Ryan Reynolds was behind the decision to request a gagging order against Justin Baldoni’s legal team over fears the spiralling battle between his wife and her former costar could jeopardise their careers.

The Hollywood couple have been embroiled in a bitter dispute over claims Baldoni, 40, Sєxually harᴀssed Lively, 37, and created a toxic work environment while shooting It Ends with Us.

After both parties filed lawsuits, Lively and Reynolds upped the tensions on Tuesday when they asked that a protective order be issued against Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, who they accused of launching a ‘harᴀssing and retaliatory media campaign’ against them.

Now, insiders claim it was Reynolds, 48, who pushed for the shock request in a desperate bid to stave off any disruption to his upcoming projects and the staff at his company, Maximum Effort Productions – and for the sake of his wife’s well being.

‘Ryan was a driving force in requesting a gag order for Justin’s attorney,’ an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively.

‘Ryan’s production company has a lot of projects in the works right now and Ryan would be devastated if this impacted these, as it is unfair to his coworkers and the people who work at his company.’

Ryan Reynolds was behind the decision to request a gagging order against Justin Baldoni’s legal team over fears the legal battle could jeopardise both their careers

Reynolds, 48, and Lively, 37, have been embroiled in a bitter dispute over claims Baldoni, 40, Sєxually harᴀssed the actress while shooting It Ends with Us (pictured on set) 

The ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool actor is also concerned for Lively’s career. Her turn as Lily Bloom in the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s popular novel was supposed to mark the actress’ big comeback after she took a hiatus to raise her and Reynold’s children, daughters James, Betty and Inez, and son Olin.

‘Ryan isn’t solely focused on his own career,’ they said. ‘He is also concerned for Blake’s and her well-being. She is deeply affected by all of this. He is as well.

‘This is a nightmare for everyone involved, and the fact that it doesn’t seem to be coming to an end anytime soon is even more unsettling for everyone.’

In a new letter filed in court Tuesday, Lively and Reynolds, who got married in 2012, asked for a protective order to be issued to stop Baldoni’s attorneys from engaging in ‘improper conduct’ against them, per TMZ.

They claim Freedman, whose house burnt down in the LA wildfires, is ‘violating court rules that stop a lawyer from making statements to the press that are irrelevant to a case and might prejudice the jury.’

They specifically mention the release of the unedited footage exclusively released by DailyMail.com this week which showed all three takes of a dance scene between Lively and Baldoni – which she cited as evidence of his Sєxual harᴀssment of her in her bombshell lawsuit last month.

A separate source told DailyMail.com that it was ‘absurd’ to think that Baldoni or Freedman would be ‘banned from talking about a case that they are a part of,’ when they have a right to defend themselves against allegations.

‘Their gag order was ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in the water,’ they said. ‘This idea to request a gag, whether it was their idea or not, is not going to work to their advantage.

‘Ryan was a driving force in requesting a gag order for Justin’s attorney,’ an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively (pictured Baldoni)

‘Ryan’s production company has a lot of projects in the works right now and Ryan would be devastated if this impacted these, as it is unfair to his coworkers,’ they added

The Hollywood couple asked for a protective order to be issued to stop Baldoni’s attorney (pictured) from engaging in ‘improper conduct’ against them

Read More Hollywood intimacy coordinator speaks out on THAT Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni video

‘Blake, Ryan and their attorneys have not kept quiet about this case in dealing with the public. This is no different. So no, they will not be silenced. This gag order request is a joke.’

The request marks the latest move in a roller coaster saga that began with bubbling rumours of a behind-the-scenes feud around the time of the film premiere in August.

Fans quickly picked up on the apparent frostiness between Lively and Baldoni, who never engaged in joint interviews to promote the movie and kept their distance on the red carpet.

Their souring relations then exploded into a legal fight in December when the Gossip Girl alum sued Baldoni for Sєxual harᴀssment.

At the same time, the New York Times released a story based on Lively’s legal filing that accused him of orchestrating a smear campaign against her.

Baldoni hit back by suing the Times for defamation before launching a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds last week in which he accused the Hollywood pairing of conspiring to trash his reputation with Sєxual harᴀssment allegations.

He also accused Lively of hijacking the filming of their romantic drama, which he directed, and claimed she forced him and his family to wait in a basement holding area at the premiere so she did not have to see him.

Reynolds was embroiled in the counter suit, with Baldoni accusing him of ‘swearing’ and ‘berating him in an aggressive tirade’ at a meeting held at their New York penthouse – where Reynolds was present as his wife’s ‘representative’ to discuss Baldoni’s conduct.

The ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool actor is also concerned for Lively’s career and well being, with the insider claiming she has been left ‘deeply affected’ by the lengthy saga

He also claimed Reynolds tried to interfere with the movie script and force out the editors and a composer that he had hired in favour of professionals who had previously worked with the Wrexham owner. 

The battle between them all has sparked a raging debate over who is in the wrong – Lively or Baldoni – with fans pouring over the footage of the pair filming the dance scene that sparked her harᴀssment claims.

Intimacy coordinator Mia Schachter also weighed in, telling The Hollywood Reporter  that she believes the video proves that Baldoni did make Lively uncomfortable.

When asked what stood out to her about the scene, she said: ‘The first thing is that he is trying to kiss her, and they clearly haven’t discussed that ahead of time, and she keeps pulling away and clearly doesn’t want to do that.’ 

Schacter said if an intimacy coordinator had been present, they would have stopped any kissing, and that Baldoni’s alleged failure to communicate was ‘pretty damning, both as an actor and director.’

In a statement, Lively’s legal team said of the footage: ‘Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that this latest stunt will get ahead of the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning.’