Hey Upper East Siders, Rumor Juice here.
Your one and only beverage-themed source into the scandalous lives of Hollywood’s elites.
We hope you have your swimsuit on because we’re diving into the Gossip Girl universe.
Remember the roller coaster love life of Dan Humphrey and Serena van der Woodsen?
While Dan and Serena have found their happy ending, this certainly wasn’t the case for
Blake Lively and Penn Badgley’s IRL relationship.
For those who shipped Dan and Serena during the original run of "Gossip Girl," learning
that they were a real-life item was a delight.
As the fictional couple fell more and more in love during the first three seasons of
the teen drama, so did Blake Lively and Penn Badgley on set.
The real-life pairing was so similar to the on-screen one, that they were the perfect
example of life imitating art.
As the first season of the show came to an end in 2008, there were rumors that the on-screen
couple was dating in real life.
Both Blake and Penn initially denied the possibility of their romance.
“Everybody always tries to dig into your personal life or create things that aren't
there … it's silly,” Lively said at the time.
It was ambitious for the ex-couple to think they could hide their love from fans.
While there is no real “Gossip Girl” to tell us saucy secrets about Manhattan’s
elites, People Magazine eventually confirmed the Blake-Penn romance.
The outlet shared images of the then-lovebirds enjoying a romantic getaway in Mexico in 2008.
Badgley and Lively looked loved up, sharing kisses and naps in the sun.
Another photograph showed them enjoying a steamy kiss in the swimming pool.
After these images were out, there was no way for the “Gossip Girl” stars to deny
their romance.
Penn and Blake went public with their relationship and fans couldn’t get enough.
Is there anything better than when favorite on-screen couples get together off-screen?
Blake once explained why she and Penn initially hid their relationship.
She said that they were afraid of what their bosses would say and that they would get in
trouble.
However, the actors soon realized that their dating was exactly what the producers of “Gossip
Girl” were hoping for.
“They wanted us all to date.
They wanted that, because then it fed their whole narrative.
People could buy into this world," the actress told the outlet.
Even though the world knew about Hollywood’s then-hottest item, the actors still kept a
relatively low profile as a couple.
The former flames were always spotted showing off PDA, but they would hardly say much about
their romance to the public.
“The Shallows” actress is a person who values her privacy.
Badgley was never quick to blab about his personal life, either.
“I don’t comment on my relationships…
My anonymity is something I treasure.
Wanting to be an actor and wanting to be famous are different,” Lively explained at the
time.
There was one time the “You” star gushed about his then-girlfriend.
“I think she's incredible,” Penn said, adding, “She's an amazing person and she's
beautiful – so there's not a lot to dislike.”
We agree, Penn, and we haven’t even met her!
The little that the former couple shared about their relationship was enough to have us feeling
all gooey inside.
Did you know that “The Age of Adaline” star bought her then-boyfriend his first iPhone?
“I was like, 'I don't want this thing.
It's so cumbersome and it has all these apps,'" Badgley said.
Lively had to explain everything to him, including the "bird thing" that was Twitter.
"Explaining it to me was such a foreign concept," he noted.
Say it with us now: Awww, Blake and Penn were adorable!
However, it seemed that their on-screen personas were placing a heavy burden on the actors
in real life.
More so, being Dan and Serena began to affect Blake and Penn’s relationship.
The former duo would rock the same fits as their fictional counterparts.
Blake would be doing the same kind of fashion shoots as Serena.
They were dating the same people as their characters.
Everything about the stars’ lives revolved around their show and because of this, people
began to see the real people as simply the characters they play.
“We look the same, and we acted the same as far as they could tell, because I wasn’t
doing anything but that show.
If Penn and I were photographed walking down the street, they didn’t know if it was a
paparazzi shot or if it was a shot from the show,” the “Green Lantern” actress said
of the relationship.
But Blake is not Serena, and Penn is not Dan, no matter how similar they may seem.
This must have been a frustrating plane to navigate.
As Blake noted, “At the time, what was heightened was, wow, it all looks similar from the outside,
but it’s so different on the inside.”
