Actor Penn Badgley once credited his relationship with Blake Lively as having helped “save” him from the prospect of substance abuse. He made the remark whilst discussing his experience with fame earlier in his acting career.
Penn, now 38, and Blake, now 37, dated between 2007 and 2010 whilst they worked together on Gossip Girl. The pair played couple Dan Humphrey and Serena van der Woodsen on the CW show, which ran from 2007 until 2012. It meant that they continued to be co-stars even after splitting up.
The former couple have both reflected on their romance in the years since it ended. Some of Penn’s comments have now resurfaced ahead of his Netflix show You returning for its final season next week and amid Blake’s legal drama with her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
Whilst looking back at the period of his life when he was on Gossip Girl, Penn told Variety in 2023 that it was “fun and fast-paced”. He however said that there was also a “dark undercurrent” as he struggled with being famous.
Asked if that included any substance abuse, he said two years ago: “To be honest, I never struggled with substance. Blake didn’t drink, and I think our relationship in some ways saved me from forcing myself to go down that road.”
Penn went on to share that whilst there are positives to being a celebrity, it can also “complicate things”. He said: “Like anybody who experiences some degree of fame and wealth, I was presented with the universal truth that not only does it not make your life better or easier, it actually can greatly complicate things, and make you quite unhappy.”
It isn’t the only time that actor Penn has spoken about his past relationship with Blake. He’s previously suggested that the pair remained amicable after splitting up, adding that they were both “professional” on the set of Gossip Girl.
Asked if it was difficult still working together, he told Elle in 2013 that it wasn’t, saying they were “ultimately professional”. Penn was also asked what the end of the relationship taught him and suggested that he couldn’t “articulate” the answer.
He shared in the interview over a decade ago though: “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. I mean, like anything valuable, it was good and it was bad and it was a learning experience.”
Two years later, as reported by HuffPost, he shared that they hadn’t spoken in some time. He said in 2015: “We haven’t spoken in a while. But, you know, there’s an amicable silence, if that makes any sense.”
The former couple have both moved on from the relationship, with them now in subsequent marriages to different people. Penn has been married to singer Domino Kirke, 41, with whom he shares his two children, since 2017.
Meanwhile, Blake has been married to fellow actor Ryan Reynolds since 2012. The couple – who met on the set of Green Lantern (2011) – have now four children together.
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