There’s no telling when and how on-screen chemistry could end up morphing into reality. Just look at what The Notebook did to Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. In classic enemies-to-lovers fashion, the pair went from wanting to strangle each other to falling head over heels in love.
But while their real-life romance didn’t get the chance to burgeon, Gosling still believed that the flames of their passion burned much brighter than the iconic love story between their characters on-screen.
Ryan Gosling & Rachel McAdams’ Romance Transcends The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks may have penned one of the greatest romantic tales of all time, but Ryan Gosling opined that his love story with co-star Rachel McAdams was far more idyllic than Noah and Allie’s could ever be.
In a GQ interview, Gosling, 43, made it abundantly clear that he and the Mean Girls star were nothing like the characters that they depicted in The Notebook. If anything, he believed that his relationship with McAdams was much more “romantic” than the film could ever portray.
I mean, God bless The Notebook. It introduced me to one of the great loves of my life. But people do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie. Rachel and my love story is a hell of a lot more romantic than that.
With the chokehold that the Nick Cassavetes-helmed movie had fans in, Gosling and McAdam’s love affair became incredibly publicized; people became so unhealthily emotionally invested in their romance that their breakup wreaked havoc and shook the entire fandom. Even the Barbie star himself wouldn’t have been as heartbroken as some fans were about their split.
The Notebook Director Regrets Letting the Cat Out of the Bag
A decade ago, Cassavetes – who shepherded the 2004 romance flick – divulged how his lead stars hadn’t gotten along in the least during The Notebook. So much so, that the Oscar-nominated actor demanded a replacement for McAdams. “I can’t. I can’t do it with her. I’m just not getting anything from this,” Gosling told the director (via VH1). But you know what they say, hindsight is 20/20 and all.
In a recent conversation with Entertainment Weekly following the film’s 20th anniversary, the 65-year-old filmmaker confessed that he sincerely regretted “spilling the beans” about Gosling and McAdam’s sordid relationship on set.
I regretted it. Everyone’s like, ‘Why are you telling that?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know. It caught me on a bad day,’ but if [McAdams and Gosling] are around, I apologize to you guys. I shouldn’t have spilled the beans.
However, even Cassavetes attested to the pair’s real-life fairytale romance, claiming how they went on to become a “wonderful fiery couple.” “I still think they got lots of respect and love for each other,” he revealed to EW.
The Notebook can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video or rented on Apple TV+.
