The Vow tells the story of newlyweds who get into a car accident, resulting in the wife experiencing complete memory loss of her husband, and the movie was sadly inspired by a real couple. The 2012 romance drama film, directed by Michael Sucsy and written by Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein, and Jason Katims, stars Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams as the aforementioned couple — Leo and Paige Collins. The writers changed the names of the real people whose story the movie was based on, but they still pulled many elements from their lives to craft the script.

The film begins with Leo and Paige driving home after a date night, and when they are at a stop sign, Paige unbuckles her seat belt to kiss her husband. Unfortunately, a truck rear-ended them at that exact moment, causing Paige to go through the windshield. The couple is rushed to the hospital, and when Paige wakes up from a medically-induced coma, she has lost all her memories of the past few years, including meeting and falling in love with Leo.The Vow chronicles their journey to finding their way back to one another and all the obstacles in between.

The Vow Was Inspired By Kim & Krickitt Carpenter

The producers of The Vow based their movie on the true story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter. According to The List, the couple had a unique meeting. In 1992, Kim was flipping through a sportswear catalog when he noticed a name in an advertisement that intrigued him. He called the number, and Krickitt answered. Kim inquired about buying coaching jackets, but he also asked her if her name was actually Krickett. She said yes, and the two instantly hit it off over the phone. They lived across the country from one another, but that didn’t stop their relationship from progressing.

Soon after they first started talking, Kim and Krickett met in person. He met her family, and after only knowing Krickett for a short period, Kim asked her family if he could marry her. They agreed, so Kim traveled to California and proposed to Krickett. She said yes, and the couple married on September 18, 1993, a year after they met. The newlyweds went on their honeymoon, and when they returned, they finally moved in together and began enjoying their life as husband and wife. Unfortunately, Kim and Krickett’s bliss was only temporary and would soon come to an end.

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The Carpenter’s Real-Life Accident & Krickitt’s Brain Injury Explained

Ten weeks following their wedding, Kim and Krickett were involved in a horrific car crash. Like in The Vow, the couple was rushed to the hospital, and while they were both in critical condition and almost died, Krickett had severe brain damage. Krickett was in a coma after three weeks, and when she woke up, she had amnesia. She couldn’t remember Kim and had no memories of their relationship or marriage. Krickett was shocked to learn that she was married. The doctors later discovered that Krickett lost the last year and a half of her life, which encompassed her time with Kim.

Krickett’s recovery was intense given her brain injury. She had to go through speech and physical therapy to relearn some basic human functions, and she soon regained her strength. Meanwhile, Kim was determined to make his wife remember who he was. Although they tried everything to help Krickett recover her memories, nothing worked. Ultimately, Krickett never regained her memories, but she still fell in love with Kim all over again. A few years later, on May 25, 1996, Kim and Krickett renewed their vows.

How Closely The Vow Movie Follows Kim & Krickitt Carpenter’s Real Story

Even though Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams’ movie was inspired by Kim and Krickett Carpenter, The Vow took a lot of creative liberty with their story. As stated above, the writers changed their names, but they also altered what happened to the couple following the tragic accident, among other details. Whereas Kim and Krickett met over the phone, Leo and Paige first encountered one another at the DMV. Kim also met Krickett’s family before they got married, and Leo never saw Paige’s family due to her falling out with them (which Paige didn’t remember, further adding to the tension in the film).

Kim and Krickett didn’t divorce directly following the car crash, while Leo and Paige did in The Vow. Additionally, the character of Jeremy was made for the film. The truth is that the real-life story was not as dramatic as the one in the romantic drama, and that’s because the writers needed to add more conflict to make their movie have a complete story arc. So, to summarize, the aspects of The Vow that were made up were Leo and Paige’s meeting, the drama between Paige and her family, Paige’s rekindled relationship with her ex-fiancé, and the subsequent divorce between Leo and Paige.

Did The Vow’s Real Couple End Up Together?

Kim and Krickett Carpenter did not get a divorce in the months following their accident as Leo and Paige did in The Vow because they were both dedicated to making their marriage work and staying committed to their vows. Krickett eventually fell in love with Kim again. They had two children together — Danny in 2000 and LeeAnn in 2003. However, after 25 years of marriage, Kim and Krickett filed for divorce in 2018. According to Krickett, her husband was unfaithful to her and had been having an affair. She found out and confronted him about it, and Kim didn’t deny the allegation.

Even though The Vow ends on a happy note, with Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum’s characters agreeing to go on a first date again, the real-life story does not have a happy ending. The 2012 romance drama film implies that Leo and Paige found their way back to one another and would eventually fall in love for a second time. Meanwhile, six years following the premiere of The Vow, Kim and Krickett Carpenter, the couple that inspired the movie, decided to end their marriage. However, The List reports that Krickett has no regrets about the 25 years she spent with Kim.