Ryan Reynolds Treats 86-Year-Old Born On Leap Day To First Legal Drink

An 86-year-old woman born on a leap day has been given her first ever legal drink - by none other than Ryan Reynolds, who treated her to a glass of his Aviation gin.

When you're born on a leap day, you only *technically* get to celebrate your birthday once every four years, which sucks - especially as people insist on pretending you're only nine years old when you're actually well into your 30s. I'd imagine that joke wears pretty thin, no?

Well, in this case it's actually worked in one woman's favour, as Reynolds stepped in to provide her with her first legal drink on her '21st' birthday.

Aviation Gin

Arlene Manko was born in 1936, but as she was a leap year baby she's only just officially turning 21 - the legal drinking age in the United States.

The Deadpool actor wanted to make sure her first legal tipple was a good one, so decided to treat Arlene to some of his Aviation gin, making a promotional video to tie in with the stunt.

In the video, Arlene shows us a newspaper clipping announcing her wedding when she was younger, saying: "I was technically five years old when I got married."

Sitting in an armchair, she tells the camera: "30,679 days I've waited to turn 21.

"I had seven kids in 10 years - do you think sometimes I didn't want a drink?

"Following the rules and doing what you're told is important to me because that's what I was taught.

"You don't get in trouble when you do what you're told."

She adds: "But I'm not an angel, so it's okay - I'm ready to party."

Aviation Gin

As Arlene takes her first sip of the gin, Reynolds says in the voiceover: "Happy birthday, Arlene."

She seems to enjoy it, too, tilting her head back in sheer delight and exclaiming: "Holy Moses!"

The clip also ends with Arlene saying she 'didn't know' who Ryan Reynolds was, as the actor cuts her off, adding: "Ignore her, she's been drinking."

A message then tells anyone born on 29 February 1936 to email [email protected] - presumably (and hopefully) so they can also turn 21 with a treat from the company.

Topics: Entertainment, Celebrity, Food And Drink, Ryan Reynolds, Alcohol

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman