Taylor Swift and Blake Lively (PC: Instagram/blakelively)
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively have been best friends for years now. Over the years, Swift and Lively have publicly shown their affection for one another. The Love Story hitmaker loves her best friend and her family dearly. Recently, at her amazing Elastour show in Madrid, fans spotted Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds with their three daughters, James, Inez, and Betty. At the Madrid show, Swift called out and thanked Lively and her kids while performing Folklore and Evermore.
During her onstage speech, Swift said that her favorite characters of all time were James, Inez, and Betty, which are actually the names of the Gossip Girl alum’s daughters. For those unaware, Swift has also featured Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ kids in her songs; the couple’s daughter James has a vocal cameo in Swift’s Reputation song “Gorgeous.”
In 2020, James, Inez and Betty are mentioned in the folk song “Betty”. In 2023, Lively brought James and Inez on her Eras Tour to show support for her “Aunt” Taylor.
The bond between Taylor Swift and Blake Lively is only going strong. The singer and actress first met in 2015. Lively posted a photo from a L’Oreal campaign, complete with text that was a playful reference to Swift’s star-studded Bad Blood music video. Fans initially misunderstood the caption, but Lively quickly clarified herself, suggesting that she’s a total Swift fan.
The two finally met in Australia, had a whirlwind day together, and the rest is history. Since then, the two have remained super close, sharing photos of their relationship on social media, cheering each other on at big events, and attending each other’s parties. Let’s take a look at the history of their friendship.
2015: Taylor Swift and Blake Lively met in Australia
Blake Lively and Swift spent time together in December during Taylor Swift’s 1989 tour in 2015. The pair enjoyed a day of fun at Warner Bros. Movie World theme park in Queensland, Australia.
2016: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds attended Taylor Swift’s Fourth of July party.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds attended Taylor Swift’s annual Fourth of July event in 2016. In addition to a group photo with Swift in front of fireworks, Lively and Reynolds were also spotted in a cute pair of portraits with Swift and her then-boyfriend, Tom Hiddleston.
That same year, the former Gossip Girl cast member publicly declared she was best friends with Swift after celebrating her birthday. A year after their Australian getaway, Lively wished Swift a (belated) birthday in a now-deleted Instagram post. Lively posted a selfie with the caption, “The people I not only love but really like, born yesterday: Part 1/2. @taylorswift, you know how I feel.”
2017: Taylor Swift featured Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ daughter James on the song “Gorgeous.”
When Swift released her album Reputation in November 2017, Swift fans were thrilled to discover that the voice they heard at the beginning of her song “Gorgeous” was Lively and Reynolds’ daughter, James. During Swift’s Reputation tour in Massachusetts in 2018, Lively and Reynolds reacted to their daughter’s voice onstage; they were in the audience filming Swift’s performance of the song. Lively later revealed on Good Morning America that the footage was a candid portrait of terrible onstage parental pride.
2019: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds celebrated New Year’s Eve with Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift kicked off 2019 with an amazing costume party where guests showed up dressed as their favorite childhood heroes. Swift posted a photo to Instagram of herself dressed as Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Lively dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.
The Gossip Girl alum and Deadpool star also attended Swift’s 30th birthday party in December, where the pair were spotted kissing in a photo Swift shared on Instagram.
2020: Taylor Swift references Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ kids in her Folklore song “Betty.”
Taylor Swift again featured Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ children on her album Folklore. Though this time she simply used their names, the couple’s daughters James, Inez, and Betty all appear in the song “Betty.” When she accepted Best Album at the Grammys in March 2021, Swift referenced Lively and Reynolds throughout her speech.
2020: Blake Lively celebrates Taylor Swift’s birthday
On December 13, 2020, Blake Lively celebrated Taylor Swift’s birthday on Instagram. Lively also thanked her for the release of Evermore. In the caption, she wrote, “You made me happy. Happy Birthday! Thank you for #Evermore! There’s nothing better than receiving a gift on someone else’s birthday. I love you.”
2021: Taylor Swift and Blake Lively support and embrace each other
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively celebrated Halloween together in 2021. Swift, dressed as a squirrel, was spotted accompanying Lively and Reynolds as they went trick-or-treating with their kids in New York City.
That same year, Lively and Reynolds were photographed supporting Swift when she appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on November 13. The pair also showed up to Swift’s afterparty in New York City, where eagle-eyed fans noticed that Lively was wearing the same red heart-shaped ring she wore to the Betty Buzz cocktail event last week. Clearly, anyone who’s friends with Swift is as obsessed with Easter eggs as she is, and the ring plays a major role in the pair’s latest collaboration.
