Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have discovered an unlikely sanctuary from their ongoing legal battles in the unlikely setting of Wrexham, according to revelations from their close friend and colleague.
The Welsh Escape Route
British actor Humphrey Ker, who serves as executive director of Wrexham AFC, has disclosed that the Hollywood power couple regularly retreat to the Welsh town to escape the media storm surrounding their legal dispute with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
"What they love about coming to Wrexham is that no one there gives two s***s about their fame," Ker explained in a recent interview with The Telegraph. "What they care about is whether he'll buy them a new centre back. It's an escape. I feel for them."
Ker, who attended Eton College with Prince William, acknowledged that Reynolds and Lively have been "slightly through the wringer over the last 18 months" with their legal issues, noting that while public interest fluctuates, "things still continue to rumble on in the background."
Major Legal Development for Lively
The revelations about their Welsh retreat come as Lively secured a significant victory in her heated sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni. A federal judge has ordered It Ends With Us producer Jamey Heath to surrender all footage of his wife Natasha's home birth within three days.
In an explosive six-page memorandum filed in the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis J. Liman ruled that Heath must produce the controversial video evidence. The decision follows Lively's motion to sanction Heath for failing to hand over footage she claims is central to her case.
According to court documents, Lively alleges that Heath approached her and her assistant on set and began playing a clip showing "a fully nude woman with her legs spread apart," which she initially believed was pornography. Heath later allegedly claimed the video depicted his wife giving birth.
Conflicting Accounts and Legal Standoff
The legal battle features sharply contrasting narratives from both parties. Heath denies showing Lively birth footage and insists he only showed a post-birth video of himself, his wife and their newborn baby.
However, Judge Liman found that the full footage may contain evidence supporting Lively's account and directly contradicting Heath's version of events. "Because the Court's order encompassed more than the video Heath claims he showed Lively, the additional footage should have been produced," the judge wrote.
The court emphasised that Lively's request covers any documents or communications relating to the allegations, including the birth footage itself. While acknowledging the videos as "extremely sensitive and deeply personal," Judge Liman ruled that sensitivity alone wasn't sufficient to shield them from the discovery process.
Broader Legal Context
Lively launched her bombshell lawsuit against Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios, and other defendants last December, alleging sexual harassment, retaliatory conduct, and intentional infliction of emotional stress during filming of the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel.
In response, Baldoni had filed a $400 million defamation complaint against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist Leslie Sloane, along with a separate suit against the New York Times. However, these counter-claims were dismissed in June, leaving Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit as the primary case moving forward.
It Ends With Us proved to be a commercial success, earning $148 million domestically and $350 million globally. However, the film's achievements have been overshadowed by the ongoing legal dispute between its lead stars.
The judge has formally granted Lively's motion in part and denied it in part, siding with her on the crucial issue that she is entitled to see all versions of the controversial video. The footage will remain protected by strict confidentiality measures and will not become public.
