Justin Baldoni and his wife, Emily Baldoni, have broken their nearly two-year silence regarding the legal dispute with his former "It Ends With Us" co-star Blake Lively, stating that they are "healing" from the experience.
In a joint video shared to Instagram on Wednesday, the couple explained their decision not to speak publicly while the legal process unfolded. "We have not spoken publicly for the better part of the last two years and it's not because we haven't had anything to say," Justin Baldoni said in the video. "But it just felt like every time we went to make a video like this, we wanted to speak, something was telling us not to -- it just didn't feel like the right time."
Emily Baldoni added that the present moment "feels like the moment" to address the situation. While they have "so much to say," they chose not to elaborate further at this time. "What does feel important is that we can genuinely say that we are sitting here today feeling immense gratitude for so many things and so many people and so many things that have happened to us," she stated. "Gratitude has saved us," Justin Baldoni added.
Emily Baldoni acknowledged that gratitude "doesn't negate the injustice and the pain that we have also felt in the last few years." She continued, "We've had to wrestle with so many things and try to understand so many thing, like how could something like this even happen? Let alone disguise[d] as a fight for women."
The couple chose to avoid contributing to the public discourse surrounding the case, with Justin Baldoni stating, "We just wanted to let the justice system run its course." Emily Baldoni affirmed, "The truth and the facts have spoken for themselves. And here we are."
Justin Baldoni described the ongoing recovery process: "We are healing. And if you've ever been through something traumatic, you know that healing isn't linear. It looks different every day." He noted that the experience has led them to focus on their family, friends, community, and faith.
He also expressed gratitude for their supporters. "There were so many of you who, when we didn't have a voice, were our voice," he said. "Thank you does not feel like enough."
Emily Baldoni indicated that their focus moving forward would remain on their family and personal healing. "There is so much more to say, and that time will come. But for now, we are going to focus on continuing the healing and hanging out with our kiddos and enjoying life."
The couple's remarks come days after attorneys for Lively filed a court document stating that Baldoni's production company, Wayfarer Studios, owes Lively $7,495,526.87 in attorneys' fees and $539,514.01 in costs and expenses related to the studio's defamation lawsuit against her, which was dismissed in June 2025.
This legal dispute began in December 2024 when Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of "It Ends With Us," a film he also directed. Lively also alleged that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios orchestrated a smear campaign against her, claims that both Baldoni and the studio denied.
The actors later filed competing lawsuits against each other, with Baldoni accusing Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, publicist Leslie Sloane, and others of extortion and defamation. These lawsuits were consolidated into a single case in January 2025. Baldoni's lawsuit was dismissed in June 2025. Earlier in 2026, a U.S. District Judge dismissed most of Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni, though her retaliation claims against his public relations team were allowed to proceed.
In May 2026, Baldoni, through Wayfarer Studios, and Lively reached a settlement in their dispute. The court ruled that Wayfarer Studios must pay Lively's attorneys' fees, but Lively's request for punitive damages was denied. The specific terms of the settlement were not disclosed.