How Did Leighton Meester and Adam Brody Meet? All About Their Romance — and Why Brody Was 'Smitten' From the Start!

Mar. 15, 2025

Adam Brody and Leighton Meester in 2023.Photo:Amy Sussman/Getty

Amy Sussman/Getty

Leighton MeesterandAdam Brody’s love story took time to unfold.

After less than a year of dating, Meester and Brody tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in February 2014. They’ve since welcomed two children together, daughter Arlo and a son. While the couple have made a handful of public appearances together, they largely keep their relationship and family out of the spotlight.

During an interview withE! Newsin November 2023, Meester said that despite their high-profile careers, she and Brody have a “normal relationship with all the goodand the hard.”

“We’re super, super lucky, and I think we recognize how lucky we are with one another,” she told the outlet. “We give each other a lot of respect and time and attention and focus. Like, really put our time and energy into a relationship.”

Here’s everything to know about how Leighton Meester and Adam Brody met.

How did Leighton Meester and Adam Brody meet?

Adam Brody and Leighton Meester at a screening of ‘The Oranges’ in 2012.Henry S. Dziekan III/WireImage

Henry S. Dziekan III/WireImage

Before working together on theThe Oranges, Meester and Brody met through a mutual work friend at a deli in Los Angeles. During an appearance on a March 2021 episode ofAnna Faris’Unqualifiedpodcast, Brody opened up abouthis first encounter with theGossip Girlstar.

“I was onThe O.C., and that was coming to an end andGossip Girlwas starting. Josh Schwartz produced both shows,” he said. “The first time we met, that whole cast was eating at Canter’s [in Los Angeles] and I lived at Canter’s for, like, my entire 20s. I was leaving and he introduced all of us and then [I] bumped into her, like, two or three times over the next couple of years.”

The couple reconnected in 2011 when they filmedThe Orangestogether, but didn’t begin dating until a few years later.

“I was seeing someone at the time,” Brody told Faris. “So we met kind of through mutual work friends off and on. We didn’t get together until about a year after that movie, when I was single.”

When did Leighton Meester and Adam Brody get married?

Adam Brody and Leighton Meester in 2014.Kevin Mazur/Getty

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Meester and Brody got engaged in November 2013, less than a year after they started dating. The pair got married in February 2014 in a top-secret wedding in Northern California.

“She’s very happy. She has a lovely ring. She likes [it] a lot,” a source told PEOPLE at the time, adding that the “under-wraps wedding” was “super intimate” and “super recently — a couple weeks ago.”

During an appearance on SiriusXM’sThe Jess Cagle Showin March 2023, Brody said he and Meesterknew early on in their relationshipthat they wanted to marry each other.

“My wife and I actually got married very fast after we started dating,” he said. “That’s how sort of easy a decision it was for me and us.”

TheNobody Wants Thisactor added, “I was never scared of the idea of marriage or kids. It always seemed, you know, like a route I would go eventually. I was excited … when it came together, when I met the right person.”

How long have Leighton Meester and Adam Brody been together?

Adam Brody and Leighton Meester in 2016.Todd Williamson/Getty

Todd Williamson/Getty

After years of brief run-ins, Meester and Brody began dating in February 2013. Though the pair’s love story took some time to develop, Brody revealed during a 2023 episode ofPodcrushedthathe was “smitten instantly” with Meester.

“She’s so nice. She’s so good. And yet, and this is to her credit, she remained elusive to me for so long, you know, and aloof,” he said. “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.”

Brody added, “She says, ‘Oh, it’s because I knew if we did, it would be a thing,’ you know, or like it’s too powerful."

In June 2013, the couple made their public debut at the premiere of Brody’s filmSome Girl(s).

How many kids do Leighton Meester and Adam Brody have?

Leighton Meester and Adam Brody in 2023.Eric Charbonneau/Getty

Eric Charbonneau/Getty

Meester and Brody are parents to two children. Theywelcomed their first childtogether, daughter Arlo Day, in August 2015. Five years later, the pair expanded their family with thearrival of their son, whose name is yet to be revealed, in October 2020.

While the couple keep their family life private, Meester opened up to PEOPLE in August 2023 aboutthe “intimate” nature of being a parent.

“It’s all just so intimate and private. It’s something that I could never put into words, really,” she said. “It’s such an emotional journey to have children, and it certainly has made me reflect on my own upbringing and childhood.”

Meester added, “Having children, I want to give them all that we never had when we were growing up, but also to be candid and open about how grateful we should be for everything that we have.”

Who did Leighton Meester and Adam Brody date before meeting?

Leighton Meester and Sebastian Stan in 2009; Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson in 2006.Andrew H. Walker/Getty; Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan/Getty

Andrew H. Walker/Getty; Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan/Getty

Both Meester and Brody dated their costars before starting a relationship in 2013. Meesterwas linkedto herGossip GirlcostarSebastian Stanfrom 2008 to 2010. The actress famously played Blair Waldorf, while Stan made regular appearances as Carter Baizen.

source: people.com