Anyone with internet access and even a passing interest in pop culture is probably aware of the ongoing legal battle between Blake Lively and her It Ends With Us director and costar, Justin Baldoni. And now, thanks to Lively, we also know how she's been getting through the objectively stressful personal era she's currently living—with the help of the four children she shares with her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
“It’s no surprise, I have had a pretty intense year," the 37-year-old actress explained during her Thursday night appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, according to a Page Six report, which attributed the intel to an audience member who attended the taping. "They’re just my lifeline. No matter what day I am having."
Lively and Reynolds share three daughters—James, 10, Inez, 8, Betty, 5—and one son, two-year-old Olin and the Gossip Girl actress said that being a mom first has been vital amid the very public feud.
“I have to be Disneyland for them," she added. "It’s the best, it’s chaos."
This isn't the first report that Lively was leaning on family to get through the difficult ordeal with Baldoni. In late December, an insider said that Lively's famous husband was the pillar of her support system.
"Ryan is always her rock," the source told People two days after news of Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni, who also directed It Ends With Us, broke. "They have such a special relationship. He's very proud of her in so many ways."
Lively described her ongoing legal battle with Baldoni as one of the “lowest lows of my life," and it's public knowledge that the actress has been in the midst of this low period for a while now.
Rumors of a feud between Lively and Baldoni picked up steam last summer as the pair were doing press ahead of the release of It Ends With Us and, in December 2024, Lively filed a legal complaint alleging that Baldoni had enlisted a crisis management expert to spearhead a PR plan to attack Lively's reputation and discredit her after the actress complained of misconduct on the movie's set. Baldoni responded by filing a lawsuit of his own in January 2025, which Lively's legal team derided as "desperate" in a statement declaring it "will fail."
“I see so many women around afraid to speak, especially now, afraid to share their experience. Fear is by design, it’s what keeps us silent,” she added, per Page Six. “But I also acknowledge that many people don’t have the opportunity to speak so I do feel fortunate that I have been able to.”
In January, as the legal battle picked up steam, a source close to the actress made it clear that Lively has no plans of backing down or letting up—no matter how difficult the fight might be.
"She still believes she's doing the right thing," the source said. "She's ready to tackle whatever comes her way."