The Notebook‘s Nick Cassavetes apologizes for previous comments he made about Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Cassavetes is the director of the modern classic romance film The Notebook, which was based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. The film starred Gosling and McAdams in the lead roles, with supporting performances from Gena Rowlands, James Garner, Starletta DuPois, and Ed Grady. It remains one of the most-rewatched romance films of its time.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Cassavetes reveals his thoughts on his previous comments about Gosling and McAdams. The director noted that the previous time that he was interviewed for The Notebook, he spilled the beans on some on-set tension between McAdams and Gosling. Afterward, he “regretted it” saying he had been “caught [] on a bad day.” He said thta he wishes to “apologize to” McAdams and Gosling for revealing this drama. Check out the full quote from Cassavetes below:

The last time I did an interview on this thing, I spilled the beans on that. I regretted it. Everyone’s like, why are you telling that? I’m like, I don’t know. It caught me on a bad day, but if [McAdams and Gosling] are around, I apologize to you guys. I shouldn’t have spilled the beans.

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams’ The Notebook Set Drama Explained

Cassavetes’ apology comes a decade after his original commentary on the actors. In a 2014 interview with VH1, Cassavetes described one day that Gosling and McAdams were “really not getting along” while filming The Notebook. The director even went into specifics, saying that Gosling approached him and said “Would you take her out of here and bring in another actress to read off-camera with me?” because he was not able to do the scene with McAdams. Cassavetes even elaborated by saying that the actors “started screaming a yelling at each other.”

Cassavetes also implied back then that this unfortunate day on The Notebook set was not just a small blip in the production process. Rather, “the rest of the film was’t smooth sailing,” but merely “smoother sailing” than it had been on the fateful day he described. Even back in 2014, he was unearthing set drama from a decade back, unprovoked. Given there had not been much publicity about The Notebook stars’ on-set relationship, many people questioned why Cassavetes would bother to bring that up, as he notes in his quote.

Hearing the negative on-set behavior may have sullied some viewers’ experience of watching The Notebook, as the chemistry between Noah and Allie is critical in the film. Furthermore, both actors had gone on to have vibrant careers after the romance film, so Cassavetes speaking out did not look great for them. Though both McAdam’s and Gosling’s careers have continued to flourish even after Cassavetes unveiled The Notebook drama, it is good to see the director come around to apologize for his unnecessary reveal.

Source: EW