Leighton Meester is more than the internet's boyfriend's wife

When Adam Brody became the internet’s fellow a fewer months back, radical started acting weird astir Leighton Meester.

Of course, agelong earlier audiences became obsessed with Brody’s crook arsenic a blistery rabbi successful “Nobody Wants This,” some helium and Meester were cemented successful the popular civilization firmament arsenic teen play icons. She was “Gossip Girl’s” Blair Waldorf. He was “The O.C.’s” Seth Cohen. And it warmed everyone’s acold small hearts that actors from 2 beloved mid-aughts shows had ended up unneurotic IRL.

But erstwhile the mates — who person been joined since 2014 — showed up astatine the Golden Globes successful January, the vibes were off. Reporters connected the reddish carpet couldn’t halt fawning implicit Brody during interviews, to the constituent wherever helium had to measurement successful and effort to marque things little awkward.

“Your day is the Hot Rabbi,” an “Entertainment Tonight” big gushed to Meester.

“And she’s my existent shiksa goddess,” Brody duly pointed out.

On the “Access Hollywood” podium, 1 writer adjacent grabbed Meester’s look to inquire if her hubby kissed her arsenic intimately arsenic helium did his country spouse connected his caller Netflix show.

“She taught me,” Brody chimed successful again. “I mean, she gets the bully stuff. That’s not even, like, the A material.”

TikTok users zoomed successful connected their tv screens that night, posting clips highlighting the unusual vigor being directed Meester’s way. This was Queen B, aft all. Show a small respect.

But Meester herself swears she didn’t adjacent timepiece the gushy enactment of questioning.

“Wow, I don’t retrieve that,” the 39-year-old insists. “I recognize that radical are doing their jobs. I’m definite they’re mostly trying to beryllium bully and supportive and rooting for us, and me.”

Meester with hubby Adam Brody astatine the Screen Actors Guild Awards successful Los Angeles.

(Rob Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

From anyone else, this mightiness work arsenic frustratingly Pollyanna-ish. A politically close reply from an histrion trying not to offend the radical who assistance her marque her and her spouse’s livelihoods. But Meester truly is that unbothered. It’s hard to quadrate with the information that she played a calculating, uppity bitch truthful good successful the relation that made her famous.

But the signs person ever been there. In the 13 years since “Gossip Girl” wrapped, astir of the paparazzi pictures snapped of her person been changeable portion she was surfing, appearing much acrophobic with prima extortion — outfitted successful a bucket chapeau and full-body wetsuit — than her appearance. Meanwhile, Meester and her husband, 45, person some continued to enactment steadily, often successful autarkic films oregon arsenic supporting characters successful larger projects. Meester has played a state ingenue other Gwyneth Paltrow successful the philharmonic romance “Country Strong,” done an arc connected the short-lived “How I Met Your Mother” spinoff and co-starred successful an Elizabeth Meriwether-created sitcom that fizzled retired during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In different words, she’s not overly precious astir what she chooses to enactment in. Her latest relation is successful the comedic constabulary procedural “Good Cop/Bad Cop,” which starts streaming connected Amazon Prime this month. The amusement has been airing connected The CW since February but, contempt earning beardown reviews, has yet to go overmuch of a talker.

Australian histrion Luke Cook — the antheral fractional of the sibling detective duo connected the bid — attributes overmuch of that to the information that the amusement was co-produced by a streaming institution successful his autochthonal country.

“There’s a selling fund successful Australia, and there’s not been 1 down the U.S. launch,” says Cook. “I person household members and friends implicit determination sending maine pictures of posters of the amusement everywhere, and implicit here, there’s nary motion that it’s connected different than connected societal media.”

Meester with Luke Cook successful “Good Cop/Bad Cop.”

(Vince Valitutti/Future Shack Entertainment)

But if Meester is the slightest spot salty astir the show’s reception stateside — you guessed it — she doesn’t fto on.

“I’m ace arrogant of this show,” she says. “I conscionable truly anticipation that if radical ticker it, they bask it. It’s my blessed place.”

It’s February, astir a week aft the archetypal occurrence dropped connected The CW, and Meester is sitting successful a booth astatine Casablanca, a dimly lit, vaguely divey Mexican edifice whose decor is comprised wholly of memorabilia relating to the 1942 film. She’s already sipping connected a mezcal margarita by the clip I arrive, passing a paper to urge the enchiladas oregon ceviche. She’s a regular present — her kids, ages 9 and 4, often inquire to plaything by aft schoolhouse — but doesn’t cognize the root of its ties to the Humphrey Bogart-Ingrid Bergman film.

We inquire the waiter.

“You know, similar the movie,” helium says, dropping a handbasket of chips connected the array and walking away.

(Bexx Francois / For The Times)

That Meester and her household are gravitating toward the acquainted close present makes sense. It’s been conscionable implicit a period since their location burned to the crushed successful the Palisades fire.

She’s inactive trying to find the close words to picture the loss. Devastating, of course. That’s the archetypal 1 she settles on. Painful. But past she starts talking astir however fortunate she feels successful the expansive strategy of things — that she hasn’t had to look galore crises successful her life. She didn’t deliberation she needed a position shift, but the occurrence forced 1 connected her, and present she feels amazingly grateful.

“Loving thing — oregon idiosyncratic — truthful overmuch that it would wounded truthful severely to suffer it, and past saying I wouldn’t person loved it immoderate less? That’s what I deliberation I’m present for,” she says. “I don’t privation to consciousness unhappy loving different quality and thinking, ‘Well, you could permission maine tomorrow. You could die.’ That’s the horrible information of this life. But it’s besides the astonishing happening of the day-to-day, and astir days, I’m fortunate capable to say, are beauteous damn good.”

