Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were seen taking a low-key break in Reynolds’ home country of Canada, just hours before Justin Baldoni reignited tensions by taking aim at the actress and ridiculing their drawn-out legal feud.
Baldoni, 42, and his wife, Emily, shared an Instagram video on Wednesday portraying Lively’s alleged “fight for women” as a serious “injustice” that Baldoni says he has been forced to face.
Their post followed Lively’s request for a staggering $8 million from Baldoni to pay her legal expenses as she continues to fight his $400 million defamation lawsuit.
Before the clip surfaced — and just days after Lively’s conspicuous absence from former close friend Taylor Swift’s wedding — the 38-year-old It Ends With Us actress and Reynolds, 49, appeared unfazed by the controversy while meeting friends for a relaxed lunch.
Lively cut a chic figure in a pink top teamed with denim shorts, carrying a cold drink as she stepped out.
Reynolds opted for an easygoing outfit, pairing a baseball cap with a white polo shirt and joggers as he left the restaurant.
Blake Lively, pictured, and Ryan Reynolds were seen enjoying a relaxed day out in his native Canada shortly before Justin Baldoni criticized the actress and made light of their ongoing legal dispute
Justin Baldoni, 42, and his wife Emily posted an Instagram video on Wednesday framing Lively’s alleged “fight for women” as a major “injustice” Baldoni claims he has endured
Reynolds kept his look casual in a baseball cap, white polo and joggers as he exited the restaurant
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The update from Baldoni and Emily comes after Lively demanded a whopping $8 million from Baldoni to cover her legal fees while battling his $400 million defamation lawsuit.
‘We haven’t done this in a while,’ Baldoni began his video with a chuckle as his wife agreed.
‘So we have not spoken publicly for the better part of the last two years, and it’s not because we haven’t had anything to say, because Lord knows we have.’
Although Baldoni said he was not going to address all aspects of the legal battle in his statement, he hinted that there would be more messages to come.
‘It just felt like every time we went to make a video like this where we wanted to speak, something was telling us not to. It just didn’t feel like the right time,’ he said.
‘And we were talking about it and feeling into it and praying about it…’ he added as Emily finished his sentence: ‘… and this feels like the moment.’
‘So here we are,’ Baldoni added as he cracked a smile.
Lively looked stylish in a pink top and denim shorts as she toted a refreshing drink alongside two assistants
Lively looked in good spirits amid a dramatic month for her
‘There is so much to say, and it makes it hard to speak,’ Emily continued. ‘It makes it hard to figure out what is right for us, for this specific moment.’
‘And we’re not gonna say it all,’ Justin added.
‘But what does feel important is that we can genuinely say that we are sitting here today feeling immense gratitude for so many things and so many people and so many things that have happened to us,’ his wife said.
‘Gratitude has saved us,’ Justin concurred.
But Emily steered their video away from their gratitude as she appeared to allude to her husband’s bruising legal battle with Lively.
‘I also feel that it’s important as we say that, in that gratitude, it doesn’t negate the injustice and the pain that we have also felt in the last few years,’ she said while adopting a stern expression.
‘And we’ve had to wrestle with so many things and try to understand things like how could something like this even happen,’ Emily continued. ‘Let alone disguise as a fight for women [sic]. So much to unpack.
Baldoni said he and his wife hadn’t spoken publicly for ‘the better part of the last two years’ because ‘it just felt like every time we went to make a video like this where we wanted to speak, something was telling us not to. It just didn’t feel like the right time’
The couple expressed their ‘immense gratitude’ for the people around them and the blessings they had received, but Emily added they didn’t ‘negate the injustice and the pain that we have also felt in the last few years’
![She appeared to allude to her husband's bruising legal battle with Lively, adding, 'We've had to wrestle with so many things and try to understand things like how could something like this even happen. Let alone disguise as a fight for women [sic]'; Lively is pictured May 19 in NYC](https://i.dailymail.com/1s/2026/07/09/03/109896217-15964089-She_appeared_to_allude_to_her_husband_s_bruising_legal_battle_wi-a-1_1783563082892.jpg)
She appeared to allude to her husband’s bruising legal battle with Lively, adding, ‘We’ve had to wrestle with so many things and try to understand things like how could something like this even happen. Let alone disguise as a fight for women [sic]’; Lively is pictured May 19 in NYC
‘And the truth is – reality is, is that there’s been a lot of trauma for us to move through as a family,’ Emily said, while Justin added, ‘We don’t even know this is the right thing to say, but we just know we need to share something’
‘And the truth is – reality is, is that there’s been a lot of trauma for us to move through as a family,’ she said somberly. ‘Which also makes it hard to speak.’
Baldoni gazed down as he took over.
‘We don’t even know this is the right thing to say, but we just know we need to share something,’ he said. ‘What I will say is that there have been so many painful things that have been spoken into existence’ – ‘Untruthful,’ his wife interjected – ‘over the last couple years.’
Justin explained that his faith in justice had led him and his wife to hold their tongues amid his legal battle with Lively.
‘That created so much noise, and we didn’t want to add to the noise. So we just wanted to let the justice system run its course,’ he explained.
