Taylor Swift severs ties with Blake Lively’s children: Brutal new details of behind-the-scenes talks… as insiders reveal what finally forced her hand

With a lawsuit as explosive and nasty as Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s, collateral damage was inevitable.

For months, allegations were spat out in a bitter back and forth, with A-list names unceremoniously dragged into the saga.

As has been well documented, one such name was Taylor Swift.

Long had the singer not only been a close friend of Lively’s, but she was also the godparent to her daughters with husband Ryan Reynolds: James, 11, Inez, nine, and Betty, six.

But not anymore.

The repercussions of their mother’s saga have cost them a godmother, with insiders telling the Daily Mail that Swift, 36, felt she had ‘no choice’ but to ‘remove herself’ from the position after her decade-long friendship with Lively, 38, was severed, seemingly beyond repair.

‘It was one of the toughest decisions she’s ever had to make,’ said a source close to Swift. ‘It was very emotional because she loves the girls. It hurt her heart, but she had no choice given the circumstances.’

The source said she made the decision ‘a few months ago’ after discussions with new husband Travis Kelce, 36, affirmed it ‘was the right thing to do.’

‘There was never an agreement in writing about her being the girls’ godmother,’ they added. ‘It was a verbal one between Taylor and Blake.’

Verbal it may have been, but regardless, Swift took her duties seriously, regularly seeing Lively and the children, trick-or-treating together, hosting the family at her $17 million Rhode Island mansion, namechecking them in her music, and even using James’ baby voice at the beginning of her song Gorgeous.

Swift first confirmed her godparent title back in July 2024 in an Instagram post hyping up Reynolds and the release of his movie, Deadpool & Wolverine.

‘Shout out to Wade Wilson, aka my godkids’ sperm donor!’ she wrote in the caption, jokingly referencing the real name of Reynolds’ Deadpool character.

‘I’m going to need that on my gravestone, actually,’ Reynolds later told Deadline of the post, confirming Swift’s title. ‘She is the godparent to my daughters. That was very sweet. Not just sweet, that was, like, you could probably quantify a box office based on Taylor just doing something like that.’

It was clear how much the children meant to Swift, with the Cruel Summer singer including their names in her songs August and Betty from her 2020 album Folklore.

Much like the album release was a surprise to Swifties, so too was the name mention for the girls.

‘We surprised them with it,’ Reynolds told a SiriusXM Town Hall interview in August 2021. ‘They didn’t know. They had no idea.’

Discussing Betty on stage in Madrid during her mammoth Eras Tour back in May 2024, Swift even gave the girls a shoutout: ‘I have to say that on Folklore, some of my favorite characters are named James, Inez and Betty.’

The trio of sisters were seen jumping up and down as they watched Swift with their mother Lively in the best seats in the house, naturally.

But it’s likely such a perk will no longer be afforded to them.

‘It hurt her heart, but she had no choice given the circumstances,’ our source said of stepping back. ‘She wanted to make a clean and total break.’

We are told such a decision has weighed heavily on Swift and has blighted her otherwise happy existence.

After years of making billions from singing candidly – and at times cryptically – about relationships and falling in love, she finally found her happily ever after in Kelce, with the pair saying ‘I do’ in a heavily transformed Madison Square Garden earlier this month – Lively, Reynolds and their children (they also have son Olin, three) noticeably absent.

‘Taylor’s having the time of her life now that she is married, her family is great, her career is great and she’s looking forward to the future,’ a second insider said. ‘The only thing that is causing troubles in her life is Blake’s kids and not having the relationship she would like to have with them as their godmother.

‘Right now, she doesn’t feel it’s healthy or realistic to maintain a close relationship with the children while having virtually no relationship with their parents. Taylor doesn’t believe it’s fair to anyone involved – especially the kids – to put them in the middle of such a strained situation.

‘She believes stepping away is the most respectful path forward for all parties.’

The story, now so familiar, started when Lively accused her It Ends with Us costar Baldoni of sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign, in a shock lawsuit filed against him and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, in December 2024.

Baldoni, 42, initiated a $250 million libel suit against the New York Times for its bombshell report on an earlier complaint made by Lively. Then, he responded with a blistering $400 million countersuit against the actress and her husband Reynolds, among others, accusing them of attempting to tarnish his reputation and claiming Lively used her bond with ‘mega celebrity friend’ Swift to take control of the film, which he also directed. All parties denied the allegations against them. 

Baldoni’s action was dismissed, most of Lively’s action was dismissed, and they settled the remaining few claims out of court in May without any payment, just two weeks before a scheduled civil trial in New York.

In his filing, Baldoni claimed Lively used Swift to intimidate him at a meeting with Reynolds about edits she had made to a rooftop scene and claimed Swift made him feel like he ‘needed to comply with Blake’s direction for the script.’

The later release of unsealed text messages showed Lively asking Swift to endorse a revised version of the script she was proposing for the Colleen Hoover adaptation. Swift allegedly replied: ‘I’ll do anything for you!!’

Other messages included in the filing allegedly showed them plotting to help Lively usurp Baldoni, with Swift referring to him as a ‘b***h’ who got out his ‘tiny violin.’

In another message she wrote: ‘By the way, if Justin was strategic, he would be like “No Taylor Swift in the trailer.” Because that gives you more power over the film, that’s your ally, not his.’

Lively replied: ‘Get yourself a best friend who thinks like the actual Roman Empire.’

For someone who is used to controlling her own narrative, the fallout was clearly a blow for Swift, especially given a spokesperson had previously insisted she had no creative involvement in the film.

The Daily Mail reported back in January 2025, long before the messages were made public, that Swift, who is believed to have first grown close to Lively in 2015, had taken a step back from her friendship with the actress.

But despite turning her back on her godchildren, she is hopeful that as they get older, they will be able to reestablish contact.

‘While many people view the title of godparent as largely symbolic, Taylor embraced the role wholeheartedly. Because of that, walking away has been incredibly painful and heartbreaking,’ our second insider said.

‘She hopes that once the children are adults, and 18 and able to make their own decisions, they’ll be free to reconnect if they choose.’

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Swift, Lively and Reynolds for comment.