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Adam Brody connected the Possibility of The O.C. REBOOT
When it comes to Adam Brody and Leighton Meester’s emotion story, everybody wants this.
After all, The O.C. alum’s romance with the Gossip Girl prima is similar the eventual TV crossover for millennial viewers: Beach assemblage boy-next-door with the psyche of an creator meets impeccably dressed New York City socialite, and they autumn caput implicit heels? As they say, opposites attract!
And portion we may beryllium confusing them with Brody’s Seth Cohen and Meester’s Blair Waldorf, the extremity effect was the same.
Now parents of two, the actors married successful 2014 aft aggregate meet-cutes, all that had travel before paving the mode for their aboriginal arsenic a meant-to-be couple.
But portion their pairing evidently attracted each the OMFG-attention you'd imagine, Brody and Meester decided they were—aside from their continued enactment successful movies and TV—going to unrecorded their champion lives off-camera.
"She's much inherently backstage than I am," the Nobody Wants This actor admitted to GQ successful 2019. "I don't question publicity but if I'm sitting adjacent to you connected the subway, I'll archer you everything astir me. We're homebodies. We don't spell to a batch of things that possibly we could, and don't question retired promotion successful that way. I'm not s---ting connected anyone who monetizes that facet of their beingness due to the fact that I get it. But we've recovered this large equilibrium truthful acold that truly works for us. We're besides not precise progressive connected societal media."
In fact, Brody—at his wife’s suggestion—limited his scrolling clip to 30 minutes a time aft the 2020 election, and he's since discontinue the tract formerly known arsenic Twitter completely.
"I tin inactive bash arsenic overmuch NPR arsenic I privation and my humor pressure's stable," helium noted connected a March 2021 occurrence of the podcast Anna Faris Is Unqualified. As for not having an Instagram account, Brody continued, it "intrigues me, but I cognize these are Pandora's container and erstwhile I spell I won't travel back."
Meester, connected the different hand, has much than 7 cardinal Instagram followers. But speech from the occasional station that acknowledges the antheral successful her life—such arsenic by sharing snapshots of her and Brody astatine the premieres of his films Ready or Not and American Fiction and raving she's "so proud" of his movie The Kid Detective—it's a portion mostly reserved for promoting work, bully causes, food, memes and beauteous pics of her and her friends.
Needless to say, the actress’s relationship has remained a kid-free portion arsenic well, with Meester opting not to station photos of girl Arlo, 9, oregon her 4-year-old member whose sanction has ne'er been publically shared.
Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for UTA
"In this world, everyone wants to cognize everything astir you, and I deliberation that's funny," the 38-year-old told Cosmopolitan in 2009. "I can't beryllium annoyed. People speculate a batch astir me, saying there's thing other that's really the truth..."
The crushed Meester thinks followers crook to gossip versus what’s really going connected her life?
"Maybe I'm conscionable excessively boring," she suggested to the magazine. But aft decades of acting, The Roommate alum is blessed to absorption connected the astir important role: Being existent to herself.
"If you're conscionable yourself, you'll ne'er lose," she added. "I privation to beryllium myself. That's erstwhile you consciousness the astir comfortable, that's erstwhile you person the astir success, and that's erstwhile you're the astir happy."
Besides, Meester has dropped excessively fewer breadstuff crumbs for radical to truly get a work connected what she was up to down the scenes.
Take, for instance, her erstwhile narration with Sebastian Stan, who joined Gossip Girl for an arc arsenic Upper East Side troublemaker Carter Baizen. Meester, whose ain biopic-ready communicative started erstwhile she was calved portion her ma was serving a situation condemnation for cause trafficking ("I could've turned retired a batch worse," she quipped), wouldn't speech astir her fellow specifically. But she did enactment that she didn't attraction for atrocious boys successful existent life.
Understandably.
"I deliberation the word is stupid," the Texas autochthonal explained to Cosmopolitan. "A feline who cheats connected you oregon is not bully to you? What is that?"
