Things About Leighton Meester And Adam Brody's Relationship That Just Seem Strange

People don't know a whole lot about Leighton Meester and Adam Brody's romance, and that's because the couple wants it that way. The couple has been notoriously private from the moment they started dating. The world only got mere glimpses of their engagement and snippets of intel on their very secret wedding. They seem to have achieved the impossible: keeping their lives private from the tabloids.

The public first got wind of the couple's romance in 2011, and for fans of their respective shows, "Gossip Girl," and "The O.C.," it was a dream come true. Fortunately for fans, the romance ended in a wedding in 2014. Unlike other short-lived celebrity marriages, Meester and Brody seem to have found the secret to sticking together and making it work no matter what. The "Gossip Girl" alum hinted at the secret to their successful marriage during an interview with E! News, explaining, "We're super, super lucky, and I think we recognize how lucky we are with one another. We give each other a lot of respect and time and attention and focus. Like, really put our time and energy into a relationship." Brody echoed these sentiments in an interview with GQ. "[W]e've found this great balance so far that really works for us," he said. While chatting with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the series finale of her show "Single Parents," Meester commented on her husband's appearance in the final episode, admitting that having him on set was a blast. "He's my best friend, and I want to work with him on everything," she admitted.

Perhaps because they are so private, people have often found some aspects of Meester and Brody's relationship rather strange, and the two have kept fans guessing as to what they are really up to on more than one occasion.

Believe it or not, Adam Brody initially thought Leighton Meester might well be a carbon copy of her mean girl character Blair Waldorf from "Gossip Girl." "I had no idea whether she was a good person or not, and in fact, kind of assumed she probably wasn't for, like, the first handful of years that I didn't know her, just because, I don't know, 'Gossip Girl,'" he admitted to Anna Faris on her "Anna Faris Is Unqualified" podcast.

After Brody got to know Meester a little better, however, he realized he had gotten her all wrong. "She's never been rude to, like, a single person in her life, except — and I give her credit for this — paparazzi, where I'm too self-conscious," he confessed. While he had his reservations about Meester's personality, he admitted that he was attracted to her from the moment they first met at Canters Deli in Los Angeles in 2007. "I was smitten instantly. I was, you know, smitten for a long time," he confessed during an episode of the "Podcrushed" podcast, adding that his infatuation with Meester didn't immediately lead to a relationship.

The two only got to know each other better years later, but for Meester, it wasn't love at first sight. "She remained elusive to me for so long, you know, and aloof," Brody admitted. "I couldn't get a total read because even though she professes to have been interested in me and all those things, not only did she not pursue that, I mean, she was perfectly willing to let that never happen." And yet, the two somehow managed to fall in love and get married after all. Turns out major plot twists still happen in real life.

Adam Brody might have fallen head-over-heels in love with Leighton Meester the moment he met her, but he also happened to be in a relationship at the time, which, of course, complicated things. "She [Meester] is a heavenly creature," Brody confessed on the "Anna Faris Is Unqualified" podcast.

The two co-starred in "The Oranges" in 2011, and Brody admitted that there was chemistry between them; the only problem was that he wasn't a single man at the time. He also remained a little skeptical of Meester's personality for quite some time, despite being smitten with her. "I was like, 'Oh she's cool,' but I still didn't know, and that continued even to when we first started dating," Brody added. He was pleasantly surprised when he got to know the real Meester. "She's literally Joan of Arc," he gushed. "She's the strongest person I know. She's my moral compass and North Star." Funnily enough, it turns out that Meester had a bit of a crush on Brody when he starred in "The O.C." "I think maybe I thought he was cute. I remember he was a screensaver of one of my best friends when we were like 17. I saw it from afar. Her [screensaver] kind of changed every week, but I was like, 'Who is that?'" she admitted during an interview with Access Hollywood.

A source who spoke to Us Weekly after news about the two dating surfaced said there were signs the two actors were set to become more than friends. "They were always close and friendly," they told the outlet about the pair's behavior on set, adding that they were often spotted together while working on "The Oranges."

When taking into account the few occasions Adam Brody has opened up about his marriage to Leighton Meester, it's hard to believe the two ended up tying the knot at all, given how differently they each used to feel about marriage. During an appearance on SiriusXM's "The Jess Cagle Show," Brody admitted that marriage is something that had always been on the table for him. "I was never scared of the idea of marriage or kids. It always seemed like a route I would go eventually," he admitted.

When Meester was asked about her views on marriage, however, her answer was the exact opposite. In a 2012 interview with Marie Claire, the actress said she barely had any interest in dating when she was a teenager because she had adult problems, like putting food on the table for her family. Meester's early life was riddled with tragedy; she was born while her mother was in prison for a marijuana smuggling conviction. "I couldn't relate to kid stuff. 'Jimmy doesn't like me!' Who cares? I was worried we didn't have gas money or food. Those were my concerns," she admitted.

When asked how she felt about marriage, Meester didn't seem all that keen, admitting she dated someone for the first time when she was 18. "It's nice, I guess — when you like them. But it isn't the most important thing," she told the outlet. "I'm not sure I ever want to get married. The only time a relationship is good is when you really love them. I don't want to hang out with some guy I just like." It's safe to say Meester more than just liked Brody, and whatever he did to win her over, it clearly worked.

Leighton Meester has undergone a stunning hair transformation over the years, so when she hid in the back seat of Adam Brody's car in February 2013, it wasn't because she had a bad hair day; it was because she didn't want the paparazzi to spot her. One might wonder why Meester would have wanted to hide the fact that she was dating the "O.C." hottie, but she likely just wasn't in the mood for all the media attention. Unfortunately, her attempts to remain incognito failed when snaps of Brody driving his car showed Meester's jacket sticking out from the back seat, where she was clearly trying to escape camera lenses.

