Emily Bader and Tom Blyth star as best friends harboring feelings in Netflix’s romantic comedy.

*People We Meet on Vacation *ending: Do Poppy and Alex end up together?

Emily Bader and Tom Blyth star as best friends harboring feelings in Netflix's romantic comedy.

By Allison DeGrushe

Allison DeGrushe

Allison DeGrushe is a timely SEO writer at **. She has been working at * *since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Distractify.

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January 12, 2026 5:00 p.m. ET

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Emily Bader as Poppy and Tom Blyth as Alex in 'People We Meet on Vacation'. Credit:

Daniel Escale/Netflix

- *People We Meet on Vacation *premiered on Netflix on Friday, Jan. 9.

- The romantic comedy centers on best friends Poppy Wright and Alex Nilsen, who make it a tradition to go on a trip together every summer.

- The film is adapted from Emily Henry's best-selling book.

It might be the middle of winter, but Netflix's *People We Meet on Vacation *brings the warmth of endless summer fun.

Based on Emily Henry's 2021 bestseller of the same name, the romantic comedy follows college best friends Poppy Wright (Emily Bader) and Alex Nilsen (Tom Blyth) as their annual summer trips carry them through years of change, mistakes, and lots of surprises. Their evolving friendship makes viewers wonder if some connections are meant to stay the same… or turn into something more.

So, are Poppy and Alex the ultimate friends-to-lovers duo, or do they keep each other in the friend zone? Here's how the movie breaks down.

What is *People We Meet on Vacation *about?

Emily Bader as Poppy and Tom Blyth as Alex in 'People We Meet on Vacation'.

Michele K. Short/Netflix

Poppy, a travel writer living in New York, is pretty miserable with her job and routine. One day, she gets a call from her friend David (Miles Heizer), who reminds her that his destination wedding in Barcelona is happening this weekend.

On a total whim, Poppy says she'll come (even though she's supposed to be in Greece for a work trip), mostly because it gives her an excuse to see David's brother Alex, who used to be her best friend.

Nine years earlier, Poppy and Alex met after their first year at Boston College and end up carpooling back to their hometown of Linfield, Ohio. The drive is tense, especially since they clash over everything and spend most of the trip bickering over the traffic. Things get worse when they lock themselves out of the car at a gas station and end up having to share a motel room for the night.

How the 'People We Meet on Vacation' movie differs from the book: All the key changes

'People We Meet on Vacation' stars break down Poppy's big romantic gesture: 'It's so simple'

Once the fighting dies down, Poppy and Alex realize they are more alike than they thought, and that unexpected road trip turns into the start of a real friendship. From there, the two make it a tradition of taking a big trip together every summer.

Back in the present, Poppy and Alex haven't spoken in years (more on that in a bit), but she calls him anyway to test the waters about attending the wedding. When she tells him she's going, she conveniently leaves out the truth and claims her job is actually sending her to Barcelona for work.

Why did Poppy and Alex stop talking?

Tom Blyth as Alex and Emily Bader as Poppy in 'People We Meet on Vacation'.

In another flashback, Poppy and Alex's friendship starts to crack after a *very *uncomfortable couples trip in Tuscany, Italy, with their lovers: Poppy's boyfriend and coworker Trey (Lucien Laviscount), and Alex's on-and-off high school girlfriend Sarah (Sarah Catherine Hook).

The whole trip is already awkward, but things spiral further when Poppy panics that she might be pregnant. She tells Alex, and the two of them sneak off to get a test. It comes back negative, which is a huge relief for both of them.

Caught up in the moment, they hug, and Poppy suddenly leans in to kiss him. Alex stops her and asks her what he actually means to her. Embarrassed, Poppy retreats, insisting she's very confused and doesn't want to ruin their close friendship. Alex says that's "fine," but clearly, it's not.

Things get worse the following morning, when Poppy wakes up to find out that Alex and Sarah are engaged. When they talk about it, Poppy lashes out, accusing Alex of "settling" and giving up on his old dreams of getting a PhD and teaching in New York. Alex fires back that he is choosing stability and someone who actually wants to build a life with him.

Their conversation explodes into a full-blown argument. Alex tells Poppy she lives in a fantasy world before saying that this is probably their last vacation together. Poppy is absolutely crushed but says nothing in response.

