Inside Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s Legal Truce: Did Cash Change Hands?

Well, that escalated quietly. After months of filings and a trial date on the calendar, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settled their It Ends With Us legal fight on Monday, May 4 — and the rumored money part is not what you might think.

Where the money landed (or didn’t)

Here’s the headline version: a source told Us Weekly that no cash changed hands between Lively and Baldoni in the surprise May 4 settlement, and each side is covering their own legal bills. TMZ was the first outlet to float that financial detail.

But tap the brakes before you treat that as gospel: another source close to the situation cautioned that anyone claiming to confirm the settlement terms right now is jumping the gun, and said more information will hit the court docket in the coming days. Translation: expect official paperwork soon that should clear up the dollar-and-cents chatter.

Either way, the agreement shut down a contentious case and avoided a trial that was supposed to start jury selection on Monday, May 18.

What the lawyers are saying

Earlier that day, attorneys for both Lively and Baldoni put out a joint statement framing the movie — not the fight — as the thing they want front and center, while also acknowledging the complaints that brought them here.

"The end product - the movie It Ends With Us - is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life. Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors — and all survivors — is a goal that we stand behind."

They also said Lively’s concerns deserved to be heard, stressed a commitment to workplaces free of bad behavior, and asked for everyone to move on — including keeping things respectful online.

The Met Gala timing (because of course there’s Met Gala timing)

Hours after the legal dust-up cooled, Lively hit the 2026 Met Gala at The Met in New York, leaning into the year’s theme, Costume Art, in an Atelier Versace gown pulled from the label’s 2006 archives. It was her first Met appearance since 2022. She told Vogue it was an honor to attend with Donatella Versace and noted she hadn’t been back since having her fourth child. Despite some chatter to the contrary, a source confirmed she was invited as a guest of Vogue and Condé Nast’s Anna Wintour. She did not attend with her husband, Ryan Reynolds.

How we got here

• December 2024: Lively sued Baldoni, his publicity team, and other defendants, alleging she was retaliated against after she came forward with sexual harassment allegations against him. Baldoni denied the claims and countersued.
• June 2025: A judge dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit against Lively.
• April 2026: Lively’s case took a hit when a judge ruled that most of her claims — including defamation, harassment, and conspiracy — would be dismissed.
• May 18, 2026: Jury selection was slated to begin on this date.
• May 4, 2026: Instead, both sides reached a surprise settlement that ended the case before trial.

Bottom line: the court showdown that looked inevitable is off, the official terms are still locked down (for now), and both sides are publicly trying to pivot back to the movie. We’ll know more once the settlement paperwork lands on the docket.