Ryan Reynolds has had a year of dazzling highs anddevastating lows. The best moment came in January when wife Blake Lively gave birth to their first child. But instead of being able to cherish his first dayswith daughter James, the protective papa was dealing with being betrayed by one ofhis best friends.
As any excited new parent does, Ryan had sent photos fromthe delivery room to his nearest and dearest, and he was shocked when one ofthose people tried to sell the pics to the highest bidder.
Ryan Reynolds Photo: Getty Images
"A guy that I’d known for my whole life, one of myclosest friends growing up, he had been shopping pictures of my babyaround," the Mississippi Grind star revealed in the new issue of GQ. "It was a slightly dark period. Abad couple of weeks."
Ryan, 38, explained that his childhood pal of 25 years did it for the money and didn't think he would get caught.
"It was, like, sokind of shocking," he said. "There isn’t really a conversation to have. It's just, 'Oh,well, now I'm never going to see you or talk to you again, unfortunately.' "
Ryan said the betrayal "was like a death. It was like one of those devastating things tofind out."
If anything it probably ended up drawing the newfamily unit even closer together. "There is this kid here that I would walkthrough fire for," he told GQ, before joking, "Or maybe not fire.Like, a very hot pavement, I'd walk through. A shag rug."
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Photo: Getty Images
Ryan and Blake share the responsibilities of looking aftertheir now 8-month-old daughter. "I like being a father. I like having a daughter," hesaid. "I would like to have more kids. You know, it seems to suit mepretty well."
He's also learned some new things about himself.
"I feel like I could sometimes have a bit of a shortfuse, but there’s just been this weirdly endless supply of patience," hesaid. "I have no problem waking up five times in the middle of the nightand changing diapers, and as exhausted as you get, I have this stupid grin onmy face all the time. And that’s not because I have a nanny or something likethat. It’s just us right now, and I love it."
In an interview on Live with Kelly and Michael on Monday, hetalked about being up all night looking after James as she battled her firstfever. Let's just say he was traumatized by the concept of taking his baby'stemperature rectally.
"I was like, 'Nooooo! Can't be. There's a mouth,there's an armpit," he said. "It was terrifying."
His biggest concern was that it would leave a bad impression onhis baby. "You can't help but think this is going to leave a lasting mark.I'm going to be walking her down the aisle years from now and she's going togo, 'I know what you did!' "
There's something else in Ryan's life that has left alasting impression along with some regrets – his numerous tattoos.
"I wish I didn't have them now," he admitted.
"I have the doctor who will get rid of them,"Kelly Ripa told him, explaining that she'd had the procedure done herself.
"They numb you, they numb the area, and you're like, 'What'sthe big deal? Why is everybody upset about this? It's not even painful at all,'" Kelly said. "And then the numbing agent wears off and then for thenext week it's really painful."
"Oh god," said Ryan, who suggested an alternativeto the procedure. "I want numbing agent for my eyes" tomake looking at them less excruciating.
