Remember when Taylor Swift used to do her whole #SquadGoals and #TayMerica thing? I think that was the first time I realized she was friends with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. The couple popped up at the Fourth of July party during Taylor’s Hiddles era and then there was one of those zoomed in posts on Ryan’s face like “how did I get here” in a cheesy photo with the couples cuddled up in beach towels. At the time I thought they were just a get for the party/squad, but it turned out they’re close enough that Blake and Ryan allowed their eldest daughter’s voice on one of Tay’s songs and allowed Taylor to reveal their third daughter’s name in another song.
So Taylor is a family friend, like an aunt. In a recent interview, Ryan said that’s all the kids knew for a long time and they thought music was just a hobby for her. He said the girls didn’t realize until they eventually went to a concert that Taylor is actually a pretty big deal.
Is having Taylor Swift as a close friend beyond your wildest dreams?
Well, that’s the reality for Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and their children. In fact, the Deadpool star recently revealed what it was like when their daughters—James, 7, Inez, 6, and Betty, 3—realized the singer’s level of superstardom.
“I think what’s most exciting for them is that for the longest time they just thought Taylor’s just a, you know, like an aunt, like a friend of mommy and daddy that’s very, very close, almost family,” he said while appearing on the Nov. 7 episode of SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show. “And then they went to a concert one day and were like, ‘Ohhhhh, this isn’t a hobby.'”
And yes, the kids are fans of her music and were excited about Midnights. So much so that Ryan noted earlier in the episode that it’s “like a religion in our house” and said he, Blake and the girls were going to have a dance party to Taylor’s 10th studio album after the interview.
“I’m not making this up. We are having a Taylor Swift Midnights dance party right after this,” the actor continued. “It’s Sunday. We’re headed straight to the porch where we’re doing a full dance number set to Midnights—swear words included. My favorite thing is when a 3-year-old is just throwing down the F-bomb in a song and has no idea that that’s yeah.”
So the girls just thought that Taylor was their singing aunt with a guitar and British boyfriend and three cats? That’s actually pretty funny. I’m picturing Taylor at their house with her guitar and cat bubble backpack, pausing playdates to hum to herself and scribble down lyrics. That has to be her songwriting process. It makes sense that the kids didn’t really understand how famous she is. They’re pretty little so they wouldn’t be on social media or like, watching E! News or MTV. Taylor is not ubiquitous like a Disney or Nickelodeon star would be — she’s not specifically marketed to little kids and she can hide when she wants to. I can’t really picture Ryan Reynolds having a Taylor Swift sing and dance party, but he’s really leaning into his “girl dad” image. I also am still surprised by the fact that they’re friends. I don’t think Blake is as twee and family-focused as she presents herself to be and I think Taylor is far more shrewd and self-possessed than either of them. I stand by my original theory that they were a cool get for Taylor’s squad and party and then became/remained friends for reasons.
photos credit: Backgrid, Getty and Instagram via Avalon.red
That picture is so cheesy. How does that even go down? Was it spontaneous? Did Taylor tell them where to sit? How long did they have to stay like that? Were there party favors afterwards?
That photo is the epitome of why people scrub their instagrams.
I am not embarrassed at all to admit that my group of friends (plus a few dogs) did a similar photo at the cottage (no one was looking as loved up, but yeah, we were sitting on our partner’s laps). It took us about five minutes to set up- chairs in front of lake, camera on tripod. My friend who forces us to get group photos organized who sat where. It’s fun, silly, and while we complain about them, I’m glad I’ll have them when I’m older.
Me too, its just for fun & absolutely no one saw the picture and thought we just happened to be hanging out like that.
Feel slightly embarrassed that I know this, but Taylor and Blake were in Australia at the same time a long time ago and met up (as famous acquaintances) to go to the zoo/take a bunch of twee photos. I guess they really “got on,” as the Aussies would say, and became friends for real/life.
yes haha, that’s what I was coming to say. they’ve been friends for a long time and are very close. she even said once that after Joe, Blake and Ryan are the first people she plays new songs for.
I actually think Taylor, Ryan, and Blake seem extremely similar – probably really lovely to know, probably a great friend to have, and very calculating/intentional when it comes to PR.
I agree completely.
I love Ryan and Blake as a couple. They seem like such a good fit. Aunt Tay makes perfect sense to me.
Listen, I am a big Taylor Swift fan and not embarrassed to admit that. But I think it’s pretty fecking weird that she created a love triangle storyline for her album using the names of her friends’ children. Anybody else?
No, first because all three of the kid’s names aren’t actually part of the love triangle, only two of them, but all three names are actually used in just the one song. Pretty easy to picture Taylor playing it on guitar for them on the porch and watching them react as they hear their names.
It also was not originally written as a love triangle. She wrote two other unconnected songs first and then realized at some point when writing the third song Betty that if she tweaks a couple of phrases in just that song she can connect the song to two previously unrelated songs and create a triangle. She may have been using the kids names in that third song before she ever even thought of creating the triangle.
You’re correct. I should have phrased it as “writing a song about a love affair using the names of her friends’ children as the lovers.” Inez wasn’t part of the triangle.
I’ve always liked to imagine that this song came out of some wine and a bet/dare between Ryan/Blake and Taylor. Like “oh you think you can write a song with any random word in it — try doing one with our three daughters’ names. . . “
How thrilling for the kidlets 🎶 💕