Princewill Pius
While Blake Lively and Penn Badgley started dating in 2007, they tried their best to keep their relationship on the down low — but soon enough, the truth came out. When asked about the romance rumors in early 2008, Lively insisted they were just friends, telling People, “Everybody always tries to dig into your personal life or create things that aren’t there… It’s silly.” And in Vanity Fair‘s ten-year Gossip Girl anniversary piece, the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants alum explained that initial privacy.
“I remember there was one point where we were just afraid of how our personal lives overlapping our work life could be perceived by our bosses,” Lively told the magazine. “[But then] we were like, ‘Oh no, that’s exactly what they want.’ They wanted us all to date… because then it fed their whole narrative. People could buy into this world.” She further explained how the two worlds blended together; because she wore the same outfits on set and off, fans wouldn’t even be able to tell if paparazzi photos of Lively and Badgley together were from the show or their real-life romance. Still, she clarified to VF, “At the time, what was heightened was, wow, it all looks similar from the outside, but it’s so different on the inside.” It’s unclear exactly what was “so different,” but considering they’re not their characters IRL, it makes sense.
Written by: Nicki
