Circa 2008/2009, nobody was doing it like Penn Badgley and Blake Lively. Not only were they the stars of the hottest show of the era, , and they were dating in real life. That’s right, they were a power couple both on and off screen. All these years later, and have gone their separate ways, on screen and real life. But, is making fans realize just how important this relationship was. Gather ’round and listen up, Upper East Siders, ’cause this is a story with some life-or-death stakes.
Penn and Blake dated from 2007 to 2010 —oh what a time! — and since then they’ve pretty stayed in the spotlight. With season 5 of Penn’s show YOU on its way and Blake’s upcoming sequel to A Simple Favor (not to mention some, uh, other stuff in the news surrounding Blake), it makes sense that we’re all looking back and reminiscing about these two early-oughts icons. There’s one thing Penn said in a 2023 interview that’s really grabbing fans’ attention, particularly because it makes their real life sound almost as dramatic as a Gossip Girl storyline. It’s the story of how Blake Lively saved Penn Badgley’s life.
In an interview with Variety in 2023, Penn talked about how his time working on Gossip Girl was “fun and fast-paced” while also hiding a “dark undercurrent that would bottom out” in his late 20s. That’s some heavy stuff, and it apparently would have gotten even heavier for Penn if it weren’t for Blake.
“To be honest, I never struggled with substance,” Penn told Variety. “Blake didn’t drink, and I think our relationship in some ways saved me from forcing myself to go down that road.”
It sounds like from Penn’s perspective, Blake was more than just a good influence on him. She saved him from getting too caught up in some of the darker aspects of sudden fame.
Penn and Blake broke up in 2010, but they continued to work together until Gossip Girl ended in December 2012. By that point, Blake already was married to Ryan Reynolds (they tied the knot in September 2012), but Blake and Penn remained amicable with each other.
In 2013, Penn told ELLE that his relationship with Blake was a lot of the reason he made it through all six seasons of Gossip Girl. “We were very much caught up in the show, which itself was a six-year endurance test,” he said. “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.”
The way Penn talks about the period of his life he was on Gossip Girl, it sounds intense. Glad to know he at least had Blake by his side to support him — and save his life.
Topics: Celebs, Entertainment, Feel Old Yet?, TV
