Adam Brody & Leighton Meester’s Sweet Love Story—Spotted!

New York City’s elite and Orange County’s comic book lover — complete opposites on-screen — have found romance in the real world. Leighton Meester, who famously portrayed Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl, and Adam Brody, who is best known as The O.C. ‘s Seth Cohen, tied the knot in 2013 after meeting on the set of the film The Oranges two years earlier. The two began sparking rumors of a relationship but have always kept the details out of the spotlight. Get the inside scoop on Adam Brody and Leighton Meester’s private marriage. 

After filming the movie, Meester and Brody reconnected at a screening of The Oranges in 2012 and by February 2013, it was confirmed the two were linked romantically. They made their first public appearance in June of the same year. Although they had been spotted together on multiple occasions, neither Meester nor Brody confirmed their relationship.

“I was very attracted to her from the jump,” Brody explained. “She’s a heavenly creature. I thought she was gorgeous. And even when we did the movie, there was chemistry there, but I was seeing someone.”

Their secret wedding & growing family

In February 2014, it was learned that the couple had secretly married in an intimate wedding in northern California. Their first public appearance as husband and wife came in June 2014 during the Tony Awards.

Meester and Brody teamed up on-screen once again in November 2014, starring together in Life Partners. About a year later, the two welcomed their first child, a daughter named Arlo. Meester later revealed that she had thought her now-husband was cute when The O.C. was airing, but hadn’t considered much of it.

“When his show came out, I think I was just, like, ‘I don’t want to watch that show, it’s a teenage show,’ even though I was 16, but all my friends watched it. I think maybe I thought he was cute. I remember he was a screensaver of one of my best friends when we were 17. I saw it from afar. Her [screensaver] kind of changed every week, but I was like, ‘Who is that?’”

Despite having a child together and getting married, it wasn’t until 2019 that the couple went Instagram official. In 2020, they welcomed their second child, a son, whose name they haven’t shared with the public.

Adam Brody on falling for Leighton Meester 

After keeping their relationship on the down-low for so many years, Brody finally opened up about his marriage with Meester.

“I was never scared of the idea of marriage or kids,” he shared on The Jess Cagle Show. “It always seemed like a route I would go eventually, and I was excited…when it came together, when I met the right person…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.

“I saw her, and, yeah, I was smitten instantly. And for a long time… 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, she was perfectly willing to let that never happen.”

Brody’s career saw a resurgence in 2024 with the premiere of Nobody Wants This, a series he stars in alongside Kristen Bell. While speaking with TODAY, Brody shared the key to a successful marriage.

“Oh, pick someone good,” he said. “Be lucky and be in love with someone who’s great and then just kind of listen to them.”

A Hollywood love story with real-life challenges 

Recently, the couple has been appearing side-by-side during the 2025 awards season on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, the Critics’ Choice Awards and the SAG Awards. It was also announced that Meester will be joining the cast of Nobody Wants This with her husband for the upcoming season 2.

​In January 2025, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester faced a significant personal loss when their Pacific Palisades home was destroyed in the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. The couple had purchased the five-bedroom, six-bathroom property in 2019 for $6.5 million. The fires, which began on January 7, 2025, rapidly spread due to strong winds, leading to widespread evacuations and destruction in the area. Photographs captured the extent of the damage, showing their residence engulfed in flames and reduced to ruins. Following the devastating loss of their home, Brody and Meester have received an outpouring of support from friends and fans.

Keep reading for more entertainment!

Leighton Meester Stars in ‘Good Cop/Bad Cop’—Here’s What to Know About the New CW Crime Dramedy

Peter Gallagher on Mischa Barton: ‘First Fame Can Kill You—That She’s Still Alive, I’m Grateful.’

Chris Carmack From ‘The O.C.’ Hilariously Reacts as His Wife Crushes on Adam Brody in Viral Video