It has been a clip of stark contrast. The fires started conscionable implicit 36 hours aft the Golden Globes. Shortly after, the 2nd play of “Nobody Wants This” started filming, truthful Brody began traveling crossed municipality from the couple’s caller rental location connected the Westside to spell to set.

At Casablanca, Meester has conscionable arrived from a array work for the Netflix rom-com, for which she’ll sprout a cameo successful a fewer weeks. She says her scenes are mostly with sister characters Kristen Bell and Justine Lupe, alternatively than her husband. But they’ve acted unneurotic earlier — she thinks this is the seventh task for them — astir precocious connected “Good Cop/Bad Cop.”

“When the camera wasn’t connected her and we were doing his coverage, I would beryllium like, ‘Leighton, you’re not acting. You’re conscionable watching Adam with a large grin connected your face,’” recalls John Quaintance, the show’s creator. “They’re truthful supportive of each different that it’s some heartwarming and a small sick.”

They’ve ne'er played an onscreen couple, but Meester says she’d beryllium down for it. “I truly similar hanging retired with him and moving with him,” she says, her eyes getting that gooey look she had watching Brody instrumentality location the histrion successful a drama bid prize astatine the Critics Choice Awards successful aboriginal February. (His code ended with this ol’ heartstring-puller: “And my darling, darling, darling wife, Leighton. Thank you. Thank you for sharing this beingness with me, and this travel with me. Thank you for our family. I emotion you with each my heart.”)

Those who’ve worked with Meester would emotion for her to person her ain renewed infinitesimal successful the sun.

“I don’t deliberation capable radical person seen however large she is astatine comedy,” says Quaintance. “ I deliberation that archetypal immense relation astir apt hangs implicit her successful the signifier of expectations that radical think, ‘Oh, I’ll spell spot her connected immoderate benignant of nighttime soap.’ And I deliberation the existent Leighton is simply a batch much amusive than that.”

Meester, left, arsenic Blair Waldorf successful “Gossip Girl,” on with chap formed members Penn Badgley, Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick and Taylor Momsen.

(Timothy White / CW Network / Kobal / Shutterstock)

Meester acknowledges that she and her “Gossip Girl” quality stock startlingly small successful common. She’s decidedly not into headbands. But you cognize that saying astir ducks? They look calm connected the aboveground of the water, but their feet are anxiously paddling distant underneath. That feels similar the thread connecting Meester and Blair Waldorf — they’re some ambitious, the second is conscionable unabashed astir showing it.

As a girl, Meester did section theatre successful Marco Island, Fla. The lone signifier successful municipality was a church, truthful the venue moonlighted arsenic the big of Girl Scout meetings, potluck dinners and section productions. In 5th grade, Meester got a portion successful a play and went determination each time aft schoolhouse for rehearsal. She loved it truthful overmuch that she convinced her parent to fto her be a modeling and acting normal successful Georgia. After performing a made-up commercialized for a fistful of endowment representatives, 1 urged her to determination to New York for the summertime to effort her manus astatine nonrecreational auditions.

So astatine 11, she and her parent decamped to the city. She enrolled successful inferior precocious astatine Manhattan’s Professional Children’s School and soon landed a relation connected “Law & Order.” She got to enactment with Jerry Orbach and Benjamin Bratt, and the costume manager liked her grape-juice-stained garment truthful overmuch that she was ordered to support it connected for her scene.

She spent her precocious schoolhouse years successful L.A. but returned to New York City for “Gossip Girl.” The amusement ran from 2007 to 2012, erstwhile she was successful her 20s, and it’s a play she inactive feels tender about. “I consciousness truthful adjacent to that person, astir present much than immoderate different clip successful my life,” she says. “I consciousness precise successful interaction with her, and I consciousness for her.”

There has, of course, been a batch of speculation astir the turmoil of the “Gossip Girl” years, peculiarly among the suddenly-famous young and beauteous formed members. In January, aft Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni entered into a public and contentious ineligible battle, clips resurfaced online of Meester and Lively. It has agelong been rumored that the 2 did not get along, and aged interviews posted online purported to spotlight steely interactions betwixt the 2 of them. Asked however she felt astir being brought up successful narration to the Lively drama, Meester demurs.

“Oh, I — I don’t privation to speech astir immoderate of that,” she says.

(Bexx Francois / For The Times)

At the moment, she’s focused connected making her beingness arsenic low-stress arsenic possible. This summer, she’ll enactment successful L.A., partially due to the fact that of work: She’s booked a recurring relation connected HBO’s forthcoming “Untitled Rachel Sennott Project.” But that’s astir each she knows astir however the adjacent fewer months volition go. After the fires, she’s focused connected trying not to program excessively acold ahead. Her kids assistance with that. Lately, they’ve been fascinated with thing called Stick Nation, a subculture of radical connected TikTok who upload videos showcasing unsocial sticks they’ve recovered successful the wild.

“My lad volition spot a instrumentality and beryllium like, ‘Can I instrumentality it home? It’s special.’ To spot the satellite similar that is beauteous amazing,” says Meester. “I’m trying to walk those moments with them and sorb it. I was going to accidental trying to absorption connected the joyousness of the moment, but adjacent sometimes the symptom of it. It sounds strange, but I’ve truly been enjoying this time.”