Is ‘Tell Me Lies’ Based on a True Story? Inside the Real-Life Inspiration Behind the Show

The drama in Tell Me Lies can sometimes feel too extreme to believe — but as it turns out, some of the characters are rooted in real-life experiences.

Based on Carola Lovering’s 2018 best-selling novel of the same name, the Hulu series stars real-life couple Grace Van Patten and Jackson White as Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco, who meet in college and begin a tumultuous and toxic relationship over the course of several years. Their drama gets so intense that even White has described his character to PEOPLE as a “f—ing super villain.”

In an April 2019 essay for The Cut, Lovering revealed that DeMarco, whom she described as a “manipulative narcissist,” is based on a former relationship. The author admitted that she spent time rehearsing an answer to tell people DeMarco was fictional, but felt ready to share the truth behind the character.

“I’m tired of pretending I don’t know the specific pain that comes from giving your heart to someone who was never really yours, someone who never actually asked for it in the first place,” she wrote. “It’s a pain that cuts deep, resurfacing in intense feelings of shame and worthlessness, and I’m done acting like it’s something I’m not intimately familiar with.”

She added, “I’m done pretending that I don’t have a Stephen DeMarco of my own.”

So, is Tell Me Lies based on a true story? Here’s everything to know about the real-life inspiration behind the Hulu series.

Is Tell Me Lies based on a true story?

Tell Me Lies is not exactly based on a true story, but it is inspired by the author’s real-life former relationship.

“I was inspired to write Tell Me Lies in the wake of a toxic relationship I experienced in college,” she told blogger Morgan Marie in March 2021. “I had friends who’d also been in similar toxic situations with men, and I sensed it was something many women had been through but that wasn’t prevalently talked about.”

Lovering went on to say she felt a “powerful pull” to tell a fictional story that resembled the dynamic of her own experience, emphasizing that she wanted the book “to be relatable for anyone who’d endured a similar blend of pain and stress and shame.”

In a December 2022 interview with The Colorado College’s The Catalyst, Lovering explained that while it’s “personal” to her, the show’s plot points are not all drawn directly from her life.

“I’m always honest with anyone who asks that the dynamic between Lucy and Stephen is definitely something I’ve experienced, something that’s personal to me,” she said. “Not that what happens in the book is real, but that it’s based on personal inspiration. I also try to be honest with the fact that there’s so much in this book that’s not from my personal life.”

Is Stephen DeMarco based on a real person?

In her essay for The Cut, she clarified that while Lucy’s toxic relationship is inspired by a real-life one of her own, Stephen isn’t an exact reflection of the boy she once dated.

“I’ve been so hesitant — and scared — to talk about the ‘real’ Stephen, because while there is certainly a person who inspired his character, that person isn’t actually the character,” she wrote. “And that is a distinction I need to keep intact.”

Lovering has never publicly revealed the name of her “Stephen,” though she shared some insight into their relationship in her essay. Their story began with “his hungry stare at a party in college,” she wrote, outlining how it morphed into an “unabashed, almost manic pursuit” of her.

“His approach was different than that of any guy I’d ever met, and my reaction surprised me: I became obsessed with the feeling of being wanted, and it persisted, even when I learned, through the grapevine, that I wasn’t the only girl,” she wrote. “I decided that his perseverance was romantic, that his commitment to our chemistry, year after year, had meaning.”

Lovering went on to describe the on-again, off-again cycle, comparing him to “blood from a cut that refused to heal.”

“He kept reminding me that he was there, that he still wanted me, that he could change, that our future held limitless possibilities,” she wrote. “He itched, I scratched, blood pooled, and the cycle began again.”

What happened between Lovering and “Stephen”?

Lovering’s toxic relationship continued for years, with the author describing her “Stephen saga” to The Cut as a “vicious cycle” — one that eventually came to an end on his terms.

“It didn’t end with some pivotal realization on my behalf. It ended because he decided it should,” she wrote. “And even though I was devastated, even though I felt as though I were free-falling in a vacuum of doom, there was a tiny, forgotten piece of myself that suspected his letting me go was a gift.”

While speaking to Marie for her blog, Lovering said that writing the novel helped her overcome the “shame” she felt about her toxic relationship.

“I used to feel a ton of shame around the toxic relationship that I experienced, but through the process of sharing my story and hearing similar stories from readers, this shame has turned to acceptance, and even gratitude for getting me to where I am today,” she said.

Lovering is now married with three children: sons James and Clark, and daughter Lila.

Where can I watch Tell Me Lies?

Tell Me Lies is available to stream on Hulu, though season 3 is still being released weekly.