From an invite to rehearse while Blake Lively pumped breast milk to an initial burgeoning bromance with Ryan Reynolds, the cache of texts shared by Justin Baldoni give an extraordinary insight into their now-broken relationship.
In one Blake allegedly texted Justin: ‘It’s my love language. Spicy and playfully bold, never with teeth’ in a flirty exchange about one raunchy scene in It Ends With Us and repeatedly calls herself a ‘ballbuster’.
In another chat Justin dismisses any suggestion she won’t look ‘amazing’ in ‘body scenes’ when she asked for them to be delayed to the end of the shoot.
MailOnline has pulled together the ten most important messages between the A-listers during the making of the movie.
Mr Baldoni is the the midst of legal warfare and his team set up a website revealing the actor and director’s contact with Hollywood royalty Lively and Reynolds.
His lawyers lay out a timeline from January 2019 to January 2024. This includes 168 pages of emails, text messages and WhatsApps, mostly between him and Blake as well as some extraordinary interactions with her husband.
It reveals that Ryan Reynolds told him that he and Lively are ‘big fans’ and that the Deadpool star told him: ‘I happen to adore you Justin.’
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The Deadpool star’s wife even asked him to run through lines with her while she is expressing breast milk in her trailer. She also confides in her co-star that she would like to lose more weight before they started filming and how he was ‘safe’ to express himself freely in their text conversations.
In one warm message about a romantic scene in the film Blake told him: ‘You’re the absolute best. Thank you’.
There were also positive texts about Baldoni’s choice of intimacy coordinator – an expert who helps choreograph sex scenes in movies and TV.
According to the documents in April 2023, Baldoni was even invited to travel from New York, where the film was made, home to LA on a private jet with Lively and her children, so that they could work on the movie together and so that Baldoni – homesick for his family – could visit them.
But come July 2024, according to Baldoni, Reynolds was calling him a ‘deranged predator’ and in the August the film was released with Lively and Baldoni not on the red carpet together with joint interviews.
These are the key texts between the now warring parties and how initially at least their relationship was more than cordial.
February 9, 2023 – Blake Lively jokes about needing to lose 20lb
Justin Baldoni disliked a message from Blake Lively revealing that she was keen to loose weight before filming after having her fourth child.
The warm messages between the co-stars reveals how she thanked him for his ‘support’ and ‘friendship’.
Mr Baldoni then says how he had been ‘worried’ about her and joked that she must feel 1000lbs lighter, obviously in an emotional sense.
She replied: ‘I really really do’ and the added: ‘Only 20 to go’ plus some laughing emojis.
February 14, 2023 – Blake promises Justin he is ‘safe’ with her
On Valentine’s Day Mr Baldoni said that it was ‘really fun’ writing for the movie knowing she would be his co-star.
He then said he meant ‘exciting’ and suggested that he should apologise.
In an attempt to reassure him she said: ‘You’re safe here’ and he replied with a heart emoji.
February 17, 2023 – Baldoni insists Blake will ‘look amazing’ when she asks to delay ‘body scenes’ for movie
Ms Lively, who has just had son Olin, is concerned that she won’t be in shape for love scenes and asks in a text: ‘What’s the chance we can do body scenes at the end of the schedule?’
Baldoni responds that he isn’t able to fix the schedule yet but tells her: ‘I want you to know you will look amazing. Anything you are insecure about we will talk through and get creative together and make you comfortable. I just don’t want you to stress about your body. It’s the last thing you need.’
February 28, 2023 – Ryan Reynolds tells Baldoni: ‘I happen to adore you Justin’
Baldoni and Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds exchange text messages where Justin says he wants to be friends.
In an attempt to break the ice and start a new friendship, Baldoni had texted the Deadpool actor and they had a pleasant conversation.
‘I asked Blake for your number well over a month ago and have wanted to text you for a while now, but my good ol’ nerves got the best of me,’ Baldoni wrote in his text to Reynolds.
He referred to himself as ‘the guy who brought his literal baggage to his meeting with your wife.’
In his lengthy and self-proclaimed ‘awkward’ text, Baldoni shared a little insight on his longtime marriage with his wife Emily Baldoni.
‘Emily and I have a very small circle. We live out in the country and pretty much just hang out with each other. We’ve known all our closest friends for years, and I don’t really have any close female friends that my wife isn’t also friends with, let alone married ones. And so I guess this is just an awkward text to say I’d like to be friends.’
