The Untold Truth Of Leighton Meester And Adam Brody's Relationship

Congratulations are in order for actress Leighton Meester and her husband, Adam Brody! The Gossip Girl star and The O.C. actor are reportedly expecting their second child together. According to photos obtained by the Daily Mail, Meester and Brody went for a family stroll on the streets of Los Angeles in late March 2020 with their 4-year-old daughter, Arlo. On that walk, Meester appeared to be sporting a round baby bump under her black overalls. As E! News noted, the potential pregnancy reveal comes as the couple celebrates six years of marriage.

According to Bustle, Meester and Brody first got to know each other on the set of 2011's The Oranges and later reunited for 2014's Life Partners. When news of the relationship came out in 2013, fans of the Single Parents actress and the Ready or Not actor rejoiced over the union of their beloved "Blair Waldorf" and "Seth Cohen" — even if Meester and Brody find the internet's obsession rather embarrassing.

"It doesn't excite us, I think, because we're just human beings... but it's exciting to us that it's exciting to you," Meester told Entertainment Tonight in 2017. "It's good for a laugh," Brody added. 

However, as the pair prepares to welcome this new addition, their penchant for privacy might just be the reason their love has endured the test of time.

When the success of Gossip Girl launched Leighton Meester to superstar status, the actress was thrust into the spotlight. Yet, while the experience challenged Meester in unexpected ways, she wouldn't trade her path to stardom for anything."Everyone has their own journey, especially in their early twenties when they're just figuring out who they are," she told Net-A-Porter's Porter Edit.

She continued, "Because of the success of that show, I was put in a place where that journey was sped up. I had to figure it out quickly and with not a completely developed mind to discern between what's real and what's not, who I can trust and who I can't. I got really lucky and was able to very early on find and stay friends with people who are true."

"I wouldn't change anything [in the past] because I'm happy where I am now," she added. "And I think that that's one of the many wonderful parts of not only having a child and meeting your soulmate, but also I feel really lucky career-wise—really in a place that I want to be." 

Regrets are pointless when every move you've made led to your current happiness.

Despite her successful career as an actress, Leighton Meester's childhood wasn't easy. At an early age, Meester wasn't always sure when she'd get her next meal. "A lot of different periods of time growing up, I experienced food insecurity," Meester told People. "There was good, easy times and then a lot of the time towards the end of the month, it wasn't as easy."

She went on to say, "So, it's people that you work with, it's your friend at school, it's your neighbor. It's people that you wouldn't necessarily think are experiencing food insecurity."

As Entertainment Tonight noted, when Meester partnered with Feeding America to serve children lunch in 2017 and bring attention to a cause that she holds near to her heart, husband Adam Brody was right by her side. "Growing up, there were many times when I didn't know if we were going to be able to afford to eat. We relied on lunch programs and food stamps," she told Shape.

"Today one in eight Americans faces hunger or food insecurity," she continued. "Most of us don't realize that people can be hardworking and still struggle to put food on the table," she told Shape. "I'm so lucky to have the platform to bring awareness to this." 

Meester also told the outlet that, because she's so so "passionate" about helping to fight food insecurity, "it's even more fulfilling." 

Leighton Meester and Adam Brody have always kept their personal life private. As Us Weekly highlighted in the past, the couple kept their relationship under the radar when they first began dating and when they did tie the knot, they did it in secret. In a 2014 interview with InStyle (via E! News), Meester revealed that she values her and Brody's privacy now more than ever. "My values have shifted greatly in terms of what I find important," Meester explained. "It's my family, my friends and having a personal life. Those are the things that need nurturing."

"She's more inherently private than I am," Brody said in a 2019 interview with GQ. "I don't seek publicity but if I'm sitting next to you on the subway, I'll tell you everything about me. 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 added, "I'm not s***ting on anyone who monetizes that aspect of their life because I get it. But we've found this great balance so far that really works for us. We're also not very active on social media."

Perhaps that's the key to a happy Hollywood marriage? We wish Meester and Brody—and their growing family—all the best!