Blake Lively takes on the paparazzi: ‘Here are photos of me pregnant in real life’

Actress Blake Lively has shared rare pregnancy photos in a bid to undermine the paparazzi who have been invading her privacy in the hope of getting a shot of her and her family. The Gossip Girl star announced that she was expecting her fourth child with actor Ryan Reynolds on Thursday during the 10th annual Forbes Power Women’s Summit, and since then, the press have been harassing the actress. “Here are photos of me pregnant in real life so the 11 guys waiting outside my home for a 🦄 sighting will leave me alone. You freak me and my kids out,” she posted on her Instagram account, which has 35.2 million followers.

The photographs show Lively enjoying herself with her husband, Ryan Reynolds, her sister Robyn Lively and one of her best friends, American singer Taylor Swift. “Thanks to everyone else for all the love and respect and for continuing to unfollow accounts and publications who share photos of children,” Lively added in her message.

The Hollywood couple, who are parent to three children – James, 7, Inez, 5, and Betty, 2 – are very private about their personal lives. The star of The Age of Adaline hid the fact that she was expecting a third child until she was sixth months pregnant. And although the stars often post on social media and make jokes on one another’s accounts, they have a strict no-photo policy for their children. The couple have only appeared before the cameras on one occasion: in December 2016, when Reynolds was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the pair posed with James, who was two years old at the time.

This is not the first time Lively has called out the paparazzi for hassling her children. In October 2021, the actress criticized an Instagram account called Hollywood Star Kids, which had published a photo of the couple with their three children. “This is so disturbing,” Blake commented at the time. “I’ve personally shared with you that these men stalk and harass my children. And you are still posting. You said you would stop. You personally promised me. This is not casual appreciation. This is YOU also exploiting very young children. Please. Delete. Please.” The account removed the photos shortly afterwards.