I was glancing through The Daily Mail’s headlines last night, and I came upon a header that made me LMAO: “Blake Lively likes to play by The Rules: Actress ‘snared Leo di Caprio using cult dating manual’”. Do you remember The Rules? It was a book published in the 1990s, and it was billed as a “guide” for women to get their man by basically playing hard to get. “The Rules” included stuff like “Possess a sense of confidence and radiance that permeates your being from head to toe” and “If he never asks you out, he’s not interested.” What else? “Men should always pursue women first” and “If he does not call, he is not interested.” There are also rules about when (and how) to put out, how you should always be mysterious and I’m not sure if you’re ever allowed to call a guy, ever. I’m sure there are those ladies who swear by it, but so many of the “rules” feel archaic, and they put women in the position of never acting on their own desires or needs, but to always focus on the game. Anyway, The Mail claims that Blake dusted off an old copy and used it on Leonardo DiCaprio – and IT WORKED.

She’s a Hollywood actress with her own career and millions in the bank. But when it comes to love, it seems Blake Lively prefers the old-fashioned approached. The Gossip Girl star is rumored to have turned to cult dating manual ‘The Rules’ to hook Leonardo di Caprio.

Not calling him, making him jealous and acting ‘busy’, are just some of the commandments in the bestselling book by Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider, published in 1995, that Blake reportedly heeded to win the Inception actor over.

A friend of Blake’s told Now Magazine: ‘Blake loves dating book The Rules and has been following it to the letter. She knew Leo could have any girl he wanted and she figured she had to stand out from the crowd.’

The blonde 23-year-old even made sure Leo officially broke up with supermodel girlfriend Bar Refaeli before dating him. The source said: ‘Blake told him he had to break up with Bar before she’d even go on a date with him, so he did. She’s making him work for it – and he’s fallen hard for her.’

[From The Mail]

Is it possible? Sure, why not? I think it’s more likely that Blake is just playing her own hard-too-get game and she isn’t flipping through a copy of The Rules. I definitely think Blake slept with Leonardo before he and Bar were officially over – but I’d be willing to bet that she parceled out her biscuits sparsely, encouraging him to end it with Bar and then “rewarding” him once he ended it. Or maybe I’m just projecting – my own set of “rules” involves treating men like dogs, a reward-and-punishment-based system based on their behavior. GOOD DOG.

I do buy that Blake is playing the “woman of mystery” thing now that she’s got Leo – and I think she’s playing it really, really well. She’s being elusive enough that he chases her, but not so off the radar that he forgets about her and loses interest. It even seems like Leo is (gasp) following Blake around, according to HER schedule. Once again, like a broken record: this girl has got hustle.

By the way, one of my favorite pieces of dating advice is still the one from Samantha Jones on Sex & the City, and it always belongs in the Leo-Blake stories: “Don’t play hard to get with a man who is hard to get.”

Photos courtesy of Fame.