Don't ask Colleen Hoover to name the most popular novel of her career.

The best-selling author, 45, admitted in a revealing new Elle profile that she's embarrassed to say she wrote her wildly popular book "It Ends with Us" due to the controversy surrounding its movie adaptation starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

"I can't even recommend it anymore," Hoover said. "I feel like [the lawsuit] has overshadowed it. I'm almost embarrassed to say I wrote it. When people ask what I do, I'm just like, 'I'm a writer. Please don't ask me what I wrote.'"

Lively starred in the 2024 movie version of "It Ends with Us" as a woman, Lily, who begins a romantic relationship with a man named Ryle, played by Baldoni. The film and book explore themes of domestic abuse, though in both cases, the handling of the subject matter was controversial. Critics have accused Hoover of glamorizing abuse with her novel, which was originally published in 2016.

But the movie adaptation sparked controversy of its own after Lively accused Baldoni of inappropriate sexual conduct during its production. The two stars have been engaged in an ongoing legal saga that has been playing out in court for the past year, with Lively suing for sexual harassment and Baldoni alleging defamation. The dispute is headed to a trial in March.

Speaking to Elle, Hoover shared that she is still "proud" of her novel "It Ends with Us," but now "less publicly so," and she hopes she may feel differently about her work when Lively and Baldoni's trial is over.

She also described the legal "circus" surrounding the film as "unfortunate" and "disappointing," noting she feels especially badly for her mom, whose experience of being in an abusive relationship with Hoover's father was the inspiration for "It Ends with Us."

"The book was inspired by her story, and now it gives us PTSD to think about it," Hoover said. "I feel awful because I almost feel like she's gone through more with the aftermath of this film, more pain than she went through with my dad, just seeing the ugliness of it."

Despite all the drama surrounding the film, "It Ends with Us" was a hit at the box office, and more movie adaptations of Hoover's novels are on the way. A film version of Hoover's "Regretting You" hit theaters in October, and her novels "Verity" and "Reminders of Him" are also being adapted for the big screen.

In September, Hoover announced a new book with a meta plot seemingly inspired by the author's own life. In "Woman Down," which will be published in January, Hoover tells the story of author who faces viral backlash over a movie adaptation of her book.

Contributing: Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colleen Hoover 'embarrassed to say' she wrote 'It Ends with Us' amid legal drama

Reporting by Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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