Is “The Notebook” Based on a True Story? All About the Real Couple Who Inspired Noah and Allie's Epic Romance

In honor of the 20th anniversary of 'The Notebook,' starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, here's a look at author Nicholas Sparks' inspiration for his hit novel

The Notebook is widely considered one of the greatest love stories ever told — and it’s based on a real-life couple.

The best-selling 1996 novel by Nicholas Sparks, which was adapted for the screen in 2004 and Broadway in 2024, follows the lives of Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) as they fall in love, separate and find their way back to each other. Now in their golden years, Allie’s memories are slowly being ripped away from her by Alzheimer’s disease — but Noah is determined to save them, reading the story of their lives to his wife from a notebook each day to help her remember.

According to Sparks, who penned the novel in a six-month span, the book was inspired by his ex-wife Cathy Sparks’ grandparents, who embarked upon a passionate summer romance, only to be separated by her grandmother’s strict parents.

While Cathy’s grandmother moved on, becoming engaged to another man, she never forgot her summer romance and eventually returned to her one true love. “Cathy’s grandparents, they were this great couple and in many ways, their story [is The Notebook],” Nicholas told The Wall Street Journal in 2016.

Their heartwarming tale landed on The New York Times bestsellers list for more than a year and sold more than 105 million copies worldwide as of 2019, per USA Today. When the movie was released in 2004, success followed suit, grossing more than $117 million worldwide.

Sparks spoke to the novel’s universal appeal in an interview with CBS News' Sunday Morning in 2024. “It is a love story, it is a story of young love, it’s a story of reunited love, it’s a story of everlasting love,” he said, adding, “it’s also a story of memory.”

Read on to find out the true story of The Notebook and meet the real-life Noah and Allie.

Who are Noah Calhoun and Allie Hamilton in The Notebook?

Noah Calhoun and Allie Hamilton are the main characters of The Notebook. Played by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in the 2004 film, the characters were inspired by Cathy Sparks' grandparents.

Author Sparks has never revealed his ex-grandfather-in-law’s name to his fans, though a photo of him with his wife was shown on CBS News in 2024. While little is also known about Cathy's grandmother, including her real name and profession, she was extremely close to her granddaughter. According to Sparks, Cathy often spent weekends with both of her grandparents as a teenager and frequently visited them during college.

How did Cathy’s grandparents meet?

Per the Herald-Tribune, Sparks told a crowd in Bradenton, Fla., that his former spouse’s grandparents met as teenagers and embarked upon a summer romance.

“As I’m trying to figure out what story to write, I got this one story but I didn’t know if anyone was going to like it,” Sparks told the audience in 2021. “I thought it was kind of sweet and it was a story that I thought I could write ... that story eventually became The Notebook.”

As in the novel and film, Cathy’s great-grandparents separated their daughter from her newfound love at the end of the season. Just like the character of Noah, however, Cathy’s grandfather didn’t give up, continuing to write her grandmother letters of affection every day.

Is Lon Hammond real?

While the real-life Lon is unknown in name and profession, Cathy’s grandmother was indeed engaged to another man for a time before reuniting with Cathy's grandfather.

“They were separated for years and she [got] engaged and she [came] back and they [fell] in love,” Sparks told The Wall Street Journal of his muse.

It is unknown what happened to her former fiancé, but James Marsden, who played the character Lon in the film, told Screen Rant in 2022 that he would be open to exploring Lon’s fictional fate. “I feel like he's doing well. I feel like he's got a good head on his shoulders. I think he's doing well,” he said, adding, “We'll have to see, a Lon spin-off.”

Did Cathy’s grandfather really have a notebook that helped her grandmother remember their lives together?

Sparks told The Wall Street Journal that Noah’s devotion to reading Allie the story of their lives to help bring back her memory was also inspired by his ex-grandfather-in-law.

As the author explained, Cathy’s grandfather had his own methods for helping her grandmother, who was diagnosed with dementia, remember their love. “Toward the end of her life, she [got] dementia ... and he’s with her, and showing her ... drawings and photographs,” he said. “He didn’t have a notebook, but it was an album that he would walk her through and tell her about their lives together.”

His dedication touched Sparks so much that he put the story to paper. “I just thought there was something really beautiful about that entire concept and so I tried to do it in The Notebook.”

How long were Cathy’s grandparents together?

The exact length of time that Cathy’s grandparents were together is unknown, but they had been together for more than 60 years.

As the novelist wrote on his website, their relationship was seemingly as strong after six decades as ever.  “What I most remember ... is the way they were treating each other,” he wrote of the couple following a particularly sweet visit. “The way his eyes shined when he looked at her, the way he held her hand, the way he got her tea and took care of her. I remember watching them together and thinking to myself that after sixty years of marriage, these two people were treating each other exactly the same as my wife and I were treating each other after twelve hours [of marriage].”

What happened to Cathy’s grandparents?

Sparks revealed on Sunday Morning that Cathy’s grandparents struggled with their well-being in their twilight years. “They [lived] long and happy and then in their final years, age [began] to take its toll,” he said.

In addition to the dementia Cathy’s grandmother was afflicted with, the writer noted on his website that she and her husband were under doctor’s orders not to attend their Cathy and Sparks' 1989 nuptials due to “ill health.”

With a little ingenuity, however, they were still able to enjoy the couple’s celebration. According to Sparks, he and Cathy dressed up in their wedding ensembles the morning after exchanging their vows and traveled to see the older couple with flowers, a video from the event and a piece of wedding cake in tow. “They had no idea we’d be coming and were excited to see us,” he wrote. “My grandfather-in-law slipped into his jacket and put on the boutonniere and we took photographs with them.”

According to the author, their day together planted the first seeds of his now-iconic novel. He wrote: “It was then they told us the story of how they met and fell in love, parts of which eventually made their way into The Notebook.”

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