Ryan Reynolds Was 'Secretly In Charge' of Blake Lively's Failed Lifestyle Brand as 'Unbearable' Actor 'Mocked and Criticized' Staffers
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are now dealing with more issues.
May 23 2025, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
Ryan Reynolds is now believed to have been the one giving orders when it came to his wife Blake Lively's lifestyle brand, Preserve, as former employees have been destroying the company left and right, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
According to staffers, the Deadpool and Wolverine actor brought nothing but negative vibes to the brand, bashing people and making things a living hell.
Reynolds Reign?
Reynolds may have been the one calling the shots for Lively's company, Preserve.
“Blake barely showed up,” an ex-employee told Rob Shuter for his Substack. “But Ryan? He was everywhere. He acted like the creative director, CFO, and king of the castle. And God help you if you disagreed with him.”
Lively started the brand in 2014, and it was originally intended to battle it out with Gwyneth Paltrow's popular company Goop. However, Preserve would only keep its doors open for a year before collapsing.
And while the A Simply Favor actress blamed Preserve's failure on sexism and the media in a previous interview, staffers claim Reynolds should be getting some of the blame.
Lively is accused of not stepping in and ending Reynolds' reign.
“Ryan would breeze in, criticize everyone’s work, then disappear,” one employee recalled. “He’d mock people, rewrite everything, then blame us for delays. And the worst part? Blake would let him.”
While Reynolds, 48, was not listed on Preserve's org chart, he still managed to hold influence over many of the company's key decisions, including hiring and branding, and who got paid.
The source claimed: "There were times people didn’t get paid for weeks. But Ryan always made sure his people got what they needed. Everyone else? Disposable.”
“Ryan always plays the nice guy. But the truth is, he ran Preserve like a tyrant,” they added. “And everyone who worked there knows it.”
Lively's brother, Eric, was hired as Preserve’s creative director, a decision staffers believe Reynolds pushed for.
“Eric was an actor playing a businessman,” a former employee said. “Completely unqualified. But Ryan insisted he could grow into it.”
Eric, however, was not very good in the role, as he was accused of being "completely unqualified to run a company.
"For many weeks or months, there were no desks. We had to sit on the floor. The irony of it being a lifestyle site that was selling these really expensive wares was not lost on anyone."
Neither Lively nor Reynolds has commented on the allegations.
'Irony' At Its Finest
The power couple is already knee deep in an ugly lawsuit.
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While the workplace was said to be "toxic" and "unprofessional," many staffers found it "ironic" when they learned Lively had sued her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, over her miserable experience on the film set.
"The entire company was an absolute disaster," a source spilled. "The workplace allegations that Blake is making now (against Baldoni) are deeply ironic, given that it was one of the most insane, toxic, emotionally draining, and disorganized environments you could imagine."
In December 2024, the Gossip Girl alum filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni, but he would respond with his own $400million countersuit against Lively, 37, and Reynolds.
Justin Baldoni sued Lively and Reynolds, for $400million in a countersuit after the actress accused him of sexual harassment.
Pop star Taylor Swift was also said to be involved in the drama, but Baldoni 's team pulled the subpoena.
A spokesperson for Lively confirmed the news on May 22, saying they are "pleased" Baldoni's legal team has "withdrawn their harassing subpoenas to Taylor Swift and her law firm."
Lively and Reynolds are set to duke it out against Baldoni in court in March 2026.
