reliable account of what happened, and that’s what makes the story so unsettling. 

After watching the movie, I can understand why Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson have expressed support for Team Letter. The adaptation made Verity’s explanation more believable to me, even though I still have my doubts. 

For me, though, I’m leaning more towards Team Manuscript. Maybe if I hadn’t read the book, I would feel differently, but I think that Verity’s manuscript was almost too detailed, almost like a confession. If anyone ever found it, the letter could have been her way of covering her tracks. If she was genuinely afraid of Jeremy, why didn’t she take Crew when she had the opportunity? I believe she was so obsessed with Jeremy that, regardless of whether he was actually responsible for her accident, she would have stayed with him anyway. 

The story as a whole is so complex, and maybe that’s the point. It leaves the audience questioning what they thought they believed, even when they think they have everything figured out. 

So, are you Team Manuscript or Team Letter?

• anne hathaway
• Colleen Hoover
• dakota johnson
• dark romance
• film
• hcusf
• Verity