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Culture > Entertainment

Tom Bateman Revealed How He Feels About ‘The Love Hypothesis’ Being Fanfic Of His Wife

The film adaptation of Ali Hazelwood’s hit novel The Love Hypothesis starring Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman has finally hit the small screen on Prime Video. Centered on Ph.D. candidate Olive Smith (Reinhart), the movie follows her relationship with young professor Dr. Adam Carlsen (Bateman). It’s a classic fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers romance with a scientific twist. It’s the first book that Hazelwood published, but it wasn’t her first time writing. In fact, The Love Hypothesis is another product of the fanfiction-to-book-to-film pipeline. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the lore on The Love Hypothesis, let me catch you up. What began as a Star Wars fanfic about the relationship between characters Kylo Ren and Rey eventually evolved into Ali Hazelwood’s debut novel. It was initially released in 2018 and titled Head Over Feet. Three years later, the general public got The Love Hypothesis. While the book is no longer about Star Wars, Hazelwood still included a nod towards her narrative’s origins by naming the love interest after Adam Driver, who played Kylo Ren in the recent trilogy. But the funniest part of it all: Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, also happens to be Tom Bateman’s wife IRL. So naturally, he’s got a few thoughts on things.

Alongside his co-star, Bateman took the Vanity Fair lie detector test on Sept. 23. Reinhart hit him with some silly questions at the start, like if he’d received two salaries for playing two characters (Jekyll and Hyde), and to measure his performance against those of Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap and MBJ in Sinners. About halfway through his test, the questions became about Daisy Ridley and the experience of acting in The Love Hypothesis knowing that the story came to be because of Rey. 

When Reinhart asked if he wished that he could play a character so iconic they warrant their own spinoff, Bateman responded with a resounding yes. Bateman said, “To have that impact on people and to then have a spinoff and things being inspired by it, that’s a kind of dream, right?” Right before, he gushed about the impact Ridley’s performance had on so many people around the world, his nieces included, saying: “I remember when they first met [Ridley], they were going, ‘Oh my God!’”

The parallels between Bateman and Ridley’s relationship start and end with their shared connection to The Love Hypothesis. Unlike Olive and Adam, their meet-cute didn’t take place in a bathroom. He also finds “Reylo” to be a much better ship name than “Olivesen.” Overall, the biggest takeaway from Bateman’s answers is that he’s really, really happy to be Daisy Ridley’s husband. 

Check out the new film adaptation of The Love Hypothesis on Prime Video now.

Leila Williams

U Mich '26

Leila Williams is a member of the Her Campus National Writers program and contributes to the publication's Culture and Style section.

Leila is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan. She received a B.A. in Communication and Media, and minored in Japanese language. Outside of academics and Her Campus, Leila is a member of the Michigan Music Business Club, a pre-professional organization determined to create the future leaders of the music industry. She spent a year on the club's newsletter team where she wrote monthly pieces spotlighting the careers of various music artists such as Tyla, Doechii, and Chappell Roan.

Whenever she has the opportunity, Leila is getting on a flight and traveling to a different part of the country or the world. She is a major foodie and a matcha enthusiast. Leila is a lover of music and enjoys going to concerts to see her favorite artists. In her spare time, she is often playing video games or catching up on her favorite TV shows. Given the chance, Leila will happily ramble about the latest happenings in Formula One to anyone who will listen.