Serena van der Woodsen and Dan Humphrey, the protagonists of the series “Gossip Girl”, had a love that surpassed the screens. Actors Penn Badgley and Blake Lively dated for three years, from 2007 to 2010, on and off.
The series continued until 2012, and the two had to maintain professionalism during the final years of the work. Which, according to executive producer Joshua Safran, wasn’t a problem, as they’ve always kept their relationship hidden from the public eye.
Safran told US magazine “Vanity Fair” that he found out on the set of the second season finale that they had broken up months before and hid it from the crew.
“I don’t even know how they did it. They hid it from everyone, which is a testament to how good they are as actors because they didn’t want their personal drama to relate to the show,” she said.
Today Badgley and Lively are married to other people: he with singer and actress Domino Kirke-Badgley since 2017, with whom he has a son; and she with actor Ryan Reynolds, since 2012, with whom she has four children.
In an interview with “Variety” magazine, the actor recalled the time of “Gossip Girl”: he suddenly found himself famous at the age of 20, with several paparazzi chasing him around New York wanting to know gossip about his relationship with the co-star of the series.
Penn Badgley confessed that for years, even while he was on the show, he didn’t want to be on TV. “I spent a lot of time with Dan, but I wasn’t devoted to him. And I’m not saying this is a good thing! I’m telling you like it was,” he recounted.
On the one hand, he describes his experience on the series as “fun and fast-paced”, but that underneath it all was a dark undercurrent that would follow him into his late 20s.
Asked if there was alcohol abuse at that time, he denied it. “To be honest, I’ve never had a substance problem,” he said. “Blake didn’t drink and I think our relationship, in a way, saved me from forcing myself down that path.”
To seek solace from his “spiritual crisis,” as he called it, Badgley traveled, explored Buddhism, and tried techniques like meditation, as well as engaging in political causes like Occupy Wall Street, a protest movement against economic and social inequality. .
The reason for the crisis? The actor was candid in replying, “Like anyone who experiences some degree of fame and wealth, I’ve been gifted with the universal truth that they don’t just make your life better or easier. In fact, they can make things very complicated and make you very unhappy.”
He felt isolated and didn’t know who to trust: “I was never anything you could define as suicidal, but I was certainly desperate.”
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