The cat was officially out of the bag after that, with sources confirming to Us Weekly that the couple were indeed dating and had even been spotted on a romantic rendezvous in Bangkok before the famous photograph of Leighton ducking for cover in the back of Brody's car went viral.

Even though Leighton Meester seemed determined not to get married anytime soon when she granted her interview to Marie Claire in 2012, she quickly changed her mind about a year later when she became romantically involved with Adam Brody.

The two got engaged after only nine months of dating, and fans of the actress were understandably surprised. "I've never fallen in love right off the bat. I get scared to say I love you too soon because it means so much. It means you're not seeing an end to things," Meester told Cosmopolitan in 2009. "I want a guy I can look up to," she added. Adam Brody turned out to be that guy. Speaking to SiriusXM's "The Jess Cagle Show," Brody said asking Meester to marry him was a no-brainer. "My wife and I actually got married very fast after we started dating. That's how easy a decision it was for me and us," he said.

Sources who spoke to Star magazine (via the Daily Mail) at the time claimed Meester didn't see the proposal coming. "Leighton and Adam are crazy about each other and have talked about getting married eventually," the insider alleged. "But she had no idea he would propose so soon! It was the surprise of her life, and she's ecstatic!"

Leighton Meester might be open about how lucky she and Adam Brody feel in their marriage these days, but when the two tied the knot in February 2014, barely anyone knew, and the press only got wind of the secret event after it had already taken place. Most perplexing of all was the fact that before getting married, Meester and Brody never confirmed their relationship or engagement after it made headlines, remaining inconspicuously quiet about it all.

Rumors were rife that their nuptials were imminent when Meester was spotted having what appeared to be her bachelorette party at Hamburger Mary's in West Hollywood. When she and Brody were seen at Mexico's St. Regis Punta Mita Resort in February 2014, the media deduced that the two had already gotten married and were on their honeymoon. Again, neither of them ever publicly confirmed the news at the time.

More than a decade later, little has changed. The couple still don't share much about their private lives. Meester sometimes posts snaps of her and Brody to her Instagram account, but these are few and far between.

Just like their wedding, the birth of Leighton Meester and Adam Brody's children was practically a state secret. During an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit in 2014, a fan asked Brody how many kids he and Meester would like to have. "I say 12. And I decide," the actor quipped. The couple doesn't have 12 kids — yet (that we know of, anyway).

The couple's first child, Arlo Day, was born in August 2015, and Meester and Brody remained mum about it, even after the press spotted Meester's baby bump and sources confirmed to E! News that the "Gossip Girl" alum was indeed pregnant. The couple welcomed their second child in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Brody joking to People that they were naming their newborn son Joe Biden "until after the election." Biden did win, and we can't help but wonder whether his victory made the name stick. As of this writing, Brody and Meester still have yet to reveal their son's name to the public.

Even though his son was born smack in the middle of a global crisis, Brody said it had its silver linings. "Luckily in this time in our lives, this moment in our lives, this family growing by one has definitely had its magical moments and it's had its benefits, for sure," the actor said. "You've gotten to be in a cocoon. The world outside is scary for the moment and also thrilling and hopeful." Brody initially confirmed that he had become a father of two during a Twitch live stream. "I have a new kid," he announced (via People). "I have a boy, and he's a dream. He's a dream boy."

Those who have been paying attention have likely noticed that the public hears a lot more from Adam Brody than Leighton Meester, and that's because she's even more private than he is. Taking this into account, it's a miracle the public knows what little they do about the couple's lives. But Brody hinted that he is more easily persuaded to be an open book than his wife during his interview with GQ.

"She's more inherently private than I am. I don't seek publicity, but if I'm sitting next to you on the subway, I'll tell you everything about me," he confessed. "We're homebodies. We don't go to a lot of things that perhaps we could and don't seek out promotion in that way." He quickly added that he doesn't judge anyone who does use their celebrity status to further their career but that it's simply not something he and Meester pursue. "We're also not very active on social media," he added.

The latter is something Meester convinced Brody he had to do, and limiting his scrolling time to 30 minutes a day per her suggestion did such wonders for his mental health that he deleted X, formerly Twitter, after the 2020 election. "I can still do as much NPR as I want and my blood pressure's stable," he quipped during his appearance on "Anna Faris Is Unqualified" in 2021. Meester has an Instagram account, but Brody said he tries to steer clear of the platform, calling it "Pandora's box."

When it comes to their personal and professional lives, Leighton Meester and Adam Brody do almost everything together. "Everything is run through each other," Brody said on the "Armchair Expert" podcast. "We are each other's managers, and we also have the same two agents ... We are in each other's s*** in that way, and we even did a movie together a couple of years ago."

Indeed, while Brody was working solo on the hit Netflix series "Nobody Wants This," Meester has been tapped for a guest role for the show's second season. This won't be the first time the pair work together on a project. They both starred in the sitcom "Single Parents," the rom-com "Life Partners," and more recently, the 2023 thriller "River Wild."

Brody admitted that he has plenty of sway when it comes to the projects Meester decides to work on. "She can still get at the heart of something, a script, no problem, but it's for me to look at the cover letter and go, 'You're doing this or not,'" he admitted on the podcast. While some might think this a rather strange dynamic, it seems to be working for the couple. "I'm the biz guy. But she knows from an intelligent, intuitive way what's true and what's lyrical and what's bulls***," he added.