Blake Lively's Met Gala Appearance Solidified Weeks Ago, Baldoni Settlement Irrelevant

Blake Lively may have shocked some when she stepped on the Met Gala red carpet last night ... but the actress being there wasn't a last-minute decision.

A Blake insider tells TMZ ... despite her attendance at the Gala turning heads since earlier in the day, her massive legal battle with Justin Baldoni was finally settled ... her presence had been planned for weeks, as she was an invited guest by Anna Wintour.

We’re told … the 11th-hour settlement was irrelevant -- BL was going to the Met -- no matter if there was a settlement, or the trial was still on the horizon.

We broke the news -- Justin and Blake agreed to a settlement Monday morning -- but we've since learned from sources that no money was exchanged between the parties ... other than the lawyers getting paid, of course.

As for hubby Ryan Reynolds skipping the gala, our insider says ... RR does not always go to the bash, and the couple often attends events separately. Plus, other A-listers went stag, like Katy Perry without Justin Trudeau, and Kylie Jenner sans Timothée -- who was at the Knicks game. We hear Ryan was home spending time with the kids … having been away recently for screenings of his John Candy doc, "I Like Me."

Asked how she was feeling about the evening, Blake told Vogue on the carpet … “Every year I am a different version of myself than the last, so to be able to stand here in the version of myself that I am today -- and all the experiences I’ve had -- and strength and confidence is important to me.“