Ryan Reynolds has broken with tradition and shared a heartfelt tribute to his wife, Blake Lively, for her birthday.
The Hollywood couple are known for their habit of poking fun at one another on social media, particularly on special occasions.
On Lively’s birthday in 2017, the Deadpool star wrote an Instagram post wishing his “amazing wife” a happy birthday, with an image that cropped out Lively almost entirely, leaving only his own face to take up the bulk of the frame.
Two years later, Reynolds shared 10 photos to mark Lively’s 32nd birthday, all of which showed her looking a little unprepared.
In nearly all of the photographs, Lively was caught off guard and could be seen blinking, pulling funny faces or barely in shot, while her husband posed confidently for the camera.
However, this year, Reynolds decided to share a moving love letter to the mother of his four children.
“The only thing irrevocably mine in the world is the love and appreciation and awe I feel for this person,” he said. “Witnessing her life is something I couldn’t take for granted if I tried. And believe me, I try.”
The sweet images showed several selfies of the A-list couple, as well as solo shots of Lively – beginning with a photo of her lounging at a dinner table on the beach. Reynolds signed the post: “Happy Birthday, Blake Lively. You hung the damn moon.”
During the 36th Annual American Cinematheque Awards last year, Lively honoured her life partner in a heartfelt speech made moments before he received an honourary award in Los Angeles, California.
She explained that not only has Reynolds’ film career brought the world happiness, but so has his “heart, his philanthropy, his humour, his integrity, his unmatched work ethic, his self-deprecating levity, his hard-earned depths in his scripts.”
“And now I am his home, and our girls are his home,” she proclaimed. “And just like that 19-year-old boy [who used to commute home to Canada], he races home. Whether it’s from across the globe or a meeting across the street, he is hard-wired to get home.”
Lively went on to note: “If he came home from set not in his wardrobe, we would be very concerned.”
While Reynolds and Lively met on the set of Green Lantern in 2010, their romance didn’t spark until a year later, when they were both single. It only took one year for them to realise that their relationship was the real deal, as they secretly tied the knot in South Carolina. Most of their wedding details were kept private, except that their nuptials were held at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant – for which the couple later received backlash.
Fast forward three years, the 46-year-old Free Guy star and 36-year-old Gossip Girl alum revealed they were expecting their first child. Now, the pair share four children – quietly welcoming their youngest in February of this year.
Lively told her followers that she gave birth with a subtle Instagram announcement on 12 February. In the post, she was seen sandwiched between Reynolds and his mom, Tammy. Her caption read: “Puppy Bowl Sunday 2023. Been busy.” The name and gender of their newborn have not yet been revealed.
While raising their four children – including daughters James, eight, Inez, six, and Betty, three –is a full-time job, Reynolds and Lively still find time to vacation together. The acting duo were recently spotted hand-in-hand during a European getaway to Paris, France.
