You know those rom-coms you find yourself bingeing every February? Turns out, some of them didn’t start in Hollywood—they originated on Wattpad. Yep, the same app you scroll before bed is responsible for some srsly iconic love stories. Ahead, the rom-coms you had no idea were originally Wattpad novels (ya know, in case you needed some inspo to finally post that fake-dating story that’s been sitting in your Google Docs for the past year)…
The Kissing Booth
Wait…that movie with Elle falling for bad boy Noah? Yes, that one!
Little did 15-year-old Beth Reekles know that posting The Kissing Booth on Wattpad would completely change her life! Tired of the vampire and werewolf plots, she got inspired to write a romance novel about a regular teen girl (hiii, Elle Evans!). For each chapter Beth posted, she interacted with the readers by going through author notes—shaping the story as she went and building a loyal fanbase along the way.
The result? A three-book deal with Penguin Random House and the movie adaptation on Netflix we all know and love!
Sidelined: The Quarterback and Me
What began as a passion project for Tay Marley turned into 30 million reads when she published Sidelined: The Quarterback and Me on Wattpad in 2017. She combined her passion for American football with swoony romance, creating Drayton and Dallas’ iconic love story. The novel even got a second movie release—Sidelined 2: Intercepted—which recently dropped on Tubi!
My Life With The Walter Boys
Before it became your Netflix binge, 15-year-old Ali Novak wrote My Life With The Walter Boys on Wattpad—simply sharing stories online for fun! She published it back in 2014, and it has since become a hit Netflix series. Ali came up with the story’s big family dynamic because growing up, many of her cousins felt like siblings. That experience helped bring the Walter family we know and love to life!
Kissing Is The Easy Part
Being a huge fangirl of rom-coms herself, author of Kissing Is The Easy Part Christine Duann felt inspired to write one of her own—and share it with the internet on Wattpad. Having just dropped in time for V-Day, we’ll be grabbing our popcorn and streaming it this weekend!
Follow @girlslifemag for more rom-com vibes! 💖
Looking for more romantic energy? You’ll definitely like these reads:
💗 5 Reads With Peak Valentine’s Day Energy
💗 What We Can Learn From These 6 Romance Novels
💗 Everything We Learned About Love From Our Favorite Rom-Coms
Image credits: @wattpad, @macmoviereviews, @chroniclesofmariana, @tubi
