Spoilers for People We Meet On Vacation are ahead! If you haven’t seen the movie, you can stream it with a Netflix subscription.
As someone who read People We Meet On Vacation right when it came out, my anticipation for its book-to-screen adaptation was very high. Now, it’s finally arrived on Netflix’s 2026 schedule, and it’s wonderful. However, it’s also quite different. Specifically, there’s one thing about the book I love that couldn’t be replicated in the movie. So, when I had the chance to interview the actors who play Poppy and Alex, I had ot ask about it.
This element stems from the fact that Emily Henry’s book is told in first person from Poppy’s perspective. So, as we go through her years of friendship with Alex, we get to read her thoughts as she admits to herself that her feelings for him are evolving from platonic to romantic. Well, we’re not in Poppy’s head in this movie, so we don’t get to know when she thinks she fell in love with Alex. With all that in mind, I asked Emily Bader and Tom Blyth, who play Poppy and Alex, when they thought their characters fell for each other. In response, the actress told CinemaBlend:
I always felt for Poppy it was New Orleans.
In both the People We Meet On Vacation movie and book, New Orleans is one of the key trips Poppy and Alex go on together. In the film, specifically, they spend their days walking around the city, and one night, they get very drunk and dance together. On the walk home, Alex carries Poppy back to their hotel after she twists her ankle. It's quite romantic and very loving. But when they get back, her boyfriend is waiting, extinguishing any romantic feelings that might have been had.
According to Bader, if that boyfriend hadn’t shown up, more might have happened between her and Blyth’s character:
If [Poppy’s boyfriend] hadn't shown up on the doorstep of their hotel at that moment, I do think there's a world where that night could have gone differently. I think that she sees him for the first time.
During the interview, Tom Blyth asked his co-star if she really thought “they would have hooked up.” In response, the My Lady Jane actress said that while she didn’t know, she did know that this was the first time Poppy started seeing Alex in a more romantic way, explaining:
I don't know. [The director Brett Haley] always said, like, ‘You don't know.’ I mean, I don't know if it actually would have gone anywhere, but I do think that's the first time where she starts getting those feelings, you know, those like, ‘Oh no, I'm looking at you differently now. And this is scary.’
That kind of thought is on full display throughout Emily Henry’s book. For example, on their trip to Nashville in the novel, Poppy thinks about how that was “the first moment” she wanted “to kiss Alex Nilsen.” Then, on their trip to New Orleans, Poppy thinks, “I love you more now than I ever have. How is it possible that this keeps happening with him?” So, it’s fun to hear the actors pinpoint those nonverbal moments in the movie.
Speaking of the actors, Tom Blyth agreed that New Orleans is probably when Alex fell for Poppy in a romantic way, too. However, he thinks it happened for him earlier in the trip, explaining:
I agree, but I do think it's peppered in a bit before. I mean, I think the first moment is where Alex – there's that moment at the end of the dance, where they pull apart, and she kind of pulls away, and it's left, like on his eyes, and he's kind of, you see him kind of realizing, ‘Oh, I got some, I got some fanny flutters going on,’ you know?
However, that wasn’t the only moment The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes actor pointed out. According to Blyth, Alex has another instance where he battles his romantic feelings for Poppy, and it takes place on their first big trip. He explained:
He's feeling some feelings, and then he's not sure she feels the same way. So yeah, New Orleans. But also, before that, the end of the Squamish trip, when they're in the tent, I think he has a brief moment of feeling a bit of love. But then he kind of pockets it away and makes it about friendship. So yeah, but it's all a slow burn.
The slow burn of it all is one of the reasons why this film was one of my most anticipated romances of 2026. And it’s executed so well. While we don’t get to know Poppy’s thoughts as we do in the book, you can see them falling for each other on their trips thanks to Bader and Blyth's wonderful performances.
However, I do adore that they confirmed the moments where their characters realized they were in love, because it makes rewatching People We Meet On Vacation even sweeter.