In their cordial exchange, Baldoni also included Reynolds’ alleged amiable reply.
‘What a loving and generous message. Thank you. We’re both looking forward to getting to know you and your family better. We’re also big fans over here. Since before we met, and more-so after,’ Reynolds wrote.
‘You’ve been a wonderful collaborator with [sic], and that meant a great deal — to both of us. Being a stand-up person is everything, and you’ve been just that since day one. Thank you.’
He asks for Baldoni to try and move the shooting schedule so that the family can be together the whole time and concludes: ‘Thank you again for all you are doing. I happen to adore you Justin.’
April 5, 2023 – Blake’s positive reaction to Justin’s ‘intimacy coordinator’
Baldoni, 41, told Blake Lively, 37, that he had hired an intimacy coordinator and that they could meet “next week.”
He said that he loved her and would ‘set you up’ for an introduction.
She said: ‘I feel good. I can meet her when we start. Thank you though’.
The issue of an intimacy coordinator appears to be central to the legal case because Justin is accused of inappropriate behaviour, including when he kissed Blake.
April 7 and 8 2023 – Blake describes being ‘spicy’, ‘playful’ and ‘ballbusting’ in their movie
Blake and Justin texted about how her character Lily should be in an exchange some fans thought was very flirty.
Blake suggests that she ‘take a pass’ at rewriting a scene between the protagonists on a rooftop.
She texts Baldoni that she wants to ‘amp (up) their verbal ping pong/volley’ and says: ‘how flirty and yummy and ballbusting’ it will play.
Lively and Baldoni spend some time discussing an intimate scene from their movie.
She says: ‘Let me know what you prefer. If you knew me (in person) longer, you’d have a sense of how flirty and yummy the ball-busting would play. It’s my love language. Spicy and playfully bold, never with teeth. And him serving it back to her is just as important. You don’t usually see both the man and the woman with such agency and humor.
‘Anyway, I can act it out for you next week to make sure it comes through, or I can send it now. Let me know what you prefer’.
He replies: ‘I agree so much. Lily needs to be strong, playful and bold’.
May 23, 2023 – Blake says Justin was ‘terrific’ and explains her ‘ballbusting’ is because she cares
There were some tensions in texts from May 2023.
Justin appears to tentatively praise his co-star.
He said: ‘I’m not going to tell you that you were amazing because you tease me for being so sentimental – but you were amazing today.
‘Thank you I do appreciate it. I’m just a ball buster but it means a lot to me. I care a great deal. And always want to deliver,’ Lively wrote back.
She gushed: ‘You were terrific. I’m proud of everything we did today, but really every day.’
The love-in, as the world now knows, did not last.
June 2, 2023 – Blake invites Justin to rehearse while she ‘pumps’ breast milk
Ms Lively returned to work soon after having a baby so was expressing breast milk between takes.
She texted her co-star to ask him to pop by to practice lines.
The texts reveal she said: ‘I’m just pumping in my trailer if you wanna work on our lines,
Mr Baldoni said: ‘Copy. Eating with crew and will head that way.’
‘Take your time’, Blake said.
June 10, 2023 – Baldoni praise’s Ms Lively 110% effort while shooting movie
As the filming went on, Justin Baldoni praised Blake after a ‘hard’ week of shooting.
‘I just wanted to say thank you for giving this week 110%.
‘I know how hard it must be to be shooting and also have your partner gone and feeling exhausted.
‘I appreciate all you have done to to catch up’.
Blake responds in kind.
‘Thanks so much for the text. I appreciate your empathy and I will give it in return, you’re in the same boat’.
August 25 to September 1, 2023: Baldoni sends Blake a ‘matcha machine’ for her birthday
Despite tensions that later emerged, Mr Baldoni sent a long message to mark Blake’s birthday – although Ms Lively took six days to reply.
He wrote: ‘Happy birthday Blake!’, adding that her birthday coincided with the last day of the edit of the movie.
He said: ‘It’s been wildly successful and I’m so happy. You are so fantastic in the film’.
Justin then sends over one of his favourite sections to her to enjoy, adding that he would like her feedback.
Almost a week later she replies: ‘Thank you so much for the matcha machine. That was very thoughtful’.
He replies the following day: ‘Enjoy!’
