Pregnant with their fourth baby! The love story of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

Despite the news not having been fully confirmed by the parents-to-be, Blake Lively showed up at the Annual Forbes Power Women's Summit on 15th September with a baby bump clearly pressing against her dress. The hand cupped on the underside of her belly gave it all away: Blake Lively is pregnant. Again.

Blake Lively and her husband seem to be expecting another little addition to their family and this will their fourth child. They already have three daughters: James, 7; Inez, 5; and Betty, 2. a handful?

In a sweet interview in 2016, Blake Lively had already hinted they wanted to have a large family, stating that the actress is one of five children and her husband is one of four. She then went on to say that makes them 'officially breeders'.

Jokingly, Lively added, "You can go on our website and we will give you some of our children.” Humour and not taking themselves too seriously has been a backbone of their incredible relationship. The pair have a beautiful and funny relationship that has seen them together now for over a decade.

They have a long history. 2022 marks their ten year wedding anniversary (despite the controversial wedding being something they may not really WANT to remember!) But they marked their 10 year relationship last year and the story of their romance just makes the heart warm.

Both were working on the film ‘Green Lantern’, and there sparked an instant, (at first) platonic relationship. “I met Blake on the darkest crease in the [depths] of the universe called Green Lantern," Reynolds looked back on their initial encounter. "We were friends and buddies and about a year and a half later we went on a double date but we were dating separate people.”

They didn’t immediately get together as both were in relationships with other people. At the time, Lively was still dating Penn Badgley (her costar on “Gossip Girl”). Reynolds was married to Scarlett Johansson.

Not long after Blake and Ryan met, Reynolds and Johansson publicly released a statement confirming their divorce. It read, "After long and careful consideration on both our parts, we've decided to end our marriage. We entered our relationship with love and it's with love and kindness we leave it. While privacy isn't expected, it's certainly appreciated."

Lively finished her relationship with Badgley, but didn’t head straight for Reynolds. In fact, she spent a wild summer trekking across Europe with none other that heartthrob, Leonardo DiCaprio. They split after their whirlwind romance in September 2011 and Blake and Ryan lit the flame.

Reynolds explained in an interview that he was smitten with Blake. Their friendship had taken a step further when he, not-so-bluntly, professed his desire to the actress. He said, "Next thing you know, she was going to Boston, I was going to Boston and I said, 'Well, I'll ride with you.' We got on the train and we rode together. I was just begging her to sleep with me.”

"A week later I was like, 'We should buy a house together,'" Reynolds said after they had first struck up as a couple. "And we did.” Nothing like taking it slow.

Ryan and Blake have tried, and succeeded mostly, in keeping their relationship low key. That was, until they got married in September and created some not-so-welcome media attention.

The couple made a serious error in the choice of their wedding venue. They decided to tie the knot, surrounded by family and friends, at the Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Unfortunately, their choice of venue called in a lot of criticism. That plantation, amongst many others, had historically enslaved men and women of colour and people weren’t happy with their choice of venue.

Years later, in an interview with Fast Company, Ryan Reynolds deeply apologised for his insensitive mistake. "It's something we'll always be deeply and unreservedly sorry for," he said. "It's impossible to reconcile.” Blake called it “a giant f——-ing mistake”.

Blake Lively has gushed over her handsome husband on many occasions. In an interview with Vogue, she said, "Everything we do in life we do together. If I'm working on a movie, he helps me with my character; I do the same with him. Picking out a coffee table. What we're going to eat. He's a beautiful writer — he's written a lot of stuff for us. And he's got a great barometer and he knows me, so he will tell me if it's not as good as it can be.”

Lively made no secret of her desire to start a family and have children. "I've always wanted a big family. Oh, I'd love 30 (children) if I could.” Ryan Reynolds was obviously the guy for the job.

Two years after they got married, in October 2014, Blake Lively announced she was pregnant for the first time. On her old website (which no longer exists), she posted a pregnant photo of herself with many other photos of pregnant women, saying "Congratulations to all the expecting mothers out there.” The child would be born a girl, who they named James.

Almost two years after the first, the couple announced they would be welcoming another baby into the world. She would be a girl also, called Inez.

