Lionsgate ; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty The 2020 movieI Still Believetells the inspiring story of Jeremy Camp's life and his marriage to Melissa Camp The Christian singer lost his wife to cancer less than four months after getting married The drama was based on Camp's 2011 memoir by the same name I Still Believetells the heartbreaking yet inspiring true story ofJeremy Camp's life. The 2020 drama, which is available to stream onNetflix, tells the real-life story of how the Christian singer fell in love with his first wife, Melissa Camp, only to find out that she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Camp (played byKJ Apa) and Melissa (played byBritt Robertson) got engaged shortly after meeting and later tied the knot. Unfortunately, Melissa's cancer tragically worsened, and she died less than four months after their wedding when she was 21 and he was 23. Camp, who had always considered himself a religious person, struggled with his faith and his love for music after Melissa's death. The movie maps his real-life story of trying to navigate his growing fame while also grieving the loss of his wife. In 2003, he wrote about the loss for the first time in the song "I Still Believe," which later inspired hismemoirby the same name and the subsequent movie. "I've got a reminder of what I went through and how there's so muchhope and redemption at the end of it," Camp told PEOPLE in 2020 of the movie release. "I know she's in heaven and this is making her so happy." In addition to Apa and Robertson, the movie also starsShania Twain,Gary SiniseandNathan Parsons, among others. Here's everything to know about the true story behindI Still Believe. Stephen J. Cohen/Getty I Still Believeis a 2020 movie based on Camp's 2011 memoir by the same name. The movie starsApa and Robertsonas they play out the real-life love story of Camp and his first wife, Melissa. The couple met at a Bible study in 1999 and struck up a romance before he began getting famous for his contemporary Christian music. Camp told PEOPLE in 2020 that he fell in love with her for her "purity in her heart for God." After a quick courtship, Melissa initially broke up with Camp, but she reached back out after getting diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer, perDove.org. While she was sick in the hospital, the two reconnected over their mutual love of God, and he proposed to her in 2000. During their engagement, Melissa went into remission and the couple married on Oct. 21, 2000. After going on their honeymoon in Hawaii, Melissa started to feel sick again and learned that her cancer had returned. Doctors told her that she only had a few months to live, and she died on Feb. 5, 2001, less than four months after they married. She was 21 years old. Camp, who had strong faith for most of his life, questioned why his wife had died. However, he held onto Melissa's faith and used her words to keep him going. "She said, 'If one life is changed by what I go through, it's all worth it,' " Camp told PEOPLE in 2020. "There is hope at the end of hardship. Instead of turning my back and being an angry, bitter person at God, it made me stronger." Camp went on to write the song "I Still Believe," about the experience. He later met Adrienne Liesching, the frontrunner of the Christian pop-rock band The Benjamin Gate in 2002. The couple married in 2003 and share three children together: daughters Bella and Arie and son Egan. Camp continued to pursue music and became a successful Christian musician, with 11 albums and nominations for a Grammy Award and an American Music Award under his belt. "My heart is ready to explode. I'm so grateful," Camp told PEOPLE of his life in 2020. Meanwhile, Apa told PEOPLE in 2019 that he was honored to tell Camp and Melissa's love story and hoped that it would inspire others. "Their love is seriouslyput to the testin this movie," he told PEOPLE. "I hope after seeing the love between Jeremy and Melissa the audience can sit there and think, 'Wow, I hope that I can one day be in love like that.' " Jason Kempin/Getty While some minor details were tweaked for the film adaptation ofI Still Believe, the major plot points are all fairly accurate. Camp previously explained that he was involved in the filming process, and some of the raw emotions came back to him because of how genuine the movie felt. In an October 2019 interview withWay Nation, he specifically recalled being present for some of the hospital scenes where Robertson acted as a sick Melissa. "It was not easy," he said. "The hospital brings back bad memories for me. At one point, I literally was watching a hospital scene and I broke down. I left." However, there were a few discrepancies. For instance, in the movie, Camp is portrayed as someone who is already a successful musician when he meets Melissa. In reality, they met at a Bible study in 1999 before he got famous. A second minor differentiation was the couple's wedding, as they got married at a church and not on the beach, as the movie depicted. In the movie, Camp and Melissa find themselves in a love triangle with his mentor, Jean-Luc La Joie from the band The Kry. While they were in a love triangle, Camp later clarified that it did not involve La Joie. "Another friend who was a Bible study leader was the one in love with Melissa, not my mentor in music," Camp toldThe Federalistin 2020. "But in the film, they couldn't add another character, so they had to condense that aspect into Jean-Luc. When I asked him, he said, 'Of course it's okay!' " Camp also told Way Nation that one scene where his dad, Tom Camp (played byGary Sinise), encouraged him to continue on didn't happen, but it also wasn't totally untrue. "[It was] almost like all the things that my dad did and said, it is all summed up in that moment," he explained. As for Apa's portrayal, Camp toldThe Federalist, "He cared so much about every detail. He would pull me aside and ask: 'How did you ask this question? How did you react in this moment?' He wanted to make sure that how he was portraying me was accurate." Despite some minor details being changed, Camp looked back on the film in admiration and gratitude that he was able to share his late wife's story. He told PEOPLE, "I know she's in heaven and this is making her so happy." Apa sang his own vocals for the film that included some of Camp's biggest hits. The actor told PEOPLE in 2019 that he was "terrified" to recreate the songs. "I'm super uncomfortable when I sing. I went into the studio in Nashville — I did that first before we shot anything — and I think that really gave me perspective on the film. Having that sound and knowing what all that music is going to sound like before you go in is super important," Apa said. "It's either going to boost your confidence and boost your morale or it's going to be like, 'Oh, man, that didn't go so well, so what are we going to work with?' Luckily, it couldn't have gone better. I think people are going to love it." Meanwhile, Camp explained to Way Nation that he was pleased with how Apa "put his whole heart" into the music. "It was so different because he sounds a lot different than I do, but I think because he did it in his style and his way, he put his whole heart into it," he shared. "So you actually can feel it. I wasn't disappointed at all, because I felt like it was authentic to him, and it made it feel real. So the songs actually came out still feeling emotional, still feeling raw, and it was good." In the film, Apa sang Camp's songs "I Still Believe," "This Man," "Find Me in the River," "My Desire" and "Right Here." Albert L. Ortega/Getty Camp fell in love with Adrienne, and they married in 2003. The couple share three children: daughters Bella and Arie and son Egan. The family of five are extremely close and frequently share videos and photos of themtravelingthe world, joiningCamp on tourandsinging together. The couple celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary on Dec. 25, 2024, and bothpostedheartfelt tributes about their relationship. "You've been my rock—especially during the moments I felt like I couldn't go on," hewrotein part. "Times when I wanted to give up on music, you reminded me that God is not done with me yet. You've stood by me, encouraged me, and loved me even when I didn't deserve it." Meanwhile, Camp and Apa have also remained close friends and have expressed their love for each other onsocial media. Lionsgate I Still Believeis available to stream onNetflixas of May 15. Camp expressed his excitement that his movie was coming to the streaming service and wrote onInstagramon May 13, "It's a full-circle moment. It is amazing to see how God is still using this movie around the world! Still blown away that I was able to share my story through film. There was a lot of tears involved in this , both from grief, as the pain was brought up once again, to the joy of God's incredible faithfulness." Read the original article onPeople
