Blake Lively Explains How She Knew She Should Marry Ryan Reynolds

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With three movies coming out this year and a 15-month-old daughter with husband Ryan Reynolds at home, it’s safe to say Blake Lively has grown up.

In a new interview with Marie Claire, the star — who famously played Serena van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl — shows that she’s left her iconic Upper East Side rich kid character behind.

“All my eggs are in one basket, and that’s my family. That’s where my heart is. That’s where my everything is.”

She also discusses her relationship with Reynolds, and why she wanted to marry him.

“I knew he would always be my best friend for my whole life. That was the biggest thing to me. I’d never known anything like the friendship that I had with him. I could like him as much as I loved him.”

Lively plays a stranded surfer in the midst of a shark attack in the upcoming thrilled called The Shallows.

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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com