{"id":63102,"date":"2025-04-24T10:17:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T00:17:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=266532"},"modified":"2025-04-24T10:26:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T06:26:16","slug":"penn-badgley-relationship-with-blake-lively","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/me\/articles\/penn-badgley-relationship-with-blake-lively\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn Badgley Reveals What His Relationship With Blake Lively Was Really Like"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Blake
NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 01: Actress Blake Lively and actor Penn Badgley are seen on the set of the TV show “Gossip Girl” on location on the streets of Manhattan on November 1, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Marcel Thomas\/FilmMagic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Penn Badgley has never been one to overshare about his time as a 2000s heartthrob. But in a rare moment of candour during his recent appearance on the Call Her Daddy<\/em> podcast<\/a>, the former Gossip Girl<\/em> <\/a>star offered a glimpse into his off-screen romance with co-star Blake Lively<\/a>, revealing just how entwined their love story was with the fictional chaos of the teen drama.<\/p>\n

Badgley and Lively, who dated from 2007 to 2010, portrayed the endlessly complicated characters of Dan Humphrey and Serena van der Woodsen<\/a> on the show, which had a generation in a chokehold over the lives of Manhattan’s Upper East Side from 2007 to 2012. Speaking with host Alex Cooper, Badgley admitted that he struggled to separate his performance from his personal life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat starts to happen when you\u2019re in this one role for a long time, the aspect of celebrity being a huge part of it… There is not enough separation, I think, for anybody,\u201d he reflected. \u201cYou\u2019re seen as this person, you\u2019re called their name out on the street\u2026 and I was 20. I didn\u2019t have the emotional maturity to differentiate myself in terms of self-worth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Blake
NEW YORK – MAY 05: Blake Lively and Penn Badgley attend the Nina Ricci After Party For Met Ball Hosted By Olivier Theyskens and Lauren Santo Domingo at Philippe in New York on May 5,2008 (Photo by Jamie McCarthy\/WireImage)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s a poignant revelation from an actor who has long been reluctant to disparage his early fame. For Badgley, it seems the reality of dating in the spotlight wasn\u2019t as glamorous as one might think\u2014it was confusing.<\/p>\n

\u201cDating felt like a bit of a performance,\u201d he confessed, adding that he craved true connection and intimacy, something that eluded him during those whirlwind years.<\/p>\n

Now, nearly two decades on, Badgley has accepted that the show was a cultural phenomenon and will thus follow him around throughout not only his career but his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext year I will be 40,” he lamented. “I will still be answering questions about this show I decided to do when I was 20.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 27: Penn Badgley and Blake Lively on location for “Gossip Girl” November 27, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney\/WireImage)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In an interview with Vanity Fair<\/em>, the show’s producer, Joshua Safran, revealed that the couple refused to let their personal drama interfere with their work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found out on the set of the season two finale that Blake and Penn had broken up months before,\u201d he told the outlet in 2017. \u201cThey kept the breakup hidden from the crew, which you could never do now. I don\u2019t even know how they did it. They kept it from everybody, which is a testament to how good they are as actors. Because they did not want their personal drama to relate to the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch the full interview below.<\/em><\/p>\n