Nicholas Sparks Speaks out on Netflix’s ‘Notebook’ Alternate Ending

Nicholas Sparks is addressing the controversial alternate ending to The Notebook on Netflix.

The famed romance novelist, who penned the story on which the beloved 2004 tearjerker is based, broke his silence during an appearance on the TODAY Show on Wednesday, just after social media flooded with angry comments upon the realization that Netflix U.K. had changed the ending.

“I didn’t know it was coming, so I find out about this just like everyone else does and think hmm… why?” he said. “For me it’s an opinion thing, hey it’s a different ending, you’re definitely going to have an opinion one way or the other. I like the original film.”

Warning: this story contains spoilers.

For those unfamiliar with the film or the controversy, the 2004 classic, which follows the life-long love story of a young couple in North Carolina, ended with a scene that has prompted millions of tears to fall. In the grips of dementia, Allie has a moment of clarity and recalls her love story with Noah as she lays in a hospital bed.

“Do you think our love could take us away together?” she asks Noah.

“I think our love can do anything we want it to do,” he replies.

The following morning, a nurse enters the room to find that the elderly couple had passed away in one another’s arms as they slept.

In the Netflix U.K. version, however, Noah and Allie do not peacefully die in each other’s arms. Instead, the film ends on a more ambiguous note with a clip of birds flying over a lake before the closing credits roll.

The alternate ending sparked a wave of backlash on social media from Netflix subscribers who were preparing for the more emotional ending, with fans calling for the streaming giant to give them back “our gut wrenching tears!!!!!!!”

The changed scene garnered so much heat that it eventually forced Netflix UK to address the controversy.

“Things you should know…” Netflix U.K. tweeted on Wednesday. “We did not edit ‘The Notebook.’ An alternate version exists and was supplied to us. We are getting to the bottom of it [as soon as possible]. Apparently some films have more than one ending?!”

“One more thing you should know: we’ve uploaded the correct (is it correct? who knows at this point) version so the familiar ending is restored,” they added in a second tweet.

The Notebook, which is headed to the stage in a Broadway musical, is set to makes its debut on Netflix U.S. on Friday, March 1, though it is not known if subscribers on this side of the pond will be treated to the familiar and beloved ending or the controversial alternate ending.