Ryan Reynolds Left Blake Lively To Fend For Herself In Court & Everyone Noticed

Ryan Reynolds was conspicuously absent when Blake Lively attended a court-mandated settlement conference with Justin Baldoni on February 11. The meeting was arranged in hopes of avoiding further litigation, but the feuding former "It Ends With Us" colleagues were unable to reach a settlement. Afterwards, Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, spoke about the ever-growing possibility of going to trial with the "Gossip Girl" alum. "We're looking forward to it," Freedman told Variety. Baldoni had shown up to the settlement hearing with his wife, and he even brought her along for a separate (non-Lively-affiliated) hearing the following day. Meanwhile, Lively was forced to show up to the proceedings stag.

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Even though Lively and Reynolds have tried to make their marriage look unbothered by the lawsuit drama, people took notice that the "Deadpool" actor was not present to support his wife at the settlement hearing. "Ryan Reynolds isn't 'man enough' to support Blake Lively at court today," one person wrote on X after hearing that Lively went solo. "Scar Jo was right about him...he only cares about himself," another added snidely. Multiple users delighted in roasting "The Adam Project" actor for leaving his wife high and dry. "#ryanreynolds is not a man. He is a scared little boy who feared a real man when he met him," a user wrote.

Leading up to his absence, people had noticed odd things about Reynolds and Lively's marriage.

A couple of months before he wasn't by his wife's side for the settlement conference, fans shared a theory on Reddit that Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's marriage was on the rocks. "Ryan Reynolds soft launching his divorce?" a Redditor titled a December 2025 post that discussed the actor's soaring net worth. Some believed that the A-list duo would stick it out, but not because of their everlasting love for one another. "IMO, his reputation might tank even more if he leaves Blake. I think he's stuck with her and she with him," a Redditor commented.

Earlier that year, speculation that the celebrity couple was having marriage trouble arose when Reynolds snubbed Lively on her birthday in August 2025. Reynolds failed to make any social media birthday posts celebrating the "Another Simple Favor" star's big day. It was the second year in a row he had failed to do so, but in the days before and after, he had found ample time to post about his Wrexham Football Club and friend/co-owner Rob McElhenney.

Lively had seemingly snubbed her hubby earlier that year. While appearing on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" in May 2025, "The Town" actor sported a stunning white dress, but opted to leave her wedding ring at home.