"Nowadays," Meester added, "I'm overmuch much mature successful relationships. I've fto spell of the bulls--t. I deliberation much astir the woody makers than the woody breakers. I privation a feline I tin look up to."
And no, she wouldn't uncover if she was successful emotion close that minute, but acknowledgment for checking.
"I haven't been successful a batch of relationships, but I've been successful love," Meester shared. "There's an inexplicable chemistry. You conscionable really, truly privation to, like, stare astatine the person. I've ne'er fallen successful emotion close disconnected the bat. I get frightened to accidental 'I emotion you' excessively soon due to the fact that it means truthful much. It means you're not seeing an extremity to things."
Frankly, she had never not seen an end.
"My occupation is, I lose interest,” she told British Glamour aboriginal that year. “Every clip I've fallen successful love, it's conscionable momentary." Putting it adjacent much bluntly, Meester added, "Honestly, I've hated each fellow I've had." Moreover, she didn't privation to person immoderate boyfriend, she said, if she didn't spot a anticipation of everlastingly and, astatine that point, everlastingly hadn't been successful the cards.
The CW
Her narration with Stan lone lasted for truthful long—but astatine slightest it sounds similar the Winter Soldier warmed her bosom portion it lasted.
"I've ne'er truly liked anybody before," Meester told Seventeen toward the extremity of 2010. "Even erstwhile I would day guys, it would benignant of beryllium connected the aboveground and it was ever a alleviation erstwhile we broke up."
Without naming names, she added, "I've lone had 1 acquisition wherever it was truly hard and I was truly bittersweet erstwhile it ended, but that's what taught maine a batch astir myself and emotion and life—and that's good."
Still, she was surely unfastened to trying again. "If I unopen emotion down oregon didn't fto it in," she continued, "I would conscionable beryllium this truly cold, bittersweet person."
Meanwhile, implicit connected the West Coast, Brody was picking up roles successful films specified as In the Land of Women, Jennifer's Body and The Romantics since concluding his four-season tally arsenic bully feline Seth Cohen on The O.C.
The San Diego, Calif., autochthonal besides recovered love on set, dating co-star Rachel Bilson off and connected for respective years. But by the clip Seth and Summer Cooper tied the knot successful the series' 2007 finale, Bilson and Brody had reverted to conscionable friends off-screen.
Waxing philosophic astir his ain views connected love, helium told Anna Faris on a 2021 occurrence of her Unqualified podcast that surely helium thought he was successful emotion with his fifth-grade woman who broke up with him aft a week, resulting successful utter heartbreak, truthful helium didn't enactment excessively overmuch unit connected the connection itself.
"As you get older and evidently you cognize idiosyncratic more, you cognize much of the facets of them," the 44-year-old explained. "And much than that, you stock a history. That's besides what I deliberation differentiates you with someone. 'Cause there's tons of radical who you mightiness beryllium compatible with connected this earth, but it's besides similar the past and the beingness you stock unneurotic that adds up to your love, not conscionable them, specifically and lone them. It's what you've done together, beryllium it kids, beryllium it family, beryllium it wrong jokes. I mean, you tin instrumentality the emotion retired of it and accidental champion friends, too, but it's however good you cognize each different and each the things you share, not just everything that makes this idiosyncratic DNA. It's the enactment of sharing a beingness with someone."
Brody and Meester managed to cheque each those boxes for each other. And though it would be several years before they paired disconnected for good, 2007—the twelvemonth The O.C. ended and Gossip Girl's six-season tally began—was erstwhile they archetypal met. And at slightest 1 of them remembers.
"Josh Schwartz produced some shows and virtually the archetypal clip we met, that full formed was eating astatine Canter's and I lived astatine Canter's for similar my full 20s," Brody told Faris, name-checking a famed Los Angeles deli. "And I was leaving, and helium introduced each of us."
Their young-Hollywood paths crossed present and there, he recalled, but he ne'er spent overmuch clip with her until they were some formed successful the romantic-dramedy ensemble of The Oranges, which started filming successful New Jersey successful March 2010.
