Grace Van Patten found 'Tell Me Lies' ending freeing and hilarious

Pamela Avila, USA TODAYFri, February 27, 2026 at 9:35 PM UTC

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When Grace Van Patten read the script for the final scene of "Tell Me Lies," she says she laughed.

In the dramatic and explosive Season 3 finale − which fans didn't know until hours before it premiered on Hulu that it would also mark the end of the show − we see Van Patten's Lucy Albright at a crossroads, literally and figuratively. Against her better judgment and years after her tumultuous college romance with Stephen DeMarco (portrayed by real-life boyfriend Jackson White), Lucy chooses him one more time.

After their friend's wedding, they giddily drive off into the night and end up at a gas station the morning after. When Lucy walks out of the convenience store with two cups of coffee in hand, she looks around and realizes Stephen has humiliated her once more, leaving her stranded in the middle of nowhere.

First, Lucy feels confusion and shock. Then relief seemingly washes over her, and she laughs.

"I thought it was really important to laugh as Lucy at the end because I didn't want it to be sad for Lucy," Van Patten, 29, tells USA TODAY. "I wanted it for her to have some sort of relief and for the audience to have some sort of relief − and still be shocked."

"Tell Me Lies," based on Carola Lovering's 2018 novel of the same name and created for television by Meaghan Oppenheimer, captured a passionate fan base of readers of the book and series-only viewers alike through its portrayal of unhealthy and toxic relationships, both romantic and platonic.

From the trauma bonding that's at the core of many of the relationships on the show, Lucy and Stephen's manipulative, turbulent on-and-off-again relationship, and other onscreen hookups and situationships, "Tell Me Lies" serves as a dramatized yet honest portrayal of how these relationships occur during early adulthood.

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"It's really relatable, or at least when I have interactions with fans, they seem to be so drawn to these dynamics because they've either experienced it themselves or they know someone who's experienced it and had to coach someone through a relationship like that," she says. "So I think it's unfortunately nostalgic for a lot of people, and really fun as well."

"It's really dramatic and juicy, and I think people just … it's like candy," Van Patten adds.

1 / 0'Tell Me Lies' cast: Grace Van Patten, Jackson White, more hit Season 3 premiere

Hulu's "Tell Me Lies" is back with Season 3, and believe it or not, the drama series is more deranged and twisted than ever. Hulu premiered three episodes on Tuesday, Jan. 13, and so far, we're seeing an unraveling of the web of lies between Lucy (played by Grace Van Patten) and her friend group. Fans can expect major reveals, the start of new friendships, the fizzling out of other relationships, a new romantic pairing, a surprise pregnancy, and so much more drama. To celebrate the new season, the cast of "Tell Me Lies," including stars Grace Van Patten and Jackson White, hit New York City for a screening hosted at The Corner Store on Jan. 12, 2026.

Grace Van Patten doesn't think Lucy is over Stephen

Ahead of the final episode, titled "Are You Happy Now, That I'm on My Knees?" Van Patten said she was "curious to see what people want after seeing the finale."

For starters, many fans − still in denial over the show ending − want a Season 4. Some fans found it "rushed" and wanted more context for other storylines they felt weren't wrapped up. Others wished the show's writers "gave Lucy a better ending." But there were fans who "lowkey loved" the ending because Lucy "is finally free and none of them will ever bother her again."

"Three seasons of this show and we're all still so shocked by what Stephen does, and I loved the combination of being shocked, but also accepting the whole dynamic finally and potentially being free of it," Van Patten says of that final moment.

As divisive as the season finale was, fans can agree on one thing, though, and only hope Lucy stays away from Stephen for good. But even Van Patten, who knows her character best, is doubtful.

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"Hopefully she's cured," she quips. "Hopefully she never thinks about him again, but I doubt that."

Why Grace Van Patten approaches Lucy with empathy

Still, Van Patten approaches her complicated, and at times, frustrating and unlikeable character, Lucy, with empathy and understanding. Throughout Season 3, Van Patten says, "I realized how much she may not like herself, which was a very sad realization … she's actually really vulnerable and thinks she might be getting what she deserves."

This season saw Lucy become a shell of herself after constant gaslighting and manipulation from Stephen, deep humiliation after her confession tape was released, lies she was keeping from her best friends, rejection from those around her, and complete loneliness.

"I try to approach her with as much empathy as I can have for her and try to understand her as best as possible," Van Patten says.

Grace Van Patten plays Lucy Albright in the hit Hulu show "Tell Me Lies," which ran for three seasons with its finale airning February 2026.

It's also important for her as an actress that she not glamorize or romanticize the abusive relationship she's in with Stephen, or the other types of toxic relationships that are reflected on the show. "That's all in the writing," she says.

"Tell Me Lies" shows "how badly this type of relationship can affect these young people or anyone, and that they're not OK while they're in this," Van Patten says. "And as fun as the show is, and as dramatic as the show is, (it shows) that it doesn't have a positive effect on the characters, and they do face consequences."

Offline, when fans aren't posting reaction videos after each episode or takes on TikTok about how triggering watching Stephen onscreen can be, Van Patten says people share their real-life accounts of getting out of a toxic relationship with her.

"Interacting with people who love it is really special, especially when girls have come up to me and said that this show inspired them to get out of a toxic situation," Van Patten says. "And that means the world to me."

Grace Van Patten on working with boyfriend Jackson White on 'Tell Me Lies'

Van Patten, who shares quite the steamy sex scenes with partner, actor Jackson White, on "Tell Me Lies," opened up about intimacy coordinators and how she handles those moments on set.

Jackson White and Grace Van Patten play onscreen lovers on Hulu's "Tell Me Lies" but also date in real-life.

"Well, number one is usually who you're working with," she says. "And thankfully we're all close, and I get to do with this my real-life boyfriend, which is automatically just a safe space and comfortable place."

Van Patten and White first met during the audition process for the Hulu series while doing a chemistry read to book the actor as Stephen. As soon as the show premiered in September 2022, fans speculated that sparks were flying between the two, but after a few public appearances, the couple went public with their romance in November of that year.

While the two play polar opposite versions of themselves on "Tell Me Lies" − at times in the presence of White's mother, Katey Segal, who plays his mom on the show − keeping Lucy and Stephen separate from Grace and Jackson is "easy," Van Patten says.

"The show is so crazy, I don't know anyone like that in real life, and it's definitely not us," Van Patten says. "And more than anything, it's just so fun to work with him and work with all of our friends." And after three seasons, she adds, "It's a lot easier to just kind of go in and out of the characters and not live with it."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Grace Van Patten on Jackson White relationship, filming 'Tell Me Lies'

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