Here’s Why Blake Lively Is Skipping the 2023 Met Gala

The Met Gala will be missing one of its biggest fashion icons: Blake Lively. The former Gossip Girl actress and previous Met Gala co-chair revealed on Thursday night to People and other reporters at Tiffany & Co.’s Fifth Avenue store reopening that she would not be attending the 2023 event.

“You will not [see me on the red carpet.] But I will be watching,” Lively said. A reporter then complimented her on last year’s ensemble. Lively quipped, “Thank you, that’s very sweet. I’ll be wearing that on my couch on Monday.”

Lively is New York-based but shares four children with husband Ryan Reynolds, who she will likely be focused on Monday night.

She gave birth to the couple’s fourth baby just months ago. Neither she nor Reynolds have revealed their child’s exact birth date, but Lively did confirm that she had welcomed the newest addition by sharing a photo of herself on Super Bowl Sunday in February visibly no longer pregnant.

Lively is also famously her own stylist and put together her own Met Gala looks for previous years. In March 2018, Lively spoke to WWD about how her Met Gala outfit for that year was coming together. “I just sent Lorraine Schwartz and Christian Louboutin my dress, and said, ‘Okay let’s do something special,’” she recalled. “They’re making something custom for it. So it’s kind of nice, because I have a bunch of artists around me who I have direct relationships with. It’s sort of a group effort with that. I rely on people who do that for a living rather than outsourcing it to someone else.”

Senior News and Strategy Editor

Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.