Penn Badgley Credits His Relationship With Blake Lively For ‘Saving’ Him
In a recent interview with Variety, Penn Badgley brought us back to his Gossip Girl days and credited his former
Victoria Liotta
In a recent interview with Variety, Penn Badgley brought us back to his Gossip Girl days and credited his former co-star and ex-girlfriend, Blake Lively. He revealed how his off-screen romance with the actress changed the course of his life for the better.
Acting IN Character
No, we’re not talking about his character Dan from Gossip Girl but instead, himself as Penn Badgley. Although stating to haven’t ever struggled with substance abuse, he still credited Lively with keeping him from turning to drugs and alcohol at the time of the height of Gossip Girl.
“To be honest, I never struggled with substance. Blake didn’t drink, and I think our relationship in some ways saved me from forcing myself to go down that road,” the You star said.
While Badgley and Lively were playing the on-again, off-again Serena and Dan, they were also dating (always on) in real life, from 2007 to 2010.
Following their breakup, they remained amicable. In 2010, a source told Us Weekly, “They’re professionals. They’re still good friends and hang out on the set.”
Their other co-star, Chase Crawford, also had nothing but positive things to say about the pair during an interview in August 2019. When asked whether Badgley and Lively’s breakup caused drama behind the scenes, the Boys actor replied, “Not at all. Not in the least. Most mature people in the world.”
Where Is Penn Badgley Now?
As most of the ‘YOU’ know, Penn Badgley currently stars on the Netflix hit series, You.
For four seasons, Badgley has somehow made such a sinister way of loving romantic…? However, he is very much not his character on the show. In fact- he recently revealed that he asked for his intimacy scenes to be removed from the show.
“I asked [You creator] Sera Gamble, ‘Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?’” he shared during an episode of his “Podcrushed” podcast, on February 9. “This is actually a decision I’d made before I took the show.”
Badgley continued: “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things was, like, do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m just always the romantic lead? Fidelity in every relationship, and especially my marriage, is really important to me.”
He added that he told Gamble that his “desire would be … to go from 100 to zero” with his character’s sex scenes on You.
“She didn’t even bat an eye,” Badgley said, giving credit to the producer’s willingness to understand and connect. “She was really glad that I was that honest, and she had a really positive response. She appreciated my directness, and she appreciated that I was being reasonable and practical. And they came back with a phenomenal reduction.”