Bestselling Romance Duo Christina Lauren on Rob Lowe, ‘The Romance Revival’ and a Spicy New Collab (Exclusive)
Plus, they reveal the must-have hallmarks of a great romantic hero!
Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings—better known by their fans as Christina Lauren—are proof that the best romance writers are romance readers first. The bestselling author duo has penned dozens of bestsellers including Beautiful Bastard, The Unhoneymooners and The Soulmate Equation. They’ve remained romance champions and mainstays in the world of Romancelandia since 2013, yet they’re more optimistic now than ever about the current state of the industry.
“Between TikTok, Instagram and social media, it’s a great time to be a romance author,” Billings tells Woman’s World. “Women really are more open about what they’re reading now—they’re not hiding it on the bus or the train anymore. To me, that’s such a positive change from 2012 or 2013, when we first started, and you kind of had to search for the romance section in stores. That’s been really lovely.” Keep reading to discover what the writing BFFs have been up to lately, including their fun new partnership—just in time for Valentine’s Day. We also asked them about Rob Lowe starring in their upcoming book-to-screen adaptation, their new novella and more!
Woman’s World: So good to see you both again! Before we get into the new novella and the partnership, I just want to congratulate you both on the adaptation of In a Holidaze. I was so happy to hear that!
Lauren Billings: Oh, thank you! It’s been really cool. From the moment they optioned it to now—they began filming January 29—it’s been a great experience. There’s such a great group of people, so I’m really excited to see how it turns out. I mean, Rob Lowe! Teenage me is losing her mind. I made Christina watch About Last Night with Rob Lowe and Demi Moore when she was here last week. I was like, he’s just so beautiful.
WW: He really is. I like him in St. Elmo’s Fire. Something about the earring. So, production on the adaptation just started, right? How involved will you two be? Will you visit the set?
Lauren: We’ll probably go to set later in February when the entire cast is there. We did read the script and gave notes. It was amazing. Other than that, we’ve been hands-off, which is nice. We’ve had experiences where we wrote the script and were more involved, but this time, Tiffany Paulson, the writer-director, took it and did it beautifully. We didn’t have to do much.
WW: Let’s talk about your forthcoming book, The Romance Revival. I’m very invested in this premise. What can readers expect?
Lauren: You can definitely expect a Christina Lauren book. It has the humor, the friendships, the swoon, the heat. We’ve been in the contemporary romance space for a long time, and we like bringing in new layers. In The Soulmate Equation, we brought in a storyline about new DNA technology. For this one, we wanted to dip a toe into sci-fi—not full-on, because that isn’t our brand—but it was fun to play with this technology that our hero helped create and then see how it affects their love story.
Christina: It was a fun way to play with the amnesia trope without giving him a head injury. We were like, how can we create an amnesia situation in a new way? It was really fun to write a married couple. We hadn’t done that in this way before.
WW: You’ve been in the romance genre for a long time. How do you see the state of romance today, especially with social media?
Lauren: Romance has been having a renaissance for years, which is also why we’re excited about this partnership. When we first came into the genre, we were trying to figure out how to write consent into sex scenes in a way that felt sexy. It’s these real-life details—things women actually experience in the world and in the bedroom—that romance can capture and really write into these stories.
So our collaboration with KY has been awesome because it helps normalize talking about lube as part of a healthy, satisfying sex life. When we talk about where romance is now, we’re talking about women’s experiences and women’s bodies in a way that feels normal and natural. I’m really proud of the genre for that. It’s something we’ve embraced as a community.
Christina: At its heart, romance is about women advocating for their own pleasure and needs—emotionally and sexually, including comfort and satisfaction. So that’s where KY fits naturally.
WW: Tell us all about your new novella that’s part of this partnership!
Christina: We started with one of our favorite tropes—friends to lovers. The story is called The Homecoming. It’s novella-length. It’s about two longtime friends who reconnect at their college reunion after years apart. There’s banter and steam, but also a real conversation about sex that feels intimate and grounded. And so that’s exactly where something like K-Y Yours & Mine comes in. And it’s such a natural collaboration.
Lauren: Friends-to-lovers was the perfect trope for incorporating lube into the storyline naturally. Hugo and Sabrina were close in college, stayed in touch, and then reconnected 10 years later. He paid attention to her past experiences—which to us is truly the mark of an amazing romance hero. A guy who notices, who clocks things, who really pays attention. Then, when they get to a place where they are able to express their feelings for each other and be intimate, there’s safety there. There’s a conversation. He doesn’t want to rush things. He wants this to be a sensual experience for her. The product has warming and tingling sensations, so they talk about what feels good. Writing that on the page also lets readers imagine what they might want, too.
WW: That makes so much sense…because the trust is already there. When and where can your fans read The Homecoming?
Christina: The story will be available February 11 through March 31 on our website. We really love this story and we are super proud of this collaboration. So anyone who follows us will be able to find it—we’ll be sharing it everywhere!
WW: In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’d love to hear about some recent romances you’ve read and loved. Or new movies or shows you’re binge-watching—romance and beyond!
Lauren: The Everlasting by Alex E. Harrow was really good. The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson. And of course, Heated Rivalry was a blast and a binge and great to revisit for Valentine’s Day. Oh! My husband and I are also bingeing the first season of The Pitt. Every episode is an hour in the ER. And they also do a really good job weaving in the personal stories throughout the chaos of the ER. At first, you think to yourself, Oh my, is this just like medical jargon for 60 minutes? But it’s so beautifully written and done.
Christina: We also obviously just watched People We Meet On Vacation. We got an early screening in October—and it was so fun to watch it early. My husband was even watching it with me, and he was so invested. It was adorable. And then I just finished The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura—#3 in her Raiders of the Lost Hart series—and it was very fun, very romantic and very Indiana Jones. I loved it.
For more information, visit ChristinaLaurenBooks.com and pre-order The Romance Revival, out July 26, 2026, now.
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