2021: Blake Lively directs Taylor Swift’s music video “I Bet You Think About Me”
When Taylor Swift announced that she would be releasing a new music video for “I Bet You Think About Me” from her re-recorded album, Red (Taylor’s Version), Swift fans were excited. But when the Anti-Hero singer announced that the music video was directed by the outstanding Blake Lively, fans were overjoyed.
Following her performance on SNL, Swift confirmed that Lively would be directing her music video for “I Bet You Think About Me” from Red (Taylor’s Version). The video was released on November 15, 2021, and marked Lively’s directorial debut. Swift also posted a cute TikTok video of Lively filming to mark the milestone.
2022: Taylor Swift and Blake Lively support each other
Taylor Swift expressed her joy in a now-deleted Instagram Story after her music video “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version)” was nominated for an ACM Award in February 2022. She captioned the now-deleted Story, “Ohhhh congrats @blakelively, MILES and @keleighteller!!!! Hugs from all! I loved making this video so I’m so happy the @acmawards nominated it for Video of the Year.” Swift and Lively co-wrote the music video and also produced it with Swift’s brother Austin.
In June of the same year, Lively attended a screening of Swift’s short film All Too Well: The Short Film at the Beacon Theater in New York as part of the 2022 TriBeCa Film Festival. Reynolds was there with his wife to support their acquaintance. Lively attended the event in a white midi-length dress, a tan handbag, and nude-colored T-strap shoes with gold studs. Interestingly, Swift wore the same shoes on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in 2019. In September 2022, Blake Lively was nominated for a CMA Award for directing Swift’s music video “I Bet You Think About Me.”
In September, the Gossip Girl star posted several photos of her pregnant belly to Instagram, including a cute one with Swift. Lively wore a pink bikini and embraced the pop artist, who was casually dressed in striped shorts, a tank top and Ray-Ban sunglasses. Reynolds spoke about Swift while promoting his film “Spirited Away” in New York City. Though he denied the popular speculation that Swift might star in Deadpool 3, he said that Reynolds would welcome her. In a November 2022 interview with Entertainment Tonight, she said, “Are you kidding me? I’d do anything for that woman. She’s a genius.”
The actor also revealed that his whole family is obsessed with Swift and her album, Midnights. “Oh my god. Yeah. I’m not kidding. All of us, the whole house. We just love it. Me and Blake and my girls. We all love it. We’re obsessed.” In November 2022, Swift won Best Pop Album at the American Music Awards. While accepting the award, she thanked Lively. “I want to take this opportunity to thank my beautiful and incredible friend, director Blake Lively, for directing my music video, ‘I Bet You Think About Me.'”
2023: Taylor Swift and Blake Lively went out to dinner multiple times after her split from Joe Alwyn
Following her split from longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn, Taylor Swift enjoyed a girls’ night out in New York City. She was joined by several of her celebrity friends, including the Haim sisters, Gigi Hadid, and Blake Lively. In March, Lively attended Swift’s Erasus Tour in Philadelphia with her daughters James and Inez. During the show, Swift mentioned Lively’s kids and spoke about naming them after characters from folk tales.
She also greeted them onstage while performing “All Too Well” and was seen holding hands with James as they left the stadium at the end of the night. The two friends were photographed having dinner at Zero Bond in New York City. Lively wore a tweed miniskirt and denim top, while Swift opted for a black cardigan and pleated grey skirt. That same year, Lively also attended Swift’s star-studded birthday party.
2023: Taylor Swift and Blake Lively attend a few Kansas City Chiefs games
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively were spotted having a girls’ night out with Sophie Turner and Brittany Mahomes the night before the New York Jets took on the Kansas City Chiefs. Swift joined several famous friends, including Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, to cheer on Travis Kelce at the Kansas City Chiefs game on October 1, 2023. The three were spotted arriving at MetLife Stadium together and watching the game from a box seat.
2024: Taylor Swift and Blake Lively attend the Super Bowl
Taylor Swift was joined by some of her close friends, including Blake Lively, to cheer on Travis Kelce at the 2024 Super Bowl. The former Gossip Girl star arrived at the stadium with tight curls and a red tracksuit, while Swift wore all black with a red jacket draped over her shoulders.
2024: Taylor Swift cheers on Blake Lively’s kids at her Eras Tour show in Madrid
Blake Lively’s daughters got a special shout-out when they attended Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Madrid. On Wednesday, May 29, 2024, the actress’ daughters Betty, Inez and James were spotted enjoying Swift’s concert in several fan videos and images posted to X, also known as Twitter. Swift then addressed the audience, which included Lively’s daughters. Onstage, Swift said, “In Folklore, some of my favorite characters are named James, Inez and Betty,” while strumming her guitar. Swift was referring to her album Folklore, which includes the song “Betty,” named after all three of Lively’s older children.
