Are Blake Lively And Leighton Meester Friends In Real Life?

Gossip Girl's Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf, who called each other "S" and "B," were the teen world's most iconic besties of the noughties. They may been frenemies from time to time and promised never to speak to each other again on a regular basis (they always made up eventually), but they also did plenty of things together. They were sisters in the best sense of the word; they indulged in retail therapy (from New York to Paris), went to each other for support over issues like bulimia, and even gave up a boy (Serena) so her friend (Blair) could be with him (via Glamour).

With the palpable on-air chemistry between Blake Lively and Leighton Meester as Serena and Blair, fans can be forgiven for wondering whether the two girls actually did become besties and stayed that way in real life.

Though the tabloids loved speculating about the relationship between Lively and Meester, those involved in the production of Gossip Girl between 2007 to 2012 said no dramas existed between the two. Michelle Trachtenberg, who plays Georgina Sparks, tells Vanity Fair that it was funny because "... when we were filming, there was, 'Leighton hates Blake, Blake hates Leighton, everyone hates Blake, everyone hates Leighton, everyone hates Chace,' and blah, blah, blah. It really wasn't. We were all chill. It was cool."

Executive Producer Joshua Safran, who Vanity Fair credits for writing the scripts for just about every premiere as well as the finale of the series, says that while there was no drama between the two, neither was there an off-screen relationship. "Blake and Leighton were not friends," he said. "They were friendly, but they were not friends like Serena and Blair. Yet the second they'd be on set together, it's as if they were."

But Safran also tells Vanity Fair that the lack of warmth between the girl may have stemmed from a difference in personalities. "Blake is very much in the moment," he noted. "Blake knows what's happening... you talk to Blake on a very contemporary level, and she would be like, 'I'm doing this thing tonight. Have you been to this restaurant?' Leighton was very removed and very quiet, and, after her scenes were done, she would wander the stage. I had this image of her just in these gorgeous dresses with a book in her hand, sort of a little bit out of focus out in the corners."