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Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds film premiere

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds surprise fans with unexpected 'family portrait'

The Hollywood couple share four children 

Hannah Hargrave
US Deputy Editor
July 18, 2024
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Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' busy careers mean they cherish any family time they have when they're in the same room and on Wednesday, they gave an unexpected glimpse of the reality behind that. 

The couple share James, nine, Inez, seven, Betty, four, and a fourth child who remains publicly unnamed, but turned one in February.

But Blake's "family portrait" featured none of their kids… in fact, neither star was physically present in the room either. 

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Instead, Blake shared a snapshot on Instagram of the movie promotion posters for their latest flicks, side-by-side in a theatre. 

Her movie, It Ends with Us, was on the left, and Ryan's Deadpool & Wolverine was on the right. 

Blake Lively surprised fans with this unconventional family photo © Instagram
Blake Lively surprised fans with this unconventional family photo

"Family portrait," she captioned the image while tagging the film's Instagram accounts. 

While the picture was an untraditional family snapshot, watching their parents' work has become a part of life at their home — at least for their oldest child. 

In an interview with the New York Times, Ryan recently revealed that he allowed James to watch the R-rated movie with him.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds with their daughters © Axelle/Bauer-Griffin
Blake and Ryan are hands-on parents

"Well, I'm not saying that other people should do this, but my nine-year-old watched the movie with me and my mom, who’s in her late 70s," the 47-year-old began.

"It was just one of the best moments of this whole experience for me. Both of them were laughing their guts out, were feeling the emotion where I most desperately hoped people would be."

Blake Lively in blue dress holding daughterJames Reynolds© Getty
Their oldest child, James, is now nine

Ryan also confessed he was allowed to watch R-rated films as a child and said: "They left a huge impression on me because I didn't feel like people were pulling punches.

"It's been a huge inspiration to so many of the things that I look to make now."

blake lively ryan reynolds family daughters© Photo: Getty Images
Ryan and Blake let their kids watch some of their movies

A far more family-friendly movie was his last release, IF, and at the film's premiere in May, he said his kids were "hooked," on the trailers alone. 

"They love the trailers, and then they watch all those little thirty-second spots that you can YouTube. They're pretty obsessed with it," he told People

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 02: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds attend the 'Pokemon Detective Pikachu' U.S. Premiere at Times Square on May 02, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Stewart/FilmMagic)© Michael Stewart
Ryan has joked about baby number 5

So much so that it became an issue to usher them out of the house in the morning to go to school because they wanted to watch it again. It became "a little tricky," he added. 

Both Ryan and Blake are hands-on parents but they like their kids to see them working too.

Instagram Story shared by Blake Lively reposting a selfie from Ryan Reynolds of the two while he is away promoting Deadpool & Wolverine© Instagram
They balance home life and their careers successfully

"Being a mother is completely all-encompassing," Blake told People. "But just having your [own] identity is, I think, very important." 

She continued: "I want to be as present of a mother as humanly possible and I want them to feel my presence, but I also think the best way to be the best mother is to show them that you can have a life and have a passion and have an identity outside of just being a mother."

Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of both movies, with Deadpool & Wolverine hitting theaters on July 26, and It Ends with Us arriving on August 9.

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