Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have finally forked over more than $2 million owed to contractors working on their sprawling upstate New York ‘paradise’ compound – just days after the Daily Mail reported on their unpaid bills.
The embattled A-list power couple found themselves in hot water after at least five contractors alleged they were owed hefty sums for work carried out at the secluded 110-acre estate in South Salem, a ritzy hamlet 60 miles north of the Big Apple.
The legal claims, which totaled an eyebrow-raising $2.1 million, were reported on exclusively by the Daily Mail last month as questions swirled about what was going on behind the scenes at the couple’s long-delayed mega-project.
Now, it appears the bills have all been quietly paid off.
The saga exploded into public view after it was revealed the companies had slapped the claims against the property in early April – including one for a whopping $1.3 million, records show.
That company, Flower Construction, had been hired to complete framing, HVAC systems, plumbing, electrical work, drywall, masonry, waterproofing, painting and millwork, according to the filing.
Others sought payment for various other work, including custom copper roofing and drainage systems, as well as septic installation work.
Less than a week after the Daily Mail unveiled the claims, the liens were all amended to note they had been satisfied as of May 26.
The embattled A-list power couple found themselves in hot water after at least five contractors alleged they were owed hefty sums for work carried their sprawling upstate New York ‘paradise’ compound (above)
Blake Lively purchased the South Salem property with her husband through an LLC in 2018
Lively and Reynolds quietly purchased the property through an LLC back in 2018 for a cool $12 million.
They quickly snapped up surrounding parcels of land in the hopes of creating what the Gossip Girl star once described as a ‘beautiful buffer’ for their growing family.
Records show they went on to purchase a $1.6 million four-bedroom property bordering theirs in 2020, as well as four surrounding plots of land that spanned 110 acres.
The couple, who already owned a lavish $5.7 million home just eight miles away in Pound Ridge, gushed during a planning board hearing that the estate was ‘heaven’ and ‘the most beautiful place in the world.’
She vowed, at the time, to create an environmentally conscious luxury retreat where ‘our neighbors will never see us’.
The couple also sought approval for a pool, pool house, gym, septic systems and stormwater management facilities, according to records.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’s sprawling upstate New York compound was hit with more than $2.1 million in mechanics’ liens before quietly being settled
The Daily Mail previously uncovered a virtual town planning board meeting from June 2022 in which Lively shared the couple’s plans for the property
‘We love this land so much,’ Lively told officials at the time. ‘We’re so grateful to have this land and to have such space and such privacy.’
Letters from neighboring properties in support of the renovations were submitted with the application.
Despite lengthy delays in the project, construction on the ultra-private dream compound is believed to have continued into late 2025 before grinding to a halt in December or early 2026.
News of the construction saga surfaced just as Lively and Reynolds were navigating the fallout from Blake’s bruising legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
Both sides finally agreed to a settlement just weeks before a trial was scheduled – but not before it set both sides back tens of millions in legal fees and reputational damage.
On Friday Lively lost a chance to recoup millions from Baldoni when a judge in New York ruled she could not seek treble and punitive damages under a California law designed to protect people who come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.
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