Justin and Emily Baldoni Break Public Silence After Settlement

Justin Baldoni and his wife, Emily Baldoni, have emerged from a prolonged public silence to discuss their experience navigating a high-profile legal dispute that concluded earlier this year. The couple shared their first substantive public remarks in nearly two years through an Instagram video posted Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

The 42-year-old actor and director opened the four-minute video by acknowledging the extended absence from public discourse. "We have not done this in a while, so 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 stated, speaking to Us Weekly. "Lord knows we have, but it just felt like every time we went to make a video like this where we wanted to speak, something was telling us not to. It just doesn't feel like the right time. We were talking about it and feeling into it and praying about it."

Emily Baldoni, 41, explained that the present moment felt appropriate for breaking their silence. "This feels like the moment," she told Us Weekly, though she acknowledged the difficulty in determining what to share. "That being said, there is so much to say and it makes it hard to speak, it makes it hard to figure out what is right for us for this specific moment. But 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 people that have happened to us."

The legal proceedings that prompted their public withdrawal began in late 2023, when Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni's costar in the film It Ends With Us, filed a lawsuit against him. The 38-year-old actress accused the director of sexual harassment, fostering a hostile work environment, and attempting to destroy her reputation. Justin Baldoni denied the accusations and subsequently filed a defamation suit against Lively.

A judge dismissed Justin Baldoni's defamation case, and in May 2026, the court ruled to dismiss the majority of Lively's lawsuit claims. The remaining claims were settled within weeks, before the parties were scheduled to begin trial.

Throughout the legal battle, the couple maintained their silence, a decision Justin Baldoni attributed to their desire to avoid contributing to public speculation. The Jane the Virgin alum emphasized that gratitude "saved" the couple, who share two children together.

Emily Baldoni addressed the complexity of their emotional response to the ordeal. "I also feel that it's important as we say that, in that gratitude, it doesn't negate the injustice and the pain that we have also felt in the last few years," she told Us Weekly. "We've had to wrestle with so many things and try to understand so many things, like, 'How could something like this even happen?' Let alone disguise[d] as a fight for women. So much to unpack, and the truth is that there's been a lot of trauma for us to move through as a family, which also makes it hard to speak."

Justin Baldoni acknowledged the impact of public discourse surrounding the case. "That created so much noise and we didn't want to add to the noise," he told Us Weekly, explaining their decision to remain quiet. "We just wanted to let the justice system run its course."

With the legal proceedings concluded, Emily Baldoni stated simply, "The truth and the facts have spoken for themselves. And here we are."

The couple described their current focus as centered on healing and family. "We are healing, and if you've ever been through something traumatic, you know that healing isn't linear," Justin Baldoni told Us Weekly. "It looks different every day, and we have had to rethink for ourselves what is real and what matters and it's this, it's our family, it's our friends, it's our community [who] have been there for us, it's our faith."

He expressed particular gratitude for supporters who defended the couple during their silence. "I think we're closer and more devoted and steadfast in our faith that we've ever been," he told Us Weekly. "Also, and this has been on both of our hearts, there were so many of you who, when we didn't have a voice, were our voice. So many of you had discernment and you used your intuition and you trusted that, and you have given your time to fight for us. Thank you does not feel like enough, but we're here in large part because of so many of you and all of our friends and family."

Reflecting on lessons learned from the experience, Justin Baldoni offered a spiritual perspective. "One thing that we learned is that when God presses the reset button and everything else is stripped away, that's when love shows up," he told Us Weekly. "And we feel so loved."

The couple indicated that additional public statements may follow in the future, though they emphasized their immediate priorities. "That time will come," Emily Baldoni told Us Weekly. "For now, we are going to focus on continuing the healing and hanging out with our kiddos and enjoying life."