Blake Lively Occasionally Feels ‘Guilty’ When Balancing Work, Family Life

Blake Lively attends the Michael Kors Collection Fall/Winter 2024 Runway Show in New York City on Feb. 13, 2024. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Michael Kors

Actress Blake Lively admitted she feels guilty when her career competes with her family life.

In a recent joint interview with co-star Jenny Slate, the “It Ends With Us” star opened up when talking about her connection with Slate, saying they both “really love our personal lives a lot and love our jobs.”

“We love our work and we take it very, very seriously, and we work very, very, very hard, and we completely immerse ourselves in our work—but who we are is defined by our personal life so much more than our work,” Lively told Entertainment Tonight, “and we can be both of those things at once.”

Lively, 36, shares daughters James, 9; Inez, 7; and Betty, 4; and son Olin, 1, with fellow actor Ryan Reynolds, whom she married in 2012.

“When you’re working, sometimes you feel guilty ... for not being in your personal life in those hours you’re at work,” Lively said. “And then, when you’re at work, you feel guilty by being distracted by wishing that you were at your personal life.”

When asked why she calls herself “shy,” Lively said she now spends more time with her children and less time on set.

“My life has become more intimate,” she said during a Vogue interview on Wednesday.

Earlier in the interview, the “Gossip Girl” alum tried to contain her children as they were running around. “Sitting around with them doing chicken dances while I have a very serious conversation with you is probably the most accurate portrait of me possible,” she said.

Some of Lively’s colleagues have said they admire her devotion to her kids. Best-selling author Colleen Hoover said that if Lively’s child “walks into the room, she’s gonna give 100 percent of her attention to her children,” regardless of who the actress is on a call with.

“As a mom, I just really fell in love with that part of her,” Hoover said.

In February, the mother of four revealed the agreement she and Reynolds made at the beginning of their relationship.

“When Ryan and I got together, we made a rule not to work at the same time,” Lively told Entertainment Tonight, “so that we could always prioritize our personal life.

“That takes working really hard when we’re not. Just like financial planning and sustaining that, it takes balance.”

Reynolds has also talked about the joy he experiences in being a father of four, sharing in July that he wants to have “as many as possible.”

“The more the merrier,” Ryan told E! News. “As many little heartbeats as possible, just running around, wrecking stuff in the house. I love it. Let’s have more!”

Lively’s Career

During her junior year of high school, Lively landed a role in the 2005 coming-of-age film “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants,” which eventually earned her a Teen Choice Award nomination.

After graduating high school in the same year the film was released, Lively returned to acting and starred in the 2006 comedy “Accepted,” alongside Jonah Hill and Justin Long. A year later, she got her big break when she appeared on the CW’s teen drama “Gossip Girl,” which ran for six seasons.

Her performance in the television series won her the Teen Choice Awards for TV Actress Drama and TV Breakout Star Female in 2008.

Lively co-starred with Ryan Reynolds in the 2011 superhero film “Green Lantern.” The co-stars tied the knot in 2012 in South Carolina.

The 36-year-old actress continued to appear on the big screen with films such as 2015’s “The Age of Adaline,” 2016’s “The Shallows,” and 2018’s “A Simple Favor.” This year, Lively made a voice cameo as Lady Deadpool in the action film “Deadpool & Wolverine,” in which her husband starred.

Lively’s most recent role was Lily Bloom in the romance film “It Ends With Us,” which premiers on Aug. 9.