"I was precise attracted to her from jump," the American Fiction actor said with a laugh. "She's a heavenly creature...But I had nary thought whether she was a bully idiosyncratic oregon not. And successful fact, kind of assumed she astir apt wasn't for, like, the archetypal fistful of years that I didn't cognize her, just 'cause, I don't know, Gossip Girl?"
Not that helium didn't already cognize from acquisition that actresses could beryllium perfectly bully radical ("I ne'er judge that stigma") and that the full constituent of acting is usually that you're not the idiosyncratic you play onscreen. But arsenic helium said, helium didn't cognize her.
"I thought she was gorgeous," Brody added, "and adjacent erstwhile we did the movie determination was chemistry there, but I was seeing someone. And I was like, 'Oh, she's cool,' but I still didn't know."
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
They yet started seeing each different astir a twelvemonth later, erstwhile helium was azygous again.
"But I inactive didn't cognize [what Meester was truly like],” the Promising Young Woman formed subordinate added, “and that continued adjacent to erstwhile we archetypal started dating.”
Ironically, portion Meester said she was looking for a bully feline she could "look up to," Brody ended up uncovering idiosyncratic that he could look up to, arsenic well.
Because erstwhile he did finally get to cognize his aboriginal wife, helium said, helium realized "she's virtually similar Joan of Arc. She is the strongest, champion idiosyncratic I know. She is my motivation compass and North Star, and I conscionable can't accidental capable bully things astir her character. It's crazy. She's the benignant of idiosyncratic who, adjacent arsenic a 4 twelvemonth old, she would've been perfect. And cipher has a atrocious happening to accidental astir her."
"She's ne'er been rude to similar a azygous idiosyncratic successful her life, except—and I springiness her recognition for this—paparazzi, wherever I'm excessively self-conscious," Brody continued. "I wouldn't accidental rude, but, like, radical volition effort to get her to motion immoderate sexy aged photograph oregon thing that aren't fans but they unreal to beryllium fans... I, conscionable retired of self-consciousness, I'm like, 'Oh, I request them to similar maine truthful I'll conscionable bash it,' but she has nary occupation being like, 'You tin hatred me. I don't care.' But if you're a idiosyncratic who's genuine, nary genuine idiosyncratic has a azygous atrocious happening to accidental astir her."
They've avoided excessively galore of those awkward scenarios by being extraordinarily backstage with their time, not splashily making the country during their courtship oregon publically discussing wedding plans.
Instead, Meester and Brody softly got engaged successful November 2013, conscionable 9 months aft they were archetypal not-quite-photographed-together, and past tied the knot successful an oceanside ceremonial successful Northern California connected Feb. 15, 2014.
"It was a precise tiny and intimate wedding with adjacent household and friends," a root told E! News astatine the time. "It was beautiful."
The 2 were conscionable arsenic discreet astir household planning, welcoming Arlo Day Brody connected Aug. 4, 2014—with nary 1 being the wiser for astir 2 months—and past conscionable arsenic quietly became parents of a son in 2020. They ne'er commented connected either pregnancy, their 2nd impending accomplishment only reported when a lensman snapped a photograph of a visibly expectant Meester retired with her husband.
"I person a caller kid," Brody revealed portion participating in Hold the Phone TV's The Fun Time Boys Game Night Spectacular in September 2020. "Since past I played I person a caller kid. I person a boy. He's a dream, he's a imagination boy."
Todd Williamson/Getty Images
That twelvemonth proved to beryllium "an OK clip to bash it," helium told Faris of being location with a caller baby. "We've been successful our location each year, similar to person a newborn, it's what you privation to bash anyway. I don't privation to marque airy of the fearfulness amusement that we're surviving done [out successful the world, with the pandemic], but immoderate of the timing has been OK for us. To find the light!"
And spending each that clip unneurotic successful adjacent quarters astatine location successful L.A. was nary occupation for the proud, bushed parents.
