The Love Hypothesis originated as Star Wars fan fiction

The bestselling romance novel ‘The Love Hypothesis’ by Ali Hazelwood originated as a ‘Star Wars’ fan fiction work. Published online in 2018 under the pseudonym Ever_So_Reylo, the story was titled ‘Head Over Feet’ and centered on the ‘Reylo’ pairing of characters Rey and Kylo Ren.

Originally set in a contemporary academic alternate universe, the fan fiction gained significant popularity on Archive of Our Own. When Hazelwood transitioned the story into a traditionally published novel in 2021, she renamed the protagonists Olive Smith and Adam Carlsen and removed all explicit ‘Star Wars’ references to avoid copyright issues. The novel has since sold over 750,000 copies and is being adapted into an Amazon Prime Video film starring Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman, scheduled for release in September 2026.