After a very busy — and somewhat tumultuous — last few weeks, Blake Lively is taking some time away from the spotlight, and celebrating with family and friends.
On August, Sunday 25, the It Ends With Us actress marked her 37th trip around the sun, and rang it in with a weekend getaway alongside her husband Ryan Reynolds and their celebrity friends.
Though the couple are based in Bedford, New York, an affluent suburban area just over an hour away from the city, for the Gossip Girl alum’s special day, they jet off to Rhode Island, specifically the famed and historic Watch Hill neighborhood.
Blake and Ryan were spotted over the weekend at none other than their bestie Taylor Swift’s home in the area. Known as the Harkness House, it’s the most expensive private home in Rhode Island, and was previously owned by late socialite Rebekah Harkness, to whom Taylor’s song “The Last Great American Dynasty” is dedicated.
The gathering at the home also served as a reunion between the “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” singer and her boyfriend Travis Kelce ahead of a weeks-long break from her Eras Tour, and fellow stars such as Gigi Hadid, Bradley Cooper, Jason and Kylie Kelce, plus Patrick and Brittany Mahomes were also in attendance.
Despite having her birthday, a Vogue September cover and her new movie to celebrate, it’s been a difficult time for Blake, who has been facing backlash over her marketing approach for It Ends With Us, a movie largely concerned with surviving domestic violence.
Ahead of and amid the movie’s release, rumors swirled that there had been a rift between Blake and her co-star and director Justin Baldoni, who promoted the movie noticeably separate from the rest of the cast, which includes Brandon Sklenar, Jenny Slate, Isabela Ferrer and Hasan Minhaj.
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Some fans criticized her for incorporating promotion of her brands Betty Booze as well as her new haircare line Blake Brown Beauty into promotion of the film, and many perceived her as having failed to bring light to the serious issues the movie covers.
© GettyThe backlash was amplified when some unflattering past interviews and comments by her also resurfaced. Though she has largely shied away from addressing the drama, following the movie’s release, she did issue a statement on Instagram Stories addressing its themes of domestic violence.
© Gotham“Thank you to everyone who came out to show that people WANT to see films about women, and the multitudes we hold. It Ends With Us is a story of the female experience. All the highest highs, and lowest lows. And we are so proud of it,” she wrote.
© GettyShe also added: “1 in 4 women aged 18 and older in the U.S. alone have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Intimate partner violence affects all genders, including more than 12 million people every year in the United States. Everyone deserves relationships free from domestic violence.”
She and Ryan are parents to three girls and one son; they share James, nine, Inez, seven, and Betty, four, plus they recently confirmed that their fourth baby, who was born in late 2022, is a baby boy named Olin.