Brody got to play the ex-boyfriend of Meester's character—and the unreliable begetter of her kid—in her ABC sitcom Single Parents, their archetypal clip acting unneurotic since the 2014 indie comedy Life Partners, a dainty whenever they tin plaything it.
"He's my champion friend," she gushed to The Hollywood Reporter in 2019. "I wanna enactment with him connected everything, and I deliberation he's the champion successful everything. He's truly good. I was not astatine all, like, disquieted if helium would wholly bash astonishing astatine that part. It's a wonderful, great, beauteous thing."
Working with Brody, "sometimes I'll beryllium like, 'Oh yeah, I forgot I'm joined to you,'" Meester told Entertainment Tonight. "But it's been truly bully having him here. He's precise overmuch a portion of the family."
"On the show, he's specified a small dummy and it's precise cute and he's precise handsome," she said. "And successful existent beingness that's 98 percent not true. He's mostly, totally, similar a grown-up."
Arlo, for the record, did not care for the arrangement. "Our girl was like, 'You've been astatine enactment for truthful long,'" Meester said. "It's like, I've been present for 1 day. She's like, 'Both of you guys can't enactment astatine the aforesaid time.'"
Brody tin vouch for that, having said connected Unqualified, "Marriage and being an big and having a family, it was a caller frontier for me, where, earlier that, I've benignant of felt like 'I don't person to change. Like maine or, if you don't similar me, past you don't similar me. This is who I am, and it's unreasonable to inquire anyone to alteration anything.' But, if you're successful a agelong committedness and you've got responsibilities, I bash recognize now—it's inactive a struggle—but that it's steadfast to benignant of set a fewer things."
"There are compromises that request to beryllium made if you're going to stock a beingness with idiosyncratic and it doesn't each person to beryllium negative," helium concluded. "And successful fact, immoderate of it, [or] all of it, tin beryllium positive."
Kelsey McNeal via Getty Images
Among the things they bask unneurotic is music, Brody having been a drummer successful the indie stone quartet Big Japan and Meester laying down the occasional way earlier putting retired her debut album, Heartstrings, successful 2014. Having grown up surfing (and skipping rather a spot of schoolhouse to deed the beach), Brody besides taught his woman how, and she told Shape in 2019 that catching waves had go her favourite signifier of exercise.
"Surfing is an astonishing workout that you don't adjacent recognize you're getting," she said. "It's specified a spiritual acquisition that you hide astir the physical."
Calling fatherhood "the champion successful each way," Brody told GQ successful 2019, "I mean this cliché, 'pride and joy.' It's precise apt. She's the happening I'm astir arrogant of and gives maine the astir joy. She's conscionable truthful dang awesome. It conscionable gives you a caller position successful the champion way—something to absorption connected that's greater and much important than yourself. Also that's 100 percent existent and adjacent successful different way. She has adjacent go my information broad for the extracurricular satellite successful presumption of 'I don't request your support I person my daughter, f--k you.'"
That doesn't see his wife, of course, whose support helium inactive desires, and present he's got a lad who'll request impressing.
In the meantime, Meester may beryllium her husband's North Star, but she besides got exactly what she wanted successful a spouse aft years of gathering guys and wondering, What's the point?
"We're super, ace lucky, and I deliberation we admit however fortunate we are with 1 another," she told E! News successful November. "We springiness each different a batch of respect and clip and attraction and focus. Like, truly enactment our clip and vigor into a relationship."
As for Brody, helium "very happy" with however his beingness turned out.
"I'm truthful fortunate to person specified a fantastic spouse and specified f--king astonishing [kids]," helium told Faris. "Subjectively, of course, but besides objectively—my daughter's so charming and truthful fun, specified bully company. Anything with them. We'll spell to the beach, my woman surfs excessively present and we'll kinda commercialized off, doing that. Hanging astatine location is conscionable beauteous with everyone, and past I besides spell with my girl a batch of places.
"We're going to prime her up contiguous from schoolhouse and past we're going to spell market buying together, and I'm looking guardant to it."
(Originally published April 9, 2021, astatine 6 a.m. PT)
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