Emily then looked into the cameras to declare, ‘The truth, and the facts, have spoken for themselves.’
She turned to look affectionately at her husband before adding, ‘And here we are.’
The Jane The Virgin star lightened up the video after suggesting that people stop him on the street to inquire about how he and his family are doing.
Justin said his faith in justice had led him and his wife to hold their tongues amid his legal battle with Lively. ‘That created so much noise, and we didn’t want to add to the noise. So we just wanted to let the justice system run its course,’ he explained; seen February 11 in NYC
Emily then looked into the cameras to declare, ‘The truth, and the facts, have spoken for themselves’; pictured with Justin on February 11 in NYC
‘We are . . . we are healing. And if you’ve ever been through something traumatic, you know that healing isn’t linear. It looks different every day,’ he shared. ‘And we have to rethink for ourselves what is real, and what matters.’
‘It’s this,’ his wife replied. ‘It’s the kids.’
‘It’s our family,’ Justin agreed. ‘It’s our friends. It’s our community who have been there for us. It’s our faith.
‘I think we’re closer and more devoted and steadfast in our faith than we’ve ever been,’ he continued.
Baldoni also reserved special thanks for the numerous fans who supported him online and on social media, despite no meaningful connection to his legal wrangling with Lively.
‘Also, this has been on both of our hearts. There were so many of you who, when we didn’t have a voice, were our voice,’ he said.
Turning to his wife, he continued: ‘You had a prayer at the very beginning, which was that you just pray that people would have discernment. And so many of you had discernment, and you used your intuition, and you trusted that, and you have given your time to fight for us.’
The actor and director admitted that even saying ‘thank you’ didn’t feel like enough.
Baldoni thanked his fans who had publicly supported him, despite no meaningful connection to his legal wrangling with Lively. ‘So many of you had discernment, and you used your intuition, and you trusted that, and you have given your time to fight for us,’ he said
The Baldonis’ video statement comes after Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds were apparently snubbed by her former friend Taylor Swift. While the singer and Travis Kelce held their wedding celebration at MSG on July 3, Lively and Reynolds were hundreds of miles away; seen in April 2025 in NYC
‘But we’re here in large part because of so many of you and all of our friends and family,’ he continued. ‘And one thing that we’ve learned is that when God presses the reset button, and everything else is stripped away, that that’s when love shows up. And we feel so loved.’
Emily noted that there was ‘so much more to say,’ while Justin interjected, ‘And we will say it.’
She added, ‘That time will come. But for now, we are going to focus on continuing the healing and hanging out with our kiddos and enjoying life.’
The Baldonis’ video statement comes after Lively was apparently snubbed by her former friend Taylor Swift.
While the pop superstar and Travis Kelce held their blockbuster wedding celebration at Madison Square Garden on July 3, Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds were spotted supporting their daughter Betty, six, as she competed in a horse show at a farm in Lake Placid, New York, which is hundreds of miles from New York City.
Lively had previously sued Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios production company in December 2024 for alleged defamation and sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us, which they starred in together, with Baldoni also directing.
Baldoni retaliated the following month with a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and the New York Times, which had first published her claims.
All of the parties in the lawsuits denied the allegations against them.
The Gossip Girl star’s lawyers claim they spent a whopping $8 million in just 10 months while battling Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit; the pair are pictured on the set of It Ends With Us in 2024
In October 2025, a judge dismissed Baldoni’s case, and in May of this year, after a judge dismissed most of Lively’s claims, she agreed to settle the case.
Lively was not paid any money in the settlement, but Judge Lewis Liman, who presided over the case at a New York court, did allow her to seek legal fees solely related to Baldoni’s failed case against her.
In court filings, Lively’s lawyers stated that the amount they were seeking was $7,495,526 in legal fees and $539,514 in expenses.
The fees break down between two law firms: $4,544,094 for Wilkie, Farr & Gallagher and $2,951,432 for Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.
However, the final bill will be even higher because of costs related to the most recent hearing on June 1.
According to court filings, that will add another $300,000 to the total.
Ultimately, the legal controversy surrounding the allegations from both sides helped to turn It Ends With Us into a hit – raking in $351 million at the worldwide box office.
In the movie, Lively played florist Lily Bloom, who gets into a relationship with Baldoni, who plays an abusive neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid.
In October 2025, a judge dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit, and in May of this year, after a judge dismissed most of Lively’s claims in her sexual harassment and defamation lawsuit, she agreed to settle; Lively and Baldoni are pictured in It Ends With Us
When the movie was released in the summer of 2024, it was overshadowed by rumors of a feud on set between Baldoni and Lively.
Among Lively’s claims was that Baldoni ‘fat-shamed’ her by asking her personal trainer about her weight. He denied the allegation and claimed it was because he was worried about hurting his back during a scene where he lifted her up.
Lively also alleged that Baldoni inserted unscripted kisses into a scene in which they were dancing together, and that his producer, Jamey Heath, walked into her trailer when she was breastfeeding her newborn baby.
Baldoni strongly denied her claims.
