Ryan Reynolds Shares Heartfelt Tribute to Family During People’s Icon Award Speech: ‘Quite Literally, You’re My Heart’

On December 6th, Ryan Reynolds accepted the 2022 People’s Icon Award at the People’s Choice Awards and, as one can expect from the 46-year-old actor, his acceptance speech was as funny as it was sweet. “Wow, I feel like I’m at my funeral, except I get to leave,” said Reynolds as an initial ice-breaker.

“I guess I finally tested positive for icon. I’ve been avoiding it for years but here we are,” he continued before explaining that you don’t receive these types of trophies without “a lot of help from a lot of real icons.” He added that at this stage of his career, there are simply too many people to thank and mention.

With his time on stage limited, he decided to dedicate his award and speech to his family. “I’d be pretty remiss if I didn’t mention it starts with my family, and it ends with my family,” said Reynolds. The icon was alluding to his “original” family (parents, siblings, etc.) and his “new” family (wife and soon-to-be 4 kids). 

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He started by thanking his mother, father, and three brothers – one of which was in the audience. He joked about how his father, who passed away a few years ago, would be blown away at all the things happening in his life right now – not so much the awards and trophies, but rather his four grandchildren. 

“Wherever he is right now he’s probably not watching the People’s Choice Awards. He cultivated most of his opinions in life from old episodes of Baywatch, so he’s probably doing that,” he joked. He thanked his ‘original’ family for their ‘unfailing support,’ even in some of the most questionable years of his life. 

Reynolds briefly thanked all the talented people he has worked with over the years before switching his focus to his ‘family family’ – his wife, Blake Lively, and his three (soon-to-be four) children. He joked that if the baby were to come tonight during the speech, he might be spending a few nights on the couch. 

“You’re my heart, you’re my hope, you’re my happiness. I joke my family exhausts me but in reality, you give me more strength than any man could possibly deserve,” he said with a smile on his face. Reynolds and Lively tied the knot in September 2012 and currently have three daughters born between 2014-2019.

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively Are Excited to Welcome Baby No. 4

In September, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively confirmed there was a fourth child on the way. The announcement came in the form of an Instagram post, where she shared several photos of her baby bump. In the caption, she complained about the paparazzi outside of her house trying to get a picture.

“Here are photos of me pregnant in real life so the 11 guys waiting outside my home for a [unicorn] sighting will leave me alone. You freak me and my kids out,” she said, before thanking all the people that unfollow accounts that share pictures of kids. And thank you to the media who have a ‘No Kids Policy,’” she added.

At the time of the announcement, an insider close to the couple confirmed that the two are ‘more united and supportive of each other than ever.’ They added that Reynolds is much better at managing his time and that the family adopted a policy where Blake and Ryan are never working at the same time. 

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From the speech on Tuesday alone, you can tell how much his wife and three daughters mean to him and it’s obvious how excited they are to grow their family even more. While we don’t have an exact due date, he did say the little one will be here ‘very soon’ in his speech – when do you think the baby will arrive?