As Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce celebrate their wedding weekend in New York City, one notable absence appears to be Swift's longtime friend Blake Lively. Instead of joining the star-studded festivities at Madison Square Garden, Lively, 38, and husband Ryan Reynolds, 49, were spotted around 300 miles away in Lake Placid, New York, cheering on their daughter Betty at a horse show.
Family Priorities Over Celebrity Wedding
Photos published by TMZ showed the couple proudly watching six-year-old Betty compete in several events, where she secured first- and second-place finishes. The Lively-Reynolds family has three daughters: James, Inez, and Betty, all of whom have been referenced in Swift's music.
Meanwhile, celebrity guests including Selena Gomez, Jack Antonoff, and Erin Andrews were seen arriving at MSG for what is believed to be Swift and Kelce's rehearsal dinner ahead of their wedding celebrations. Taylor Swift is reported to be marrying Travis Kelce on Friday.
Other Guests and Venue Details
Ahead of the evening celebration on Thursday, Girls creator Lena Dunham, also a long-time friend of Swift, was captured arriving at the venue in a video obtained by People. Bradley Cooper, the boyfriend of Swift's friend Gigi Hadid, was also snapped in a dark suit getting into a car heading to the venue.
Also photographed heading inside were sports commentator Charissa Thompson; Claire Kittle, the wife of San Francisco 49ers player George Kittle; former NFL star Ross Travis; and broadcaster Erin Andrews. Photos from inside the arena show decor made up of peach-coloured roses, while exterior aerial shots show the venue was lit up with pink lights.
The Swift-Kelce Romance
Swift and Kelce's romance began in 2023 after the Kansas City Chiefs star revealed he had unsuccessfully tried to give the singer a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it during her Eras Tour. The couple confirmed their relationship later that year before announcing their engagement in August 2025.
Drifting Friendship
Lively and Swift, once one of Hollywood's closest celebrity friendships, are believed to have drifted apart amid Lively's ongoing legal dispute with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni. The pair were close for more than a decade, with Swift becoming godmother to Lively and Reynolds' daughters James, Inez, and Betty. The singer even included the children's names in her music, with James appearing on Gorgeous and all three daughters inspiring characters in Folklore.
However, reports of a rift emerged in 2025 after Swift was subpoenaed as part of Baldoni's legal battle. In January, private text messages between the two women were unsealed in court filings, with sources claiming Swift wanted to distance herself from the ongoing dispute. “Taylor was just being a friend to Blake, and it's turned into something bigger than she ever expected,” a source previously told People. “She never thought private messages would become public.”
