- - Emily Henry Met the “People We Meet on Vacation” Director on a Nude Beach in Barcelona (Exclusive)

Carly Tagen-DyeJanuary 10, 2026 at 12:31 AM

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Author Emily Henry and director Brett Haley had a memorable first encounter on the set of People We Meet on Vacation

In an exclusive interview, Henry explains she met the film's director for the first time on a nude beach during a Barcelona set visit

The film adaptation of Henry's bestselling novel, starring Emily Bader and Tom Blyth, premieres on Netflix on Jan. 9

People We Meet on Vacation, the upcoming Netflix movie based on author Emily Henry’s bestselling 2021 novel, is the friends-to-lovers romance sure to heat up winter. Starring Tom Blyth and Emily Bader, the film follows former friends (and travel enthusiasts) Alex and Poppy, who reunite after years apart to take one last trip together.But Henry, 34, and the film’s director, Brett Haley, had their own memorable moment abroad during a set visit, the author tells PEOPLE.Henry says she and Haley had a texting “pen-palship” for years while the director developed People We Meet on Vacation for the screen. Her set visit to Barcelona was the first time she met Haley in person.“They picked me up from the airport. They drive me straight to the beach where they're shooting,” Henry recalls. “I walk out onto the sand and the loungers are set up for Tom and Emily to come do the scene that's recreating the book cover.”

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Emily Henry at the Los Angeles premiere of 'People We Meet on Vacation' on Jan. 6

“And 15 feet on either side of that shot, there's a little roped off area. And beyond the rope is just a lot of naked men because it is a nude beach,” she continues. “I'm meeting Brett for the first time as I'm seeing the cover get recreated. And also I'm at my first ever nude beach and I was severely jet-lagged. There was a lot going on, so that was pretty memorable.”"We had to do a certain amount of light," Haley says of that day's filming process. "It was one of the most pressurized directing moments of my life, surrounded by naked people."

It was a comedic beginning for the rom-com writer and director, which feels pulled from one of Henry’s six bestsellers. In People We Meet on Vacation, Haley saw the potential to create a “classic, all-time Mount Rushmore-type rom-com” on screen.“I was drawn to this because of the strength of the story and the characters,” Haley says. “I think it's a universal story about love and loving yourself and finding the courage to love and be loved… the characters of Poppy and Alex are just so endearing.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Even so, the director says he always had Henry’s dedicated readership in mind.

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From left: Brett Haley, Emily Bader, Tom Blyth and Emily Henry at the Los Angeles 'People We Meet on Vacation' premiere on Jan. 6

“I would say that I had a healthy fear of the Emily Henry fandom because I put a lot of respect on their names and I cared deeply about what they think,” Haley says. “They were always top of mind when I was making this film.”

Seeing her characters come to life for the first time (several of Henry's other novels are in various stages of development) was another memory the Henry will never forget. The author was struck by Blyth and Bader's performances, calling them both “phenomenal talents.”

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. “When Emily Bader cries, you just want to weep. I just want to weep. There's just something about her eyes that just cut me straight to my heart,” Henry says, noting “Tom is so good at being the straight man in the funniest way.”“Tom and Emily are not much like their characters. In some ways they are, in a lot of ways they're not, but they brought a lot of themselves to it and were super brave,” Haley adds. “I can just watch them almost-kiss all day.”People We Meet on Vacation will premiere on Netflix on Jan. 9.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”