The Red Flags We Can't Ignore In Justin Baldoni's Marriage

Justin Baldoni and his wife Emily Baldoni haven't shied away from speaking out about their relationship. Whether it's on social media, Baldoni's "Man Enough" podcast, or in magazine interviews, the couple have repeatedly shared the highs and lows of their union. In fact, during their 2013 wedding, Justin apologized to his wife in front of their family and friends. "I'm sorry for all my faults, my shortcomings, for my insecurities and my ego, and for everything that I've ever done or said that's hurt you, and everything I've ever brought to this relationship that hasn't been pure," he said.

The "It Ends With Us" star didn't go into detail, but that's not the only time he's alluded to friction in his relationship with the Swedish actress. Seven years later, the couple told Yahoo! Life they struggled amid the coronavirus pandemic. "We had a big blow-up because I was failing, and I was feeling like I'm doing this all wrong and we weren't connecting and we needed to kind of reorganize our lives," Justin said. But the red flags in the Baldoni's marriage go even deeper.

In December 2024, Justin Baldoni hit the headlines when his "It Ends With Us" (which had fans saying the same thing before it was even released) co-star Blake Lively filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment. Justin denied the allegations and hit back with a countersuit in January 2025. The odd thing here? Emily Baldoni stayed quiet. She didn't publicly defend her husband, even after Liz Plank, his co-host on the "Man Enough" podcast, stepped down following Lively's filing. "I will have more to share soon as I continue to process everything that has happened. In the meantime, I will continue to support everyone who calls out injustice and holds the people standing in their way accountable," Plank said in a statement issued to People.

After weeks of silence, Emily returned to Instagram in January 2025 for her first grid post in almost a year. She celebrated her husband's birthday, but didn't mention the allegations. Emily shared a photo of herself kissing Justin next to the ocean with their two children. "Happy birthday my love. Celebrating the man, husband, and father that you are. I'd choose you again and again," she wrote in the caption.

There may be legal reasons why Emily isn't speaking out, but if she doesn't want to publicly defend her man, that could be a red flag. When Ryan Reynolds didn't issue a statement to support Lively amid initial "It Ends With Us" trouble rumblings, celebrity relationship expert and host of the "Love Works" podcast Nicole Moore exclusively told us, "It may signify that his own personal reputation or fear of backlash is more important to him than protecting his wife."

Justin Baldoni proposed to Emily Baldoni in 2013 in a unique way that some social media users dubbed a red flag. "The Bold and the Beautiful" star shared his 27-minute proposal video on YouTube, which demonstrated multiple failed proposals before he finally popped the question. Emily sat alone in a restaurant as the video, starring and made by Justin, played.

Though the moment was supposed to be romantic, not everyone saw it that way. After the clip resurfaced on Reddit in 2024, one user commented, "It's 27 minutes long! That's insane! He made her sit silently through a short film starring himself... as a way to propose. It's not sweet it's just weird and creepy. All the red flags." Other Reddit users weren't convinced the moment he properly proposed was without narcissism, either. "Even the actual proposal is all about himself...he doesn't say a single thing about her, it's all just everything she does for him, and how she makes him feel about himself," they wrote. Emily alluded to feeling a little uncomfortable watching the video alone, telling Hollywood Law Group in 2013, "Obviously, I know what's going on and I have nobody there to celebrate with. It's just me and the TV ... so just that was a trip."

Speaking about the viral video — which has been viewed more than 14 million times — on "Live With Kelly and Mark" in 2024, Justin claimed it was done in good humor. "The whole idea was that I failed at all these proposals because I was proposing in the way that I wanted versus the way she wanted," he said, calling it "a big joke."

Playing Rafael Solano on The CW series "Jane The Virgin" gave Justin Baldoni his big break, but he only knew about the role because Emily Baldoni wanted to audition first. Justin told "Today" in 2020 his wife hoped to play Petra Solano, Rafael's wife, and he became interested in the show while running lines with her. "I thought, 'Who is this guy going to be? He sounds really dreamy!'" he said of Rafael. The Petra role went to Yael Grobglas, but Emily not getting the gig didn't stop Justin joining the show. That may have stung, seeing as he considered himself more of a filmmaker than an actor then while Emily was more serious about acting.

We hope Justin and Emily spoke at length about if it was a good idea for him to take the role. If they didn't, that may be a problem. The show made Justin a big name and if Emily wasn't genuinely comfortable with him appearing on the show she wanted to be part of, it could lead to resentment and jealousy.

Justin Baldoni's busy schedule means he and Emily Baldoni don't always spend a lot of time together. Justin alluded to being away a lot in a 2018 Instagram post, sharing screenshots from FaceTimes with their children. "I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there's guilt and some sadness that I don't get to be with them every day to see them change and grow up," Baldoni shared. "While yes I'm having an amazing time directing with my friends and family on Jane The Virgin...I'm also really missing my family today," he wrote. 

Emily (who shared on "Better Together With Maria Menounos" in 2022 she chose to be a stay-at-home mom) has also opened up about her and Justin's struggle to spend quality time together. She told HealthyWay she does most of the childcare and isn't always sure when he'll be home. "If he's home when I get back from daycare, we try to catch up on all the million things that are always going on in our life and figure out what the day will look like," she said. 

Justin alluded to how much hard work Emily puts into their family in 2020, admitting to She Knows, "Emily, in some ways, has been the mother and the father. I have been trying to balance, figuring out how to provide." He added, "I am wrestling and grappling with the guilt I have about not quite being the dad that I want to be." Many couples weather the difficulties of relationships where one person is away a lot, but it can be a red flag if they aren't regularly checking in to make sure the arrangement still works — especially if one person feels they're carrying an unfair load.

Justin Baldoni celebrated his 11th anniversary with Emily Baldoni in 2024 with an Instagram video montage of some of their sweetest moments, but it was Justin's confession in the clip that raised eyebrows. The actor cried as he told his wife, "You could have given up on me a lot of times. I've made a lot of mistakes. Your grace, your compassion, your love, your belief that I can be better even when I f**k up is why we're even here." 

Though Justin admitting to and taking responsibility for his mistakes is far from a red flag, what he's referring to may be. He didn't clarify his past misdeeds, but if Emily ever felt pressured to stay with her husband following behavior that made her uncomfortable, that may be an issue. It's never a bad idea to leave a relationship that isn't serving you, no matter how long you've been together or how deep you believe your connection to be. "If we hold on to the idea that they are our soulmate, we could stay in a relationship that is unhealthy and possibly toxic," Dr. Kimber Shelton, licensed psychologist and relationship expert, told Bustle. After all, while romantic, the idea of 'The One' is outdated. "We wed ourselves to the idea of 'The One' instead of continuing to evaluate the quality of the relationship," Dr. Shelton added, though Emily hasn't publicly accused Justin of any serious wrongdoing.