Like clockwork, another two years passed and Blake announced her third pregnancy by showing up looking rather pregnant at the “Detective Pikachu” premiere. Sources later told People, "They are so happy and excited about having another baby.”

Despite having a large family and being on the road all the time, the couple live a very organised life. “Blake and I don’t do movies at the same time. If she is doing a movie in Thailand and I am doing a movie in Vancouver we would just never see each other. We operate as a unit, and that works really well for us,” Reynolds explained. “The kids stay with us, and the family stays together, and that is where home is. So if we are in Spain or Utah or New York, as long as we are together, we’re home.”

They live a life full of love, but are not afraid to poke fun at each other and, most importantly, never take each other too seriously. Their ‘couple humour’ is one many envy and both their Instagram accounts are absolutely worth a follow for a giggle from time-to-time.

For example, they celebrated 10 years since their first date by reliving it at a Boston sushi restaurant, 'O Ya' last year.

Blake Lively remembers the first date with nothing but fond memories, although she did mention on her Instagram account that this time round she was wearing comfier shoes. She wrote, “If it weren't for this place. We wouldn't be together. No joke. No restaurant means more to us."

Reynolds has always maintained a strong sense of humour. ‘Deadpool’ star, Reynolds, shared a selfie of himself and Lively on his Instagram Story outside the restaurant. He added that this was his wife’s 'fourth favourite date’.

Lively’s husband then quickly shared the post again, admitting that he'd accidentally cut out his partner's 'cute earrings' in the original. He wrote, 'She trained me better than this. Sorry if I let anyone down’. Quite right, Ryan!

And let's not forget the post Ryan Reynolds wrote about his wife on Mother’s Day 2021. It started off incredibly enthusiastic about his beautiful other half: 'I’m grateful for the light and for the kindness you smuggle into each and every second of our lives. I see you in the eyes of our children… Every laugh. Every blink and every thoughtful moment of vulnerability. The tender grit it takes to be a mother in 2021 is an act of pure strength and heroism.’

But the post took an odd and very amusing turn with an interesting perspective on, what we can only imagine to be, the consummation of one of their children. But he added, 'Either way, I'm lucky to reflect a little of the sunlight you shine on all of us. Happy Mother's Day, my love.'

In October 2020, Canadian Ryan Reynolds was finally able to vote in the US for the first time. Naturally, Lively went about filling her social media with innuendos about this indeed being his ‘first time.’

She wrote about his first time (voting): “It all happened so fast. Like, REALLY fast. He wept. I pretended to weep. Then he called all his friends.” Reynolds joined in the fun and wrote on his own account: 'I’d like to thank my wife Blake for making my first time so gentle and loving. It was super scary at first, then exciting and now I’m a little tired.’

Hollywood’s favourite couple felt so strongly for those who had lost so much during the pandemic that they donated a whopping $1 million to two different non-profit organisations amid the COVID-19 disaster. According to People, the stars donated to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada.

Photo: Instagram @vancityreynolds

The couple have been incredibly supportive to a number of charities and organisations. In fact, this year, they matched $1m worth of donations to send aid to Ukrainian refugees.

As well this year, Ryan Reynolds' film 'The Adam Project' held its red carpet premiere event in New York. The lead cast of the film was there, including Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Zoe Saldana, Walker Scobell. But also there was his wife, Blake Lively. She held his hand in support and she looked radiant.

Blake Lively, Hollywood actress supports her husband in all things and, in May 2022, joined Ryan Reynolds at the Trophy final between Bromley and Wrexham at Wembley Stadium. Ryan Reynolds is the owner of Wrexham and has a passion for the club. His wife, it seems, happily shares it with him.

Every challenge they tackle together and every event they shine as a couple really in love. This year in early May, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds arrived at The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" in New York. Not only did Blake take the audience's breath away, but clearly her husband couldn't take his eyes off her, either. To look that way at someone after 11 years is something dreams are made of.

The couple have their hands seriously full at home and have been partnering with UNICEF on many important projects. Ryan Reynolds has now announced he will be taking a sabbatical from acting. Time for some more hands-on time at home. With a fourth child on the way, Blake will surely need the extra help.