Content warning: This article refers to domestic abuse.

The second highest grossing film at the US box office this last weekend, It Ends With Us (2024), stars Blake Lively (08/25/1987, Virgo Rabbit) and Justin Baldoni (01/24/1984, Aquarius Pig), with Baldoni also directing. The movie is based on a 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover, which has been commended for its portrayal of the “devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.” Yet the film’s current commercial success has not stopped rumors of behind-the-scenes tension between Lively and Baldoni.

The clearest indication of a possible feud has been Baldoni’s conspicuously low profile during publicity for the film, in particular at the August 9 premiere. This is in contrast to Lively, who appeared alongside husband Ryan Reynolds (10/23/1976, Scorpio Dragon) and other cast members including Jenny Slate (03/25/1982, Aries Dog) and Brandon Sklenar (01/29/1991, Aquarius Horse). There have also been reports of the other cast members unfollowing Baldoni on Instagram.

Considering the energy match between Lively and Baldoni, the curious aspect of the rumored feud is surely the Chinese match between Lively’s Rabbit sign and Baldoni’s sign of the Pig. This is one of the most treasured matches in the Chinese zodiac, with the artistic sensitivity of the Rabbit usually finding a natural and supportive comrade in the usually generous and selfless personality of the Pig. Lively and Baldoni seemed to have found precisely this kind of nurturing connection earlier in their collaboration, with Baldoni telling People in April that,

[Lively is] strong, funny and intelligent — all the things you want from female heroine…There wasn’t a part of this production that she didn’t touch and have influence on. And everything she put her hands on and her mind to, she made better.

The connection between Lively and Baldoni’s respective Western signs, Virgo and Aquarius, reflects a more uncertain influence, however. For this is a Quincunx aspect, at once offering plenty of room to move but equally somewhat directionless. This energy could have contributed to ample creative freedom and excitement. However, there is more destabilizing quality to this energy. It is crucial for Quincunx relationships to deal with problems and uncertainties quickly, as and when they arise, as there is considerable potential for difficulties to fester into anger and resentment.

Here’s hoping that in the months and years to come, Lively and Baldoni are able to move past any Quincunx tensions in their relationship, and return to the underlying harmony between them on the Chinese side, if there is indeed anything to the rumors and observed distance between the two at the moment. In the meantime we’ll be watching closely how the remaining publicity circuit plays out for this pair as the popularity of their film likely continues to grow.