With almost a decade-long marriage, beautiful children, show-stopping red carpet appearances, and the cutest social media, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are couple goals. With how open they are about their marriage and love for each other now it is easy to forget that there was a time when the two were pretending to not date. This resulted in hilarious moments as it was painfully obvious to the public that the actors were in love. One such moment in their ‘dating but not in front of the public’ phase came on Ryan Reynolds’ birthday.

How to not date secretly: A Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively 101

The Gossip Girls actress and Ryan Reynolds met on the sets of Green Lantern when they were co-stars. Both of them were happy with their respective partners during that time. Ryan in his marriage with the now world’s highest-paid actress, Scarlett Johansson. And Lively in her relationship with Gossip Girls co-star Penn Badgley, who is now the star of a Netflix show where each season he goes on a killing spree.

In 2011, it was confirmed by many sources that Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively were dating. While it was confirmed by sources, the Green Lantern actors did not officially confirm it. The two of them decided to keep their relationship a secret from the public eye for very obvious reasons.

But dating in secret and doing a great gesture for your partner on their birthday does not go hand in hand. On Reynolds’ 35th birthday he was shooting for his 2013 movie R.I.P.D short for Rest in Peace Department. Furthermore, the flick was not just your typical comedy but a supernatural action comedy starry Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges.

Given the hype of the movie, the paparazzi were surrounding the sets throughout the day. One reporter caught a cute moment on Ryan’s birthday. As a surprise, Blake Lively sent her cute dog Penny with a bunch of balloons wrapped around him. It wasn’t just her dog that she used to surprise Ryan, the actress herself was chilling in the trailer as she waited for her ‘male friend’. Fast forward to 2022, the two of them have three beautiful daughters and are currently awaiting their fourth child.

Did you know that Ryan Reynolds was once married to Scarlett Johanson? Let us know in the comments below.