'Smitten instantly': What Adam Brody has said about his marriage to Leighton Meester (2024)

Adam Brody is making “Nobody Wants This” viewers swoon. The Netflix series is based on creator Erin Foster’s real life love story with her husband, Simon Tikhman. But what about Brody’s love story?

Brody, who made his first pop culture mark as Seth Cohen on “The O.C.,” is married to an alum from another famous TV show: Leighton Meester, the actor behind Blair Waldorf of “Gossip Girl.”

They keep their relationship purposefully private, Brody told GQ in 2019.

“She’s more inherently private than I am,” Brody said. “I don’t seek publicity, but if I’m sitting next to you on the subway, I’ll tell you everything about me. We’re homebodies. We don’t go to a lot of things that perhaps we could and don’t seek out promotion in that way ... we’ve found this great balance so far that really works for us. We’re also not very active on social media.”

Here’s what Brody and Meester have shared about their relationship.

How did the couple meet?

Their first interaction came thanks to an overlap between their shows "The O.C." and "Gossip Girl," he told Anna Faris in 2021 on her podcast "Unqualified.”

Both shows were produced by Josh Schwartz. Brody was at Canters, a deli in Los Angeles, when Schwartz walked in with the cast of "Gossip Girl."

"I was leaving, and he introduced all of us and then (I) bumped into her, like, two or three times over the next couple of years," he told Faris.

Then, they met on set of “The Oranges” in 2011. Brody was dating someone at the time. “We didn’t get together until about a year after that movie, when I was single,” he said.

Brody told “Gossip Girl” alum Penn Badgley on the podcast “Podcrushed" that he “was smitten instantly” with Meester.

“I was smitten for a long time,” Brody continued. “I didn’t get to know her for many years after, even though we worked together briefly.”

He said his understanding of Meester grew.

“She’s so lovely and she’s so sweet, she’s so nice, she’s so good. And yet, and this is to her credit, she remained elusive to me for so long. And aloof. I couldn’t get a total read,” he said. “Even though she professes to have been interested in me … not only did she not pursue that, she was perfectly willing to let that never happen. She says it’s because (she) knew it would be ‘the thing.’”

From dating rumors to marriage

The couple was photographed together starting in February 2013.

That spring, per IMDB, they returned to set for the April 2014 movie “Life Partners” — though they didn’t play love interests. Brody’s character was dating Meester’s character’s best friend.

Then, they attended the premiere of “Some Girl(s)” in June 2013, which Brody and his “Nobody Wants This” co-star, Kristen Bell, starred in.

The couple didn't share details about their engagement or marriage. However, on "Podcrushed" in 2023, Brody shared they had been married for nine years.

On "Podcrushed," Brody called himself a romantic.

“There’s a trope that marriage is hard. I don’t think so. In its best form, it shouldn’t be,” he said.

Today, they share two kids

In August 2015, Meester gave birth to the couple’s first child, daughter Arlo Day. Their second child, a son, was born in September 2020.

“Since last I played, I have a new kid,” Brody said on Hold the Phone TV’s “The Fun Time Boys Game Night Spectacular” on Twitch. “I have a boy, and he’s a dream. He’s a dream boy.”

The couple has not released their son’s name to the public.

Meester spoke to Refinery29 about her decision to keep her family life private in March 2017.

“I am very proud of that area of my life,” she told the publication regarding being a mom. “But I’m also really proud of … the work I do. I think the perception is: You’re an ingenue, or you’re an icon, or you’re a mom. There’s no in between.”

Brody spoke about the effect kids had on his marriage while on the "Podcrushed" podcast.

“When you’re married and have that commitment, and when you have kids, you’re partners on the most important project of your life. There’s a lot of work required from both of you. Even though it’s the most pleasurable thing in my life it’s not always instant pleasure. There’s a lot of compromise and pride swallowing. But we’re very fortunate,” he said.

Georgina DiNardo

Georgina is an editorial intern for TODAY.com, based in New York City.

'Smitten instantly': What Adam Brody has said about his marriage to Leighton Meester (2024)
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