Blake Lively Reveals Rule She and Ryan Reynolds Made Early on in Their Relationship

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' love story started with a different kind of proposal.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants alum revealed that when she and the Deadpool actor first started dating in 2011, they decided on an important vow that would make their relationship work.

"When Ryan and I got together, we made a rule not to work at the same time," she told friend Amber Tamblyn on her Substack show Further Ado Feb. 22. "So that we could always prioritize our personal life."

And while it's clear the ultimatum has worked out for Blake and Ryan—who got married in 2012—she noted that the rule has been challenging to stick to.

"That takes working really hard when we're not," she continued. "Just like financial planning and sustaining that; it takes balance."

The policy of not overlapping work was especially important to Blake, because at the time they started dating, she was working "nonstop" on Gossip Girl.

"I'm used to working hard and going and going and going and going and not stopping," she added. "Especially, Gossip Girl was six years of my life, and we were sometimes shooting three episodes at once."

But two years after the hit show ended, the pair was able to turn their attention toward growing their family, welcoming daughters James, 9, Inez, 7, Betty, 4, and a fourth child whose birth was revealed in February 2023.

"There's nothing on earth more grounding than having a baby," Ryan told E! News in 2016. "It's the best thing that could ever happen to someone."

And when it comes to keeping the spark alive after all these years, perhaps Blake and Ryan live by another rule: The chance to troll each other at every opportunity, whether that's the Super Bowl or sharing extremely candid photos on Instagram.

Keep reading for more of Blake and Ryan's best couple moments.

Blake put the pressure on Ryan to up his game on her next birthday after he created a fully produced music video for friend Rob McElhenney's big day in April 2023. "That's a lot of effort you put into this," she wrote on social media. "Can't wait for August 25th."

The actress trolled her husband as he attended a particularly gripping match for his soccer team, Wrexham AFC. The Welsh football club, of which he is a co-owner, played against Sheffield United during the fourth round of the FA Cup.

"I bought espn+ today," Blake wrote on her Instagram Story. "Just to watch my husband experience crippling anxiety live. Worth it."

Blake had a question for her husband Ryan, brother-in-law Terry Reynolds and sister Robyn Lively: "How did not one person find the time to mention to me that this is what my hair looked like today?"

In an ad for his company Mint Mobile, Ryan asked for Blake to come out and talk about the brand's family plan. However, a stand-in for the actress appeared instead.

As Lively joked on Instagram in July 2022, "Darling, if you charged more, you could afford me. Sorry, your real wife." And when he claimed he was "revolutionizing the category," she replied, "@vancityreynolds, my love, feel free to revolutionize the couch when you sleep on it tonight!!"

When Ryan announced he planned to take a "little sabbatical from movie making," Blake commented, "Michael Caine did it first," referring to an interview in which the Dark Knight actor hinted that he had shot his final film. Ryan later clarified that he has not retired from acting.

In true Ryan fashion, he poked fun at his wife on her 34th birthday by snubbing her on Instagram. Instead of sharing a sweet tribute to mark the occasion, he cheekily praised Mariah Carey, quipping on Instagram Stories, "My favorite thing that's ever happened on August 25."

In April 2021, Blake trolled Ryan while wishing their friend Gigi Hadid a happy 26th birthday, writing on Instagram, alongside a photo of herself sitting in between the two, "I think you and I make a much better couple."

The spouses got their COVID-19 vaccines in March 2021 and used the opportunity to troll each other. Ryan wore a beanie while getting the shot and surveyed fans over who looked better in the hat, him or his life while filming her 2020 movie The Rhythm Section.

Blake later took a subtle dig at the actor, sharing a pic of herself getting vaccinated and writing, "Find you someone who looks at you like I look at the heroic nurse vaccinating me."

In March 2021, Ryan watched his and Blake's 2011 film Green Lantern, tweeting, "I only ever read my parts of the script so this is genuinely exciting for me to watch." He later wrote, "Hey @BlakeLively is in this movie!!"

He also shared a photo of himself taking a picture of the screen, which shows a scene with him and Blake. The actor, who shares four kids with his wife, wrote, "This was not bad foreshadowing for my life as a dad."

In December 2020, after seeing a video on the Frida Mom Instagram page that advised new moms about "what d--ks to avoid" after giving birth, Ryan just couldn't help but give Blake a shout-out, commenting "I'd tag @blakelively but I'm afraid that might not go well for me."

Also in December 2020, Blake shared on her Instagram Story four of her "favorite things in the world" from Vancouver—a bunch of desserts.

Blake, whose husband was born in the Canadian city, then jokingly teased her followers, "...Who did you think I was gonna say??" However, she did give her superhero a subtle nod with a Deadpool GIF in the corner.  

