It’s giving courtroom drama… with a side of marital tension.

Ryan Reynolds is publicly standing firm beside Blake Lively – but behind the scene, the tone might be a little less superhero, a little more “can we wrap this up?”

As the Gossip Girl alum’s legal battle with Justin Baldoni edges closer to trial, Reynolds has now been pulled directly into the spotlight as a potential witness. And according to insiders, that’s not exactly his dream role.

“Ryan is fully supportive publicly,” a source said. “But privately? He wants this settled.”

Because at this point, it’s no longer just Lively’s fight.

“This is pulling him in — and he knows it,” the source added. “He doesn’t want to be dragged through court.”

Understandable, considering what’s on the line.

“He’s worried this is going to destroy him too,” the insider claimed. “His brand, his reputation — everything.”

And things are not exactly getting simpler. After reports of legal setbacks and dismissed claims, some close to the situation are questioning the game plan.

“A lot of people think this should have been settled already,” the source said. “Now it’s getting bigger, messier, and harder to control.”

Reynolds potentially taking the stand? That’s where things get really uncomfortable.

“That’s a nightmare scenario for him,” the insider noted. “He’s now part of the story whether he likes it or not.”

Meanwhile, Lively is not hitting pause anytime soon.

“She’s not backing down,” the source said. “But he wishes she would.”

In other words?

“He wants out… before this takes them both down with it.”

For those unversed, Justin Baldoni and Lively’s trial is scheduled to begin on May 18, with the three out of 13 claims that Lively initially filed.

In a recent hearing, the judge dismissed the 10 claims on lack of grounding. 

Dear Bridgeton fans: Daphne has not ghosted the ton – she just hasn’t been invited back… yet.

Phoebe Dynevor, who led the season one of Bridgerton alongside Regé-Jean Page, is setting the record straight about her noticeable absence.

“I just want to say I have not received a call,” she shared, “and when I get that call, I will be there if I can.”

Translation: the duchess is booked… but available.

After a brief cameo in season two – where Daphne offered some sisterly wisdom to Jonathan Bailey’s Anthony – the character quietly disappeared while the show moved on to other sibling’s love lives.

According to Dynevor, that was not exactly part of some grand plan.

“When the first season came out they didn’t know what they needed to put in place,” she explained. “So we were like the ones that got away I think, in a certain way… I would always come back if I was asked.”

So yes, she’s open Very open.

As for her on-screen husband, things are a bit more complicated – Page has been less eager to reprise Simon. But don’t expect a recast plot twist.

Showrunner Jess Brownell shut that idea down fast, calling it a “disservice” to what the original actors built.

“We would love to potentially have them back… when we have something really meaty for them.”

For now, future seasons are already lined up – but if Daphne does return, except it to be worth the wait.

• UAE loan repayment due by month end.
• Saudi minister visited Islamabad recently.
• China remains Pakistan’s largest bilateral creditor.

Pakistan is holding talks with Saudi Arabia and China to secure financial support as it prepares to repay a roughly $3 billion loan to the United Arab Emirates, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported.

The talks, The News reported, citing Bloomberg, involve loans and investment, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. The amount of support under discussion is more than $3.5 billion, one of the people said.

Pakistan failed to reach an agreement with the UAE to roll over the debt for the first time in seven years. Islamabad will now repay the amount by the end of this month, putting significant strain on its foreign exchange reserves, which stand at about $16 billion, enough to cover just three months of imports.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Media didn’t immediately respond to requests for information. Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan was in Islamabad on April 10 to hold talks with officials just before Pakistan hosted high stakes peace talks between the US and Iran this weekend. In his meeting with the Saudi minister, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “strong commitment to expanding its cooperation with the kingdom in all spheres, particularly in trade, investment, and economic development,” according to an official readout from his office.

The two countries have steadily increased their economic and security ties in recent months, at the same time that relations between Saudi Arabia and the UAE have frayed. Saudi Arabia announced on the weekend that Pakistan had sent fighter jets to the kingdom under their mutual defence pact to bolster security in the country and the region.

Iran has targeted the kingdom and other neighbours in the Middle East with missile strikes in retaliation for their ties with the US.

The UAE hasn’t disclosed the reasons for calling in its loan to Pakistan. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sought to downplay media speculation that it was linked to a possible political fallout between the two countries, saying last week the move was a “routine financial transaction.”

A person familiar with the matter said the UAE had requested a rollover period of less than a year, which Pakistan didn’t accept. Pakistan also has close economic ties with China, its biggest lender, to whom it owes more than $25 billion. Islamabad is making attempts to start the next phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative as a follow-up to the about $60 billion first phase initiated more than a decade ago.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also reached an initial agreement with Pakistan last month for the disbursement of a loan instalment of about $1.2 billion from a $7 billion funding program. Pakistan has received about two dozen bailouts from the global lender since the 1960s.