Ryan Reynolds Held Real Power at Blake Lively's Brand Preserve, Treated Workers Like 'Disposable,' Insider Says
Former employees of the failed lifestyle brand Preserve, co-founded in 2014 by Blake Lively, are accusing the company of being far more intertwined with her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, and far more tumultuous than has previously been reported.
While the former "Gossip Girl" actress was the face of the brand, multiple insiders say Reynolds played a behind-the-scenes leadership role that left scores of people feeling demoralized and discarded.
This is the accusation from former employees of Preserve, who say in interviews published by journalist Rob Shuter on his Substack that Lively's husband was running the show.
"Blake barely showed up," one ex-staff member said. "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."
The lifestyle brand, said to have been established to rival Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop, folded within a year. At the time, Lively had attributed the company's failure to sexism and brutal media coverage. But former employees now claim Reynolds himself contributed significantly to that demise.
"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."
The "Deadpool" star was never officially named in the company's leadership hierarchy, but sources said he made hiring, branding, and financial decisions.
"There were times people didn't get paid for weeks," a former employee alleged. "But Ryan always made sure his people got what they needed. Everyone else? Disposable."
According to another source, "Ryan always plays the nice guy. But the truth is, he ran Preserve like a tyrant. And everyone who worked there knows it."
'Insane, Toxic, Emotionally Draining'
Multiple sources described work at Preserve as chaotic and unprofessional. One former employee remembered that there was nowhere to sit for weeks, and they would write stories on the floor because there was no basic office furniture.
"For many weeks or months, there were no desks. We had to sit on the floor," the source said. "The irony of it being a lifestyle site that was selling these really expensive wares was not lost on anyone."
Lively's brother, Eric Lively, was hired as creative director — a decision staffers believe was pushed by Reynolds. "Eric was an actor playing a businessman. Completely unqualified. But Ryan insisted he could grow into it."
The accusations come as Lively and Reynolds remain embroiled in a $400 million legal war with actor-director Justin Baldoni, whom Lively sued in December 2024, alleging a history of sexual harassment he'd subjected her to on the set of "It Ends With Us."
Baldoni's lawyers filed a counter-suit, reportedly against both Lively and Reynolds.
Some ex-Preserve staffers found the timing of Lively's recent lawsuit ironic.
"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."
