Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are considered to be one of the coolest and most solid couples in Hollywood. They’ve called one another their “best friend” and have managed to have a solid relationship and family life in the near-decade they’ve been together. As major A-listers, they’ve also welcomed their fair share of celebs into their golden inner circle. Often, these folks are co-stars or collaborators, but it takes a special connection to continue a friendship once the cameras have stopped rolling.
From couple-friends to go on double dates with to the best kinds of girls (or guys) to have around for a birthday dinner, we’ve found 15 celebs who must count themselves lucky to be in such good company. On the flip side, we have five of the friendships and relationships that fell by the wayside.
20 INNER CIRCLE: America Ferrera
As part of her Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants girls, America Ferrera has been BFFs with co-star Blake Lively since 2005! In an interview with Good Morning America back in 2008, Blake said, “From the first film, we all got along so well that we all try to get together whenever we’re in the same city.”
19 INNER CIRCLE: Chris Hemsworth
Another opportunity where the Marvel universe collides is the friendship we’ve witnessed between Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Ryan (Deadpool). The friends have jokingly sparred back on social media, offering to swap superhero roles and hilariously trolling one another online, usually on IG (although Ryan, a pro, usually comes out on top).
18 INNER CIRCLE: Amber Tamblyn
Another quarter of the Sisterhood is Amber Tamblyn, who played Tibby. When Tamblyn tied the knot with comedian David Cross in 2012, Lively and the rest of the girls (plus Ryan Reynolds) came, too! Lively has said as recently as 2016 that the four actresses are still best friends – and are even open to creating a third film!
17 INNER CIRCLE: Jake Gyllenhaal
Ryan Reynolds has a history of trolling some of his BFFs, and that includes Jake Gyllenhaal. The two met while filming the sci-fi thriller Life and have been close ever since. In fact, Gyllenhaal reminisced about how the two came to be such tight buds in an article for Variety, calling him “warm and thoughtful” and “a gentleman”!
16 INNER CIRCLE: Alexis Bledel
The final part of this quartet is Gilmore Girls alum Alexis Bledel. Like Blake, America, and Amber, Alexis is equally protective of her own little family, and has never revealed the name of her young son. (Blake and America regularly only share photos of their kids with their faces covered.)
15 MISSING OUT: Leighton Meester
While Leighton Meester and Blake played frenemies till the end on Gossip Girl, the same can’t be said for real life. Like on the show, there was plenty of drama behind the scenes, usually related to wardrobe or storylines. Even a writer of GG, Joshua Safran, admitted to Vanity Fair, “Blake and Leighton were not friends. They were friendly, but they were not friends.”
14 INNER CIRCLE: Hugh Jackman
The other third of the trifecta of ridiculously good looking and hilarious friends – alongside Jake and Ryan – is Hugh Jackman, who Ryan even had the pleasure of ribbing on-screen in Deadpool! The so-called “feud” between the two has been all over social media, with plenty of belly laughs to be shared.
13 INNER CIRCLE: Anna Kendrick
Blake likes to play nice with her co-stars, and she hit it off with Anna Kendrick, who played opposite her in A Simple Favor. Kendrick had also worked with Ryan before, too, in 2014’s The Voices, and told Seth Meyers that the couple are “sinfully good together”. Lively shares the love, telling Entertainment Tonight that she’d been dying to work together.
12 MISSING OUT: Penn Badgley
Exes don’t always play nice, and, when a relationship ends off-screen but continues on, it can be tricky. While Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley admitted that Blake was both his best and worst on-screen kiss (depending on the point in their relationship), we doubt he’ll be asked to dinner any time soon. When asked if he gave Blake and Ryan a wedding gift, Penn said, “No.”
11 INNER CIRCLE: Taylor Swift
Once upon a time, Taylor Swift had such an extensive and photographed group of friends that she earned the “squad” moniker. That circle has dwindled, but Ryan and Blake can still count themselves chief among its residents. The three are so tight that it was actually their daughter, James, who spoke on Swift’s track “Beautiful” off her reputation album!
10 INNER CIRCLE: Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek is so tight with Blake and Ryan that she actually cooked dinner for them – in their own home! In a photo posted back in 2017, Hayek was holding one of Blake and Ryan’s daughters on her hip while stirring a pot on the stove as Ryan clapped in the background! The two met while filming The Hitman’s Bodyguard and have been close ever since!
9 INNER CIRCLE: Sandra Bullock
While they first played opposite in The Proposal back in 2009, Ryan and Sandra Bullock had already managed to forge a long-standing friendship. “It’s like working with family,” Ryan said in an interview in 2013. Ryan has even stepped in as a father figure of sorts, going on hiking trips with Sandra and her young children!
8 MISSING OUT: Taylor Momsen
On the set of Gossip Girl, Taylor Momsen managed to earn herself a diva reputation and effectively destroy any potential friendships she may have had with her co-stars, Blake included. According to sources who were on set at the time, Momsen felt threatened by Blake and costar Leighton Meester, as all saw their celebrity rise.
7 INNER CIRCLE: Emily Blunt
While Blake was friends with Emily Blunt first, Ryan has joined the fun as Emily and her husband John Krasinski have become couple-friends and go-to date night partners! (Tell us you wouldn’t want to be a fifth wheel at that dinner table?) The foursome has been spotted together and Blake and Ryan showed up in support of A Quiet Place.
6 INNER CIRCLE: John Krasinski
The other half of the afore-mentioned couple, John Krasinski will also be starring opposite Ryan in the upcoming comedy Imaginary Friends! These two seem to have the same devilish sense of humor, and spar regularly on social media. At one point, Ryan even referred to John and Emily as his “new parents”!
5 MISSING OUT: Scarlett Johansson
Like Blake’s ex Penn Badgley, there’s not a whole lot of love lost between Ryan and his ex-wife Scarlett Johansson. It was shortly after his split from Scarlett that he got with Blake, while Scarlett remarried, had a child, and got divorced again. While both are classy actors who won’t speak ill of one another, we sincerely doubt that they’re sending Christmas cards.
4 INNER CIRCLE: Ellen DeGeneres
When you’re a major celebrity like Ellen DeGeneres – and inviting all your famous friends on your talk show – it’s hard not to feel like you’re in the inner circle. Both Ryan and Blake have been on Ellen’s show on numerous occasions and the interviews have been warm and funny – and full of enough material to roast one another later, as Ellen recently did for Ryan’s birthday!
3 INNER CIRCLE: Betty White
Ryan may have a storied past when it comes to all the women he’s been with or been seen with before he settled down with Blake, but we can assume Betty White wasn’t one of them. However, in honor of the actress’s 97th birthday, Ryan posted on social media, writing, “I don’t usually post about ex-girlfriends. But Betty’s special. Happy Birthday to the one and only.”
2 INNER CIRCLE: Lorraine Schwartz
Making BFFs with a jewelry designer means you’ll get discounts on diamonds, right? In addition to designing her engagement ring, Lorraine Schwartz has gotten pretty tight with the Lively-Reynolds clan. She celebrated Blake’s 30th birthday with an intimate dinner and the friends were even spotted at the US Open back in 2011!
1 MISSING OUT: Unnamed
While not a celebrity, we imagine this unnamed former best friend to Ryan is kicking himself for being so greedy. Speaking to GQ in 2015, Ryan admitted that he had to cut the guy out of his life after 25 years of friendship, because he learned that the man was trying to sell private photos of his daughter, James, to tabloids.