Is Tell Me Lies based on a true story? Real life Stephen explained

Tell Me Lies Season 3 is one of the most talked about shows on TV right now, and while it’s based on a fictional novel, the series has its roots in reality.

The first three episodes of Tell Me Lies dropped on Hulu this week, continuing to chart the complicated romance between Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White).

Their toxic connection began in college, and developed into a turbulent on-off again relationship where intense attraction slowly morphed into manipulation and misery.

A twisted coming-of-age tale, Tell Me Lies tackles themes of identity, obsession, narcissism, and early adulthood, and according to the author of the book from which its adapted, there’s a real Stephen out there.

Is Tell Me Lies based on a true story?

Yes, True Lies is loosely based on a true story. The show is adapted from Carola Lovering’s bestselling 2018 novel of the same name, which is a work of fiction. But Lovering based the story on her own experiences in a previous relationship.

Lovering dodged questions about the “true” aspects of the book around the time of its publication, and was advised to “avoid sharing on the subject.”

But in 2019, she spilled the beans via an essay for The Cut, revealing that “writing about my unhealthy relationship had been cathartic.”

Lovering then makes a key distinction: “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 the actual character.”

Carola Lovering’s real life Stephen explained

Here’s how Lovering describes her relationship with the “real” Stephen: “When I was 23 and still living with my parents in Westchester, I took the train into New York to have dinner with him… We snagged a table in the back, and simply being near him left me content and electrified. He was living with his girlfriend at the time – a fact I was well aware of, a fact that I had, in one way or another, accepted.”

She elaborates on the intensity of their connection, explaining: “Behind the way he looked at me and spoke to me there was a magnet, an inexplicable compulsion, as vital as oxygen. Being there with him, I was only obeying the urge to breathe.”

Like in the book and on the show, Carola met her Stephen years earlier, at college, and became enamoured by his “manic pursuit of me,” deciding that his perseverance was “romantic.”

In spite of the fact that “there were other girls, yes. There was prevalent dishonesty. There was drama,” Carola continued to see him, with the relationship turning into a “vicious cycle.”

How did the relationship end?

The relationship ended when the man in question broke up with Lovering.

What followed was a period of introspection, which led to Carola writing Tell Me Lies, where she “had to create a ficticious person on paper to finally understand him.”

Lovering explained: “He revealed himself to me as Stephen, the fickle, alluring charmer with a spine-melting touch, who always says the right thing, even if it’s a lie.”

She ended by stating: “In full transparency, I did have a Stephen, and he was horrible. But it’s okay. It got me here.”