Who are the main characters in The Love Hypothesis?

Major Characters

1. Olive Smith — A 26-year-old third-year PhD candidate in biology at Stanford; researching pancreatic cancer (her mother died of it), she’s smart, driven, struggles with self-doubt, and enters a fake-dating arrangement with a professor to help her best friend, Anh.

2. Dr. Adam Carlsen — A brilliant but intimidating biology professor at Stanford; known for being harsh and critical, he agrees to Olive’s fake relationship so the university believes he’s putting down roots and won’t lose funding. Over time, he softens.

3. Anh Pham — Olive’s best friend and fellow graduate student; deeply loyal, she urges Olive to move on from her ex, Jeremy, which triggers the fake-dating plot.

4. Malcolm Browne — Olive’s roommate and close friend; a fellow biology grad student who balances academic pressure with personal life, often offering Olive emotional support.

5. Jeremy Langley — Olive’s ex-boyfriend; amicably broke up with Olive, later becomes romantically involved with Anh, which motivates Olive’s decision to pretend to date Adam.

6. Dr. Tom Benton — An associate professor at Harvard and friend of Adam; appears supportive but later becomes the antagonist, sexually harassing Olive and threatening her research and integrity.

7. Dr. Aysegul Aslan — Olive’s PhD advisor at Stanford; supportive, enthusiastic, setting a contrast to toxic figures in academia.

8. Holden Rodrigues — Adam’s oldest friend and a fellow professor at Stanford; provides perspective on Adam’s personality and helps Olive understand him better.