Taylor Swift Talks Using Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' Kids' Names in New Song
The rumor is totally true: Taylor Swift did use Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' kids' names in "betty," a song on "folklore," Swift admitted.


- The rumor's totally true: Taylor Swift did use Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' kids' names (opens in new tab) in her new song "betty."
- This is the first time we've heard their third child's name. The couple has remained private on the subject and even joked about it when asked directly.
- Here are more deets on Swift's surprise album (opens in new tab) that she dropped late last month.
Taylor Swift totally just confirmed (opens in new tab) it! Her new song off of her new folklore album, "betty," about a young man losing the love of his life and having to apologize to get it back, uses the names of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' three daughters—essentially confirmed their third daughter's name (Betty), which hadn't been released to the public yet following her birth in October 2019. If that isn't basically the coolest birth/name announcement ever, I don't know what is.
Swift introduced the song on Country Radio. She explained, "I've always loved that in music you can kinda slip into different identities and you can sing from other people's perspectives. So that's what I did on this one...I named all the characters in this story after my friends' kids...and I hope you like it!"
ICYMI, the lyrics "She said 'James, get in, let's drive,'" "You heard the rumors from Inez / You can't believe a word she says," and "Betty, I know where it all went wrong," all directly reference Lively and Reynolds' three kids.
Reynold and Lively didn't comment on the news, but it seems pretty obvious they're on board. Swift actually sampled James' voice on "Gorgeous (opens in new tab)," so this isn't the first time the famous friends have bonded over their kids.
The full excerpt of Swift's explanation is here:
And it's a cute little add-on to what's already a super-popular song.
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Katherine’s a Boston-based contributor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle—from “Clueless” to Everlane to news about Lizzo. She’s been a freelancer for 11 years and has had roles with Cosmopolitan and Bustle, with bylines in Parents, Seventeen, and elsewhere. It’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.
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