In 2010, media outlets confirmed that the duo had split up.
“Gossip Girl” fans were heartbroken.
Especially considering that Dan and Serena ended up getting married!
Maybe this is why teachers always said not to have our heads in the clouds.
Some dreams are just painful when they don’t come to fruition.
Neither of the ex-couple had confirmed any reasons behind the split.
However, it’s plausible to assume that the blurring of their real world and fictional
ones became an issue.
Imagine being unable to separate your actual self from a persona designed by a complete
stranger.
Then add a partner, who is dealing with the exact same situation, to this equation.
We can’t even be mad at them for breaking our “Gossip Girl” fan hearts.
Much like their relationship, Penn and Blake’s breakup was kept a secret.
We don’t even know when they actually broke up.
In fact, not even the people working with the ex-couple on set every day knew!
“Gossip Girl’s” co-producer and writer Joshua Safran once mentioned that even he
didn’t know about the breakup.
“The shocking thing was, I found out on the set of the Season 2 finale that Blake
and Penn had broken up months before,” he said.
The writer revealed that Lively and Badgley even kept the breakup hidden from the crew.
That’s something that is very difficult to do!
“They kept it from everybody which is a testament to how good they are as actors.
They did not want their personal drama to relate to the show,” Safran added.
Wait.
Pause.
They were on-screen dating while dealing with their break-up in real life?
We still felt Serena and Dan’s love for each other in the seasons after the actors
broke up.
These two are really amazing at what they do!
Although the couple had gone their separate ways in real life, both Badgley and Lively
remained professional throughout the course of filming the iconic series.
However, there was one moment that told us that the breakup definitely broke hearts.
The “John Tucker Must Die” actor once discussed his best and worst on-screen kisses.
The best, he said, was Miss van der Woodsen herself.
The worst, also Serena.
“I’ll say Blake because we actually had a relationship at the time.
And worst?
Maybe Blake after we broke up,” the actor told talk show host Andy Cohen.
Then came the secret wedding.
In 2012, while filming for the final season of “Gossip Girl” Lively married her movie
star hubby, Ryan Reynolds.
Like the rest of us, her ex-boyfriend found out through media reports.
Penn had no bad vibes about it.
“I couldn’t be happier for her,” the “Easy A” actor said.
On a separate occasion, he was asked whether he’d sent the blushing bride a wedding gift.
He did not.
Then, at some point, the dreamboat grew tired of all the questions about him and his ex-flame.
While there appears to be little bad blood between the two, they aren’t exactly pals.
"We haven't spoken in a while, you know," Badgley said in 2015.
"There's an amicable silence, if that makes any sense."
Perhaps Lively is still waiting on that wedding gift?
There were lessons to be learned from this romance.
Both actors were in their early 20s, sailing the waters of television fame.
Thankfully, Penn Badgley’s profound thoughts told us what the lesson was.
“We were very much caught up in the show, which itself was a six-year endurance test.
Our relationship was a part of that and helped us through it.
It was good and it was bad and it was a learning experience," the 36-year-old reflected.
Since the split, Blake has been happily married to her husband for a decade.
The bombshell once spoke about what her ideal partner is.
“There has to be a strong connection.
He needs to be my best friend, whether he's macho or sensitive - it doesn't matter.
He also has to make me laugh.
I enjoy someone who's a lot of fun to be with,” she explained.
Sounds like a perfect match to us!
The couple shares three children, with a fourth on the way.
In the meantime, Penn went on to date Zoë Kravitz, but they broke up after two years.
Then, he met his soul mate in singer and doula to A-listers, Domino Kirke.
The two are blissfully in love.
The “Do Over” alum once wrote on Instagram, “I’m really glad we’re married.”
He and his wife share a son.
Blake Lively and Penn Badgley were the couple of teenage dreams.
Both actors have moved on with their lives and found happiness with other people.
Although, it doesn’t hurt to stroll down memory lane every once in a while.
We hope you enjoyed reminiscing about “Gossip Girl” as much as we have.
Until next time.
XOXO, Rumor Juice.