Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds’ Relationship Gets Dramatic Update After Report Their Marriage Is ‘Struggling’

The marriage between Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds has faced a lot of adversity in the past few years, particularly surrounding all the bad publicity Lively got after suing her It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment. But how are is the couple doing these days? What are their plans to rehab her public image?

Well, Hollywood insider Rob Shuter reports that Lively fired her longtime publicist Leslie Sloane. She’s since hired Kelly Bush Novak, whose clients include A-list powerhouses like Lady Gaga, Christopher Nolan, and Seth Rogen. According to Shuter, Reynolds was behind that decision.

Now, the challenge for Novak is to make audiences once again focus on Blake as an actress. She’ll also have to contend with a husband with a lot of strong opinions.

“Ryan has very strong opinions about what went wrong, but none of the blame lands on Ryan or Blake,” Shuter reported. “In his mind, other people failed them. He believes he knows exactly how to fix this.”

Reynolds even reportedly wants to remain involved in the process.

“Kelly may have the title, but Ryan expects to have a voice in every major decision,” another source said. “He didn’t hire someone to take over. He hired someone to execute a new strategy with him.”

Related: See All the New Justin Baldoni & Blake Lively’s Texts & Emails—Including the One That References Taylor Swift

Lively’s publicist change comes after reports that her and Reynolds’ marriage was “struggling” amid the pressure of the Baldoni case. In June 2026, an insider told Heat World: “The last thing they want is for people to think the pressure is getting to them, but there is no denying it’s been an incredibly difficult period.”

“Putting on this over-the-top show of being fun and carefree for the cameras is being seen as very contrived by those in their orbit because the reality is they’ve been absolutely battered by this,” the insider added. “Every time they think they’re turning a corner, another setback lands on their doorstep.”

Additional sources noted, “They can make all the happy social media posts and pose for all the happy selfies, but of course, this has taken a big toll; even the most solid marriage would feel the pressure under these circumstances. The question is, how much longer can they take this?”

Nonetheless, Lively and Reynolds have continued to face everything together, but it’s still been hard on them. “They are essentially back at the drawing board now, trying to figure out how to roll with the punches and rebuild from this. That’s a huge reason why they’re working so hard to project a positive image for the cameras; they’re trying to show the world that they’re still standing and still united. But make no mistake, things are grim behind the scenes; this whole situation weighs heavily on both of them. It’s no exaggeration to say it was hanging over their lives like a black cloud.”