Blake Lively Confessed To Being 'Selfish' Over Filming, 'Stressed' About Ryan Reynolds In Private Audio

A rare and unvarnished window into the high-stakes world of Hollywood power couples has been pried open.

Blake Lively privately wrestled with the personal cost of her career at a pivotal moment, admitting she felt 'selfish' and emotionally strained about filming commitments that would keep her away from her husband, Ryan Reynolds.

The candid admission appears in a nearly five-minute voice memo recorded in early 2023, now unsealed as part of Lively's ongoing legal dispute with Justin Baldoni.

On Thursday, 29 January 2026, a New York federal court unsealed a private voice memo sent by Blake to Baldoni.

The recording, which captures Lively 'agonising' over her decision to film It Ends With Us shortly after the birth of her fourth child, reveals a deep-seated anxiety about the 'emotional toll' her career was taking on her marriage to Ryan.

Now a central exhibit in a $160 million sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit, the audio stands in stark contrast to the bitter legal warfare currently consuming the former co-stars and offers a rare, unguarded glimpse into the tension between new motherhood, professional obligation and marital stability, long before the collaboration on 'It Ends With Us' collapsed into litigation.

Private Confession Before It Ends With Us

The voice memo, obtained by a news outlet and unsealed on Thursday, was recorded in the weeks leading up to production on It Ends With Us. Lively, 38, reached out to Baldoni — whom she repeatedly referred to as a 'friend' — to share her growing anxiety about returning to work so soon after giving birth and the strain it could place on her relationship with Reynolds, 49.

'Hey. I hope you're so well. Just wanted to connect just to put something on your radar,' she began, stressing that what she was about to say felt 'so premature' to share. Still, she insisted that, overall, the 'headline is great, good, great stuff,' suggesting she was excited about the project even as doubts crept in.

The message, sent on 8 February 2023, was not a spur‑of‑the‑moment decision. Lively explained that Reynolds had encouraged her to open up to Baldoni, telling her: 'I was like, 'I don't know if I should share this,' but he was like, 'You guys have such a great trust, you know. Fill him in.''

What followed was a raw admission that the actress, known for Gossip Girl and The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, was struggling to reconcile the demands of a newborn, a major studio film and her desire to be physically present with her family.

'Selfish' Fears Over Filming And Time Apart

In the recording, Lively laid out the practical and emotional toll she feared the schedule would take. She spoke about juggling the arrival of her fourth child with the intense pre‑production required for It Ends With Us, adapted from Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel.

'Just the idea of going back to work every day right away and also the idea of, you know, prepping for our movie and wanting to work out every day and all that and yet being on set every day,' she said. 'I'm like, 'What have I done?''

Lively stressed that the only reason she was pushing ahead with the film was that she had already committed to it. 'The only reason that I'm doing [that movie] before is because I gave them my word and I wouldn't go back on that and felt like I had to make it work. But having a week off in between, it's just a lot. It's a lot.'

She admitted she hoped to push the shoot back, saying she planned to begin filming in March, which she described as 'just too soon after having a baby.' Wanting to adjust the production calendar, she acknowledged, felt 'selfish', particularly given the scale of the project and the number of people depending on it.

However, Lively made clear that her concerns were not only about exhaustion and recovery, but about the emotional weight of being away from Reynolds. 'Selfishly, what I would love about that is that Ryan and I have also been really stressed about spending a month apart. None of it is your problem,' she told Baldoni. 'That's why I'm talking to you as a friend at this point more than anything, but the idea of spending all of June apart is a lot. The most we have ever done is less than two weeks.'

Her comments echo a long‑standing image of Lively and Reynolds as a couple who prioritise spending time together despite their demanding careers. In the memo, she framed the looming month‑long separation as running counter to how they had always structured their work.

Lively closed the recording on a wry, intimate note, highlighting how isolated she felt amid new parenthood and professional pressure. 'So nice talking to you. Not talking to you, this is so sad. This is my social interaction these days, just talking into voice memos. OK, I hope you're well. Send my love to your family who don't know me. Take care, bye.'

From Friendly Memo To Courtroom Battle

It Ends With Us was eventually released in cinemas in August 2024. Just four months later, the dynamic between Lively and Baldoni had dramatically shifted. Lively filed a lawsuit accusing the actor‑director, now 41, and figures at Wayfarer Studios of sexual harassment and retaliation.

Baldoni, best known for Jane the Virgin, denied the allegations and responded with a $400 million countersuit against Lively and Reynolds, accusing the couple of defamation and extortion. In June 2025, a judge dismissed Baldoni's lawsuit, clearing the way for Lively's case to proceed.

Lively's legal action, initially set for trial in March, has been postponed to May. The newly unsealed voice memo, a private appeal to a trusted collaborator, now takes on greater significance against the backdrop of a bitter courtroom confrontation.

For Lively, the memo captures her concern about protecting her family while honouring a professional promise. Two years later, those relationships and decisions are being scrutinised in court, turning her confession into crucial evidence in a case that has reshaped the narrative around It Ends With Us and her partnership with Justin Baldoni.