People shocked after realising Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' age gap

It's pretty safe to say that, in recent years, there has been a staggering surge in what one might describe as 'age gap' romances - especially in the celebrity realm.

Amongst the most famous of big-name cross-generational duos - who've reportedly had a huge part to play in the increasing popularity of this particular relationship dynamic - are Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who are famously an impressive 25 years apart, and George and Amal Clooney, who are an equally staggering 17 years apart.

And whilst Hollywood acting twosome Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are also known by many for their pretty hefty difference in age, many fans of the duo are only this week realising how big their age gap is.

For those unfamiliar with the couple's long-standing love-story, Blake and Ryan first came face-to-face 14 years ago when Ryan - who was previously married to fellow actor Scarlett Johansson - was cast in superhero hit Green Lantern alongside Blake.

Their friendship developed into something deeper during the course of filming, and by 2011, they went public with their newly-loved-up romance - just a year after Blake called off her relationship with Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley.

Flash-forward to today, the silver screen superstars have tied the knot - after secretly marrying in secret at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina in 2012 - and welcomed four beautiful children.

What many fans of the high-profile duo were seemingly unaware of until this week, however, is that the couple actually enjoy a really quite extreme age gap, with a video doing the rounds on social media, showing what the couple have looked like through the years.

It turns out that Ryan was 33 and now wife Blake was only 22 when they first locked lips.

Find the mind-blowing clip below:

In the now-viral video, a 29-year-old Ryan could be seen acting in the 2005 independent comedy movie Waiting, whilst being compared to a fresh-faced 18-year-old Blake in a video filmed that same year.

Later on in the clip, a promotional interview for Gossip Girl saw a 24-year-old Blake chatting away to cameras in 2011, whilst Ryan, then 35, could be seen promoting a movie of his own.

And, as we say, the striking difference has left viewers of the video reeling.

"Still in shock," one claimed, whilst asked wrote in the comments, "Wdym he’s almost 50??"

A third teased, "Blake stop aging when she reach 25", whilst a fourth went on: "Idk they are twin flames and same age souls".

N'aww!