The actor is embracing the chaos that comes with parenting four kids … and always having someone on hand to give him strep throat.
Ryan Reynolds plays an anti-hero in “Deadpool,” but at home, it sounds like he’s just dad.
The actor recently spent some solo time with his four kids while wife Blake Lively took a much-deserved trip, and he shared some hilarious daddy-duty stories while appearing on TODAY Monday.
When Hoda Kotb asked Reynolds what it was like to watch all four kids, the star cracked a joke.
“You know, single dad. I’m a Reba McEntire song. Single dad, doing it all. Yeah, just doing it for them, right?” he said.
The 47-year-old went on to describe how he kept his kids occupied.
“(I) took them all to the park. Told them Mommy left when they were young. Surprisingly, you get a lot of action that way,” he joked, leaving Hoda and Savannah Guthrie in stitches.
On a (somewhat) serious note, Reynolds said he enjoyed the quality time together.
“No, we had a good time. No one died, which was nice,” he said.
The “If” star then acknowledged something that any parent of multiple children can relate to.
“And four kids, it’s just a zoo! Like, you just surrender, right? You just surrender 24/7,” he said.
Reynolds ended the conversation on another hilarious and relatable note.
“When we had our fourth, I was so happy because I always wanted to make sure we had someone on hand to give me strep throat. And now we’ve recovered,” he said.
“It’s rolling sickness,” Savannah replied.
“There’s just never a full, clean slate of health ever,” he added.
Reynolds pulled solo parenting duty back in February when Lively traveled to the Super Bowl alongside pal Taylor Swift, who was watching her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce. The mother of four chronicled her journey and revealed that it was the first time she had traveled away from her children.
“Last week I left my kids for the first time ever and wore pants that were shoes. I took pictures upside down and had no clue. I treated a friendship bracelet like a Flat Stanley for my husband like I didn’t realize it wasn’t ‘07. I borrowed more jewelry than the skeleton in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. And I went clubbing. Now I know what my episode of the Twilight Zone would look like,” she wrote.
Many of Swift’s fans have been wondering if the singer revealed the name of Lively and Reynolds’ fourth child on her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” since their other kids’ names are included in her lyrics. Reynolds gave another hilarious answer to the question.
“We always wait for Taylor to tell us what the child’s name will be,” he joked about his youngest child, born in February 2023.
The proud dad continued, “We’ll say this. We’re still waiting, so Taylor, let’s maybe start. You know, (she’s a) prolific writer. I mean, what are we doing here? And lazy’s not a word I’d attach to Taylor.”