In August 2020, after it was reported that Ryan had sold his co-owned liquor company Aviation American Gin for $610 million, he celebrated the only way he knew how: He penned a snarky "Out of Office" e-mail that addressed his wife, Dwayne Johnson, Betty White, AMC Theaters, Total Wine and TGI Friday's among others in a apology email.

"I just learned what an 'earn out' is... And I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to everyone I told to go f--k themselves in the last 24 hours," he wrote. "The point is, to those listed below, I'm sorry... and I'll indeed be needing your help in the coming months and years."

When Ryan posted a promo pic for his gin company in July 2020, Blake, being a supportive wife, commented, "I think this just got me pregnant."

But fans were left disappointed when her husband promptly replied with an "out of the office" message. "I will be out of the office starting July 22nd through the middle of forever and ever," his message stated. "If you need immediate assistance during by absence, please contact someone. Anyone. Otherwise I will respond to your message as soon as possible upon my unlikely return. Thank you."

The Initial Post: In April 2020, Blake poked fun at Ryan's quarantine hairdo, posting a photo of his baby man-bun to her Instagram Stories. "I dare you to forget this every time you see him for the rest of eternity," she quipped in her caption.

The Counter Post: The Deadpool star shared the image to his own Instagram Stories, writing, "Clearly your birth control doesn't work, so..."

When Ryan gave his trainer Don Saladino a shout-out about at-home workouts, Blake naturally seized the opportunity to poke fun at the post, noting that the fitness pro's shirtless promo felt very Tinder-esque.

Reposting his original story to her account, she replied, "@vancityreynolds I keep swiping right. This isn't working," adding, "Oh…swipe UP." 

Never forget when Ryan decided to celebrate her big day in 2019 by posting not one, not two but 10 less-than-flattering photos of her in an Instagram carousel...which we will now re-post a few of, obviously. 

And here's another.

The mutual adoration and admiration really shines through in this one.

This one really captures Blake's spirit, no? 

Yeah, he went hard.

But he definitely saved the best for last.

For the milestone birthday in 2017, Ryan decided to go all out, posting a glamorous photo of the couple from the 2014 Met Gala in his Instagram tribute to Blake...save for the fact that he cropped her out of the pic. "Happy Birthday to my amazing wife," he wrote.

Blake returned the favor when it came to Ryan's 41st birthday in 2017, with her husband even admitting how "awesome" her Instagram post was. "Happy Birthday, baby," she wrote alongside a pic of Ryan Gosling with her Ryan cropped out at the Critics' Choice Awards.

Ah, revenge is sweet.

While promoting A Simple Favor, Blake had to deal with Ryan tweeting at her for spoilers about what happened to her missing character. "You can tell me. We're married" he wrote. "You once drove me to the hospital when you were giving birth. So... what the f--k happened to Emily?"

In response, Blake tweeted, "Oh darling, of all the secrets I'm keeping from you, this should be the LEAST of your concerns... trust me."

After Blake gifted Ryan an original Danny Galieote painting, the Buried actor posted a heartfelt thank you, almost making it through the entire caption without a joke. "This piece of art is the greatest present my wife has ever given me," he wrote. "If there's ever a fire, I'm grabbing this first. I'll come back for Blake."

Hey, at least he said he'd come back for her?

In 2019, Aviation Gin was ranked as one of the best celebrity spirits by drink experts VinePair, so Ryan did what anyone else would do: Posted about the achievement on social media. A lot. Which, prompted Blake to poke fun.

"My husband has no chill," she wrote on her Instagram Story, showing her followers that Ryan didn't waste any time to point out his brand's ranking. "…Literally 37 mins later."

She also shared a screenshot from the Aviation Gin Instagram, which posted VinePair's original article and review of the brand. She sarcastically wrote, "…In case you missed it?"

When divorce rumors popped up in 2018, Ryan used his Aviation Gin out-of-office email to poke fun at the reports. Posting his schedule, Ryan devoted much of his Monday  to gym, tan and laundry, and, that night, he attended a screening of Blake's movie, A Simple Favor. The planner noted, "No divorce jokes!!"

An hour later though, he scheduled himself to, "Sneak out of MOMA screening to regroup. It can't all be about you. This is her moment. Get it together, asshole."

In March 2018, a report alleged the couple had been struggling to spend quality time together because they were both busy working. Never one to resist publicly shutting down a rumor, Ryan retweeted the story, writing, "I wish. I could use a little 'me time.'"

In June 2018, Blake posted a poster for her movie A Simple Favor with co-star Anna Kendrick and wrote, "@annakendrick47 is the hotter, female(r) version of my husband...so, would it really count as cheating??"

Ryan, of course, inserted his own two cents. "The most ambitious crossover event in history," he quipped. "I'll miss you both. Tell my story."

"I picked a good one," Blake wrote in her caption for Ryan's birthday in October 2019. Yeah, you did, girl.