Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds surprised many by opting out of their second consecutive Met Gala appearance.

Despite Lively’s reputation as the ‘Queen of the Met Gala’ for her history of dazzling ensembles at the prestigious event, the Gossip Girl star, 36, chose to spend the evening at home with her husband and their four children.

According to a source cited by Elle, “the couple chose to spend their night at home, rather than on the red carpet.” Lively and Reynolds, 47, are parents to daughters James, nine, Inez, seven, and Betty, four, as well as a one-year-old whose name and gender remain undisclosed.

Lively hasn’t attended the Met Gala since serving as co-chair in 2022, but her recent appearance at a Tiffany & Co. event in New York sparked hopes of her return. Fans expressed disappointment over her absence, flooding her Instagram with messages of longing.

“We missed you at the Met Gala,” lamented one fan, while another quipped, “No Blake? No MET!” A third echoed the sentiment, asking, “BLAKE WHY WERE U NOT AT THE MET GALA???????????????”

Last year, Lively humorously confirmed her absence from the gala by sharing a photo of herself pumping breastmilk in a bathroom. She captioned the cheeky shot with, “First Monday in May,” signaling her decision not to attend.

While Lively and Reynolds didn’t address their absence from this year’s gala on social media, they’ve been occupied with their respective projects. Lively has been filming A Simple Favor 2, the sequel to the 2018 dark comedy, and the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel It Ends With Us. Meanwhile, Reynolds has been busy with his new action adventure film Mayday and supporting his soccer club Wrexham.

In February 2023, the couple welcomed their fourth child, and according to a source, they’re adjusting well to their expanded family. Reynolds expressed his joy over their growing brood, remarking that transitioning from three to four children has been smoother than expected. He gushed, “We love it. You know, we would be idiots to do this again if we didn’t love it.”