What happened to Alex and Sarah?

Emily Bader as Poppy, Lucien Laviscount as Trey, Tom Blyth as Alex, and Sarah Catherine Hook as Sarah in 'People We Meet on Vacation'.

Daniel Escale/Netflix

Even though Alex and Sarah look perfect on the surface, it slowly becomes clear they are not meant to be. Their relationship is stuck in a cycle of breaking up and getting back together, and while they always manage to patch things up, it's barely enough to reach the point of getting engaged.

Back in the present, right before David's wedding, Poppy finds out that the cycle finally ended for good, and Alex and Sarah have split. After the rehearsal dinner, Alex comes clean and tells Poppy the truth: she's the reason the engagement didn't last, and why he and Sarah decided to go their separate ways.

Poppy later runs into Sarah at the airport, where she's now working as a flight attendant. Poppy initially hesitates but ends up apologizing to Sarah, admitting that her deep connection with Alex had gotten in the way of her relationship. Sarah says that she once believed Poppy disappearing from Alex's life would fix everything, but instead, those two silent years only made her and Alex's romance fall apart even more.

Do Alex and Poppy finally act on their feelings?

Emily Bader as Poppy and Tom Blyth as Alex in 'People We Meet on Vacation'.

Michele K. Short/Netflix

Now that they are both single, Alex and Poppy finally let themselves act on the feelings they've been harboring for years. After the rehearsal dinner, Alex asks why Poppy even came to the wedding, and she admits she missed him and wished things could go back to the way they were before that almost-kiss in Tuscany. Alex tells her they can't go back, and they part ways for the night.

Poppy heads up to her rental, and just as Alex walks away, he has a change of heart and follows her. He tells her he doesn't want things to go back to the way they were, and they finally lay it all out. The friends-turned-lovers share a long-awaited kiss in the rain and sleep together.

The wedding goes smoothly, but by the reception, the spark between them starts to fray. Alex brings up their future, and Poppy hesitates to reply. She tells him they can figure it out later and just enjoy their time together.

That's when Alex realizes that, no matter how much they love and care for each other, he and Poppy will never work because she still doesn’t know what she really wants, and he can't wait for her any longer.

What happens at the end of People We Meet on Vacation?

Emily Bader as Poppy in 'People We Meet on Vacation'.

Daniel Escale/Netflix

After returning to life in New York, Poppy realizes that her indecisiveness cost her the love of her life. So, she quits her job, hops on a plane, and heads to Alex’s house in Ohio, determined to tell him she wants to be with him.

When she gets there, Alex is out for a run. She sees him jog past her, but his headphones keep him from hearing her shouting his name. Despite hating running more than anything, Poppy bolts after him.

Breathless, she catches up to Alex in the middle of the road and blurts out everything: she loves him and wants to be with him, but she's been worried that he would think she was too much if he saw the real her outside of their yearly trips. But she's finally ready to take the leap because Alex is her home. They seal the deal with a passionate kiss.

Tom Blyth as Alex in 'People We Meet on Vacation'.

Daniel Escale/Netflix

"What I love about it is it's not a huge thing, like she's just running through the streets, but it's so simple," Blyth told ** of the romantic gesture. "You just heard this girl throughout the whole film say how much she hates running, and she's with this guy who's an avid runner... she could totally just wait on his porch for him to get back. But the urgency with which she feels she has to tell him that she actually does love him and wants to be with him makes her run through town after him and basically become a runner for him."

He added that the scene is "the ultimate metaphor for these little compromises in life that we have to make to be with someone."

Blyth also pointed out how it flips the friends-to-lovers story. "I love that it's the girl running after the guy, because so often it's the other way around," he said. "Like often in popular culture, it's the guy who doesn't want to settle down and who is kind of unanchored and untetherable, and the woman who wants to settle down and have kids, and that's kind of the trope. But I love that this film, hence the nuance of life, which is that, actually, it goes both ways."

The movie ends with Poppy and Alex sharing wine in their cozy NYC apartment and later lounging on a beach together (a callback to the book cover). There are even fun little Easter eggs, like the book Alex reads on the beach. It's written by Augustus "Gus" Everett, the author at the heart of Henry's 2020 novel *Beach Read*.

Where can I watch People We Meet on Vacation?

*People We Meet on Vacation *is now streaming on Netflix.

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