For nearly a decade, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have been one of the most popular married couples in Hollywood. Both actors are successful in their own right and have built up a fan base curious to know more about their family, which includes three daughters and another baby on the way. But despite their celebrity status, Ryan and Blake lead a relatively low profile. They decline to speak about their family often, let alone share personal photos with fans.
Needless to say, there’s a lot fans don’t know about this couple’s relationship. But here are 8 facts that may surprise you.
8 Ryan Was Married When They First Met
When Ryan and Blake met on the set of The Green Lantern in 2010, he was married to Scarlett Johansson. The couple were married from 2008 to 2011. Ryan went on to marry Blake in 2012.
In a statement about their divorce, Ryan and Scarlett said, "After long and careful consideration on both our parts, we've decided to end our marriage. We entered our relationship with love and it's with love and kindness we leave it. While privacy isn't expected, it's certainly appreciated."
7 And Blake Was In A Long-Term Relationship
Blake wasn’t married when she met Ryan, but she was in a long-term relationship with her Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley. The couple called it quits a few months after she started filming The Green Lantern with her future husband.
6 Their First Date Was A Double
Ryan and Blake say nothing happened romantically between them when he was married and even for a while afterwards. But they reportedly forged a friendship while filming, leading them to go on double dates together but with other people.
Ryan recalled the situation, admitting it was “awkward” when their dates realized they were getting along better than with them.
5 Their Wedding Venue Caused Controversy
Ryan and Blake held their 2012 nuptials at a South Carolina plantation, which caused backlash considering its history of slavery. In 2020, the couple issued an apology over the venue choice. "It’s impossible to reconcile," Ryan told Fast Company in August 2020. "What we saw at the time was a wedding venue on Pinterest. What we saw after was a place built upon devastating tragedy."
"We're ashamed that in the past we've allowed ourselves to be uninformed about how deeply rooted systemic racism is," they also said in a joint Instagram post in May 2020, which they announced they’d be donating $200,000 to the NAACP legal defense fund.
4 Blake Says She Treats Ryan Like A Girlfriend
When explaining hwo they resolve conflict, Blake says she finds it helpful to treat her husband like one of her girlfriends, which promotes communication.
"In other relationships, if something came up, I would call my girlfriends, or my sister, and say, 'Hey, this is what he did – what should I do?'" she’s explained. "Whereas with him [Ryan], we were friends for two years before we were ever dating. And I treat him like my girlfriend."
Blake continued, "'I’m like, 'Hey, this happened. It upset me. This is how I feel. What do I do?' And he does the same for me. He treats me like his best buddy."
3 Blake & Ryan Have Reportedly Considered Divorce
Despite being considered one of the strongest couples in Hollywood, break-up rumors have plagued Ryan and Blake for years. One source claimed the couple were secretly debating whether to end their marriage.
Micky reports, “Blake Lively and Ryan Reynold’s marriage may look perfect, but they are only faking it, an unnamed source told OK! (via Gossip Cop).”
“The couple was allegedly very good at showing a united front in public, after all, they are actors,” the publication adds. “It will allegedly help both of their careers to portray a certain persona. Also, both of them believed that they should deal with their issues behind closed doors.”
2 They Argue About Each Other’s Careers
The same source alleged that Ryan and Blake’s marital strife largely stems from their career. The report claims “things were reportedly tense when he was filming non-stop because he was not around to help with their kids and house,” adding the couple frequently argue over chores.
However, the reports about Ryan and Blake’s debate over getting a divorce remain unconfirmed.
1 They Don’t Allow Photos Of Their Kids
Ryan and Blake are the proud parents of three girls (plus another baby on the way), but they’re fiercely private about their children’s identities. The pair refuse to share any close-up images of their daughters online. In general, they don’t post a lot of personal photos.
Moreover, they’ve also called out the paparazzi for photographing their kids, explaining how frightening it can be. Only few media photos exist of the couple’s children.
“You edit together these images ... to look like I’m happily waving. But that is deceitful,” she wrote online in 2021. “The real story is: My children were being stalked by a man all day. Jumping out. And then hiding. A stranger on the street got into words with them because it was so upsetting for her to see.”
Blake continued, “When I tried to calmly approach the photographer you hired to take these pictures in order to speak to him, he would run away. And jump out again at the next block.”