Both Star and In Touch are reporting that newlyweds Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds are adopting a baby from Africa. According to Star, they’re looking in Ethiopia and Ghana while In Touch has them already meeting with officials in Ethiopia and Liberia. There’s also news that they plan to renew their vows on their second wedding anniversary, which I vaguely remember reading about earlier. Both Ryan and Scarlett come from families that have adopted children. Ryan has an older brother who is adopted while Scarlett’s mom adopted a baby girl from Ethiopia in May. Star has the couple relocating from Los Angeles to Manhattan and Louisiana to raise the baby.
In Touch:
Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds’ [relationship is] so solid that they are actually planning a top-secret vow-renewal ceremony for their second wedding anniversary, in September. They’ve also already met with advisors about adopting a baby from Liberia or Ethiopia (where Scarlett’s mom found her new daughter). Ryan, 33, has an adopted brother, and he and Scarlet, 25, are both committed to adopting before having their own kids. The secret to their happy marriage, the friend says, is an agreement to keep their relationship on the down-low, eschewing photo ops and red carpet events. Most importantly, they never go more than two weeks without seeing each other.Star:
Although they’ve been dogged by rumors of trouble since tying the knot in September, 2008, the two are actually closer than ever. Not only did they recently purchase a country home in Louisiana, they are also planning to adopt a baby from Africa…Scarlett, 25, forged a connection with Africa when she Rwanda in 2008 to work with (RED), an initiative to fight AIDS… And now she and Ryan, 33, are working with a U.S.-based adoption agency, reveals a source. “They’ve narrowed the search to Ethiopia or Ghana…”
Preparing to become parents is a big reason the duo put their L.A. home up for sale this spring for $4.5 million and plan to live primarily in Scarlett’s native NYC and Louisiana.
[From Star and In Touch, print editions, June 21, 2010]
If this is true, congratulations to Scarlett and Ryan and that’s wonderful that they’re opening their home and family to a new addition! I don’t think it bodes well that they’re renewing their vows after just two years together (if that part of the story is true), but their initial wedding was small and vow renewal seems to be a trend in Hollywood.
I did believe the rumors that these two were having problems in their marriage, but maybe those stemmed from the fact that we’ve seen hardly any paparazzi photos of them. They were photographed together in Louisiana earlier this month surveying the damage from the oil leak, though. Maybe they’re just better than most couples at avoiding unwanted attention. With that in mind, I doubt we’ll be seeing photos in People of their new baby if this adoption goes through.
I’m still not used to them being a couple, they seem so unlikely, much like Renée Zellweger and Bradley Cooper.
Though I do like how low-key they keep things. If this is true, congratulations to them. Let’s just hope for the child (present or future) that the marriage holds up. So many Hollywood marriages don’t work and I especially have doubts about this one making it forever after.
As a couple, they keep a very low profile, so I take articles about their personal relationship and happenings with a grain of salt. Congrats if they are adopting a child.
hmmm, congrats if true
That will be a lucky kid who will have two beautiful parents.
what, no one wants them to adopt from the good ole u.s. of a, for shame 😀
i would like to point out that if they were married in Sept. 2008 then they would be renewing their vows on their 2nd anniversary- not their 1st!
and Heidi and Seal do it every year and no one says that is an indication that they are having problems…
@Bite Me- Oh heck, it is not P.C to adopt from the U.S.
I am happy any child needing a home to have one, but seriously, shouldn’t we be trying to help the children in our own country as well as abroad?
bite me – Sheryl Crow and Sandra Bullock are the rare exceptions.
To hear they’re adopting is a bit surprising because she’s quite young and they haven’t been married too long. In real time their jobs keep them apart for long stretches. Plus a rocky 2 years with reports of arguments (i.e., his refusal to go Comic Con to promote Wolverine) and his sour attitude (via Lainey).
May be unpopular, but personally I think she should run far away from this self centered twit — not put down roots.
It´s very sad for any children anywhere in the world to lose their parents / or just being put up for adoption for whatever reason!
However U.S. orphanages/foster homes are much better places to be compared to anywhere in Africa. American orphans do have much more opporunities and support then those in countries devasted by poverty and desease, so those children should too get the chance to have a good life and loving family, why not? I am not saying is not a good thing to adopt from home but there are many children in need in this world and there is no reason to turn our backs at them.
Sandra adopted from Louisiana!
That being said as much good as these celebs and such are doing, there are millions of children here in our own country who need loving homes. I think we should focus on home before we go out and fix the world.
if they are adopting congrats to them and good luck.
Yes, that’s why i’m pursuing adoption in Ethiopia. Because i want to be hip. Nothing to do with the 10-year wait for a child under the age of 2 in my home province in Canada.
I think I’m with Larissa on this one. To open your heart and home to a child in need is a beautiful thing. I assume that when you see children in the most dire of human circumstances, it’s all but impossible to not be chilled to the core by it.
All those who say look to the US first, how many of you have actually tried to adopt from the US? Because the wait list for babies (under 2 years) is 5+ years- that’s right, to get a baby/toddler from the US takes at LEAST FIVE YEARS, and often times much, much longer. Sheryl Crow, who has adopted two babies from the US, described the waiting period and the disappointment when the birth mother changed her mind- and it took Sandra B. four years to get Louis.
Know how long international adoptions take? From 8 to 18 months, generally. And once they are put in place, nobody can change their mind, unlike in many US adoptions when the birth mother can change her mind up to several weeks/months after the birth.
Add to that the the US system has so much more than other countries- children in orphanages in Africa, especially, are still in danger of malnutrition, disease, violence, and death. Children in foster care in the US are generally protected from these things.
It burns me up when people do the whole “Why not adopt from the US/Aren’t US kids good enough/Oh, US kids aren’t trendy enough/etc.
LOOK INTO IT BEFORE YOU SPEAK!!!
I think biteme was being sarcastic. 😉
These 2 are such an odd couple, I too still find it weird that they are together, let alone married.
I don’t see these 2 going the distance, but congrats if this story is true.
@Carrie – Thanks for pointing that out, I didn’t know the wait list was so long for US (and Canadian) children – what a shame. You’d think with all the orphanages filling up in the meantime, they’d find some way to make it easier for parents to adopt them.
I’ll be happy when the celebutards go back to adopting chihuahuas.
No congratulations from me. I hope they will not adopt. Adoption is a very exploitive system that results in more child trafficking and kidnapping worldwide. Also the trendy celebrity adoption thing is getting old. Want a baby? Have one.