On Thursday, as workers carried props, food and pink carpet into Madison Square Garden, the pop star\u2019s longtime friend Blake Lively<\/a>, 38, was spotted with husband Ryan Reynolds<\/a>, 49, hundreds of miles away in Lake Placid, New York, at their daughter\u2019s horse show.<\/p>\n This was the same day that Swift and Kelce were said to be hosting their rehearsal dinner<\/a>, with Swift\u2019s close friends Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff among the guests spotted arriving at the venue. <\/p>\n Then, on Friday, hundreds more celebrities were seen making their way into the stadium <\/a>and then leaving in the early hours of Saturday morning, among them Hugh Grant, Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper, Gracie Abrams, Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn, Ellie Goulding, the Haim sisters and Graham Norton. <\/p>\n Yet Lively and Reynolds weren\u2019t spotted by photographers, social media, fans or the hundreds of news outlets that have been reporting on the celebrations in the heart of New York City.<\/p>\n Swift is godmother to Lively and Reynolds\u2019 children and has featured or referenced them in several of her songs.<\/p>\n The pair were once photographed together regularly, attending dinners in the city. They were also pictured in a box together at the 2024 Super Bowl, cheering on Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs as they beat the San Francisco 49ers.<\/p>\n The Independent has contacted Lively\u2019s representatives for comment.<\/p>\n Swift and Lively\u2019s friendship was put under strain in 2025 when the pop star\u2019s name was dragged into Lively\u2019s legal battle with Justin Baldoni. <\/a><\/p>\n The actor and producer, who directed Lively in the much-maligned 2024 film It Ends With Us, accused her, Reynolds and their publicist of attempting to destroy his career in a January 2025 counter-suit filed after Lively sued him for sexual harassment and a campaign to destroy her reputation.<\/p>\n Amid legal proceedings in January, texts between Lively and Swift were unsealed <\/a>\u2013 among them two long notes from December 2024 that suggested their friendship dynamic had shifted.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, just checking in,\u201d Lively writes. \u201cI have no reason to ask, but I donno, l\u2019ve been feeling like I should\u2026 is everything OK? I felt like a bad friend lately because I was such a sad sack who only talked about my own s*** for months. You were generous to not only be the key person there for me during all of it, but also to let me off the hook for being so in it. But I still have a feeling something may not be right. <\/p>\n \u201cI told Ryan. He said to just ask you. But I felt so stupid and like it sounded needy and awkward for everyone, especially be I can\u2019t explain why I have this feeling. And you know I have toxic masculinity so I can\u2019t be needy. But also, I do want to know everything is good so I\u2019m asking. I always want the opportunity to be a better friend if there\u2019s something I unintentionally did. I know how busy and taxed you are \u2013 physically, emotionally, practically, so I don\u2019t expect any more from you ever. Just want to make sure all is good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo you\u2019re not wrong, but it\u2019s also not a big deal,\u201d Swift replied. \u201cI think I\u2019m just exhausted in every avenue of my life and in recent months had been feeling a little bit of a shift in the way you talk to me. Yes there has been a lot of the Justin stuff but I\u2019ve been through things like this before and I know how all consuming it is. It\u2019s more like\u2026 and I feel really bad saying anything about this because your texts have been so nice in their intent but your last few\u2026 it\u2019s felt like I was reading a mass corporate email sent to 200 employees. You said the word \u2018we\u2019 like 18 times. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd it feels awful to be in any way critical of any way you process what you\u2019ve been going through but I just kinda miss my funny, dark, normal-speaking friend who talks to me as herself, not like. A plural unit. When it\u2019s a group l\u2019m hearing from. <\/p>\n \u201cI feel distanced from you even more than we are geographically. And I know you feel attacked from all sides for ridiculous reasons so you\u2019re feeling like you have to overly explain things or be overly nice or whatever but. It\u2019s me! That\u2019s just caused a little distance. And you don\u2019t need to apologize. Just come back please.\u201d <\/p>\n In May 2025, a representative for Swift told The Independent that her only connection to the film was that her song \u201cMy Tears Ricochet\u201d was used on the soundtrack and criticised Baldoni for subpoenaing the star in the ongoing legal battle.<\/a><\/p>\n Baldoni\u2019s attempt to depose Swift in the case was rejected by a judge in September last year.<\/p>\n He and Lively then settled their lawsuit in early May 2026, after which a federal judge ruled that Lively was \u201centitled to fees and costs\u201d resulting from her legal fight against Baldoni\u2019s countersuit. <\/p>\n![\"Lively](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/newFile.jpg\")
Lively and Swift were incredibly close, and were frequently photographed together at dinners and public events (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Baldoni](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Justin-Baldoni-and-Blake-Lively.png\")
Baldoni and Lively were locked in a legal battle against one another for more than a year (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Swift,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1712353673...jpeg\")
Swift, Lively and Reynolds watching a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets in October 2023 (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Swift](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/newFile-6.jpg\")
Swift (right) with Lively, Hugh Jackman (left) and Ryan Reynolds (@thehughjackman\/Instagram)<\/p>\n