Advertisement
Blake Lively recently shared a touching tribute to her mother, Willie Elaine McAlpin, through a series of Instagram Stories on June 5. She expressed deep gratitude for the creative encouragement her mother gave her throughout her childhood, even during the busiest and most demanding times. Lively reflected on how her mother’s unwavering support and reassurance—that she “couldn’t mess it up” even when she very much could—provided her with a lifelong gift of creative empowerment and trust. She credited much of her passions to the influence of her mom.
Alongside her heartfelt words, Lively posted a close-up photo of a flower arrangement she had nurtured from seeds to the final design, captioning it affectionately as “My flower babies” and jokingly offering her skills for future graduations, funerals, or weddings.
This public appreciation follows a more formal tribute she paid to her mother during her speech at the TIME 100 Gala, where Blake was honored as one of the year’s most influential people. She revealed a painful chapter from her mother’s past, sharing how her mom endured an attempted life-threatening attack by a work acquaintance while raising three young children years before Blake was born. Lively recounted how her mother survived by hearing another woman’s harrowing story of escape, a narrative that gave her hope rather than fear or shame. That unknown woman’s courage, Lively said, literally saved her mother’s life.
In the same speech, Blake also acknowledged her husband, Ryan Reynolds, thanking him and other men who show kindness and goodness quietly, when no one is watching.
Amidst these personal revelations, Blake is also navigating a legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni. Earlier in the week, Lively’s team filed to withdraw claims related to emotional distress in the lawsuit, clarifying this move as a routine step within the ongoing litigation process.