Blake Lively on her family: 'That's where my everything is'

LOS ANGELES, June 16 (UPI) -- Blake Lively says her family is the number one priority in her life.

The 28-year-old actress opened up about husband Ryan Reynolds and daughter James in the July issue of Marie Claire while discussing the challenges of raising a family in the spotlight.

"All my eggs are in one basket, and that's my family. That's where my heart is. That's where my everything is," the star declared. "My family: That's the thing I feel most protective of and the thing that I feel is the most exposed when I feel exploited."

Lively and Reynolds started dating in 2011 and married in Mount Pleasant, S.C., the next year. The couple welcomed James in December 2014, but initially kept their daughter's name and birthdate secret in an effort to protect their family's privacy.

"I'd rather not have to deal with [the paparazzi], but we knew the lifestyle we were getting into, and while it's hard...it's another thing when it's our child," the actress said. "She didn't have the opportunity to make a decision about what she wants."

"Ryan had a nice, normal upbringing, and we want our kids to have the same normal life that we had," she added. "We don't ever want to rob them of what we had, because we'd feel really selfish."

Lively is currently pregnant and expecting her second child with Reynolds. The actress had nothing but good things to say about the 39-year-old Deadpool star, whom she first met on the set of Green Lantern in 2010.

"I knew he would always be my best friend for my whole life," she said of why she married the actor. "That was the biggest thing to me. I'd never known anything like the friendship that I had with him. I could like him as much as I loved him."

Lively will next star in The Shallows and promoted the movie with a cute throwback photo last week. The actress stars as a surfer who is attacked by an enormous great white shark.