Adam Brody Recalls Being ‘Smitten Instantly’ When He 1st Saw Wife Leighton Meester: ‘She Remained Elusive’ for Years
12.04.2023 - 20:53
/ usmagazine.com
Love at first sight! Adam Brody knew from day one that Leighton Meester was special — but she took “years” to see him in a romantic way.
“I think the first time I saw her is when I met her at Canter’s, the deli in Los Angeles,” Brody, 43, recalled during the Wednesday, April 12, episode of Stitcher Studios’ “Popcrushed” podcast.
The former O.C. star remembered crossing paths with Meester, 37, in the early 2000s when she was out to lunch with Gossip Girl and The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz and some of the CW cast.
“That’s when I saw her, and, yeah, I was smitten instantly. And I was, you know, smitten for a long time,” the California native explained. “I didn’t get to know her for many years after, even though we even worked together briefly.”
Brody and Meester costarred in 2011’s The Oranges, but they didn’t spark romance speculation until two years later. Us Weekly broke the news in February 2013 that the duo were “hanging out” and dating.
“She’s so lovely, and she’s so sweet,” the Gilmore Girls alum told Meester’s former Gossip Girl costar Penn Badgley and his podcast cohosts, Sophie Ansari and Nava Kavelin, on Wednesday. “She’s so nice. She’s so good.”
The Shazam! Fury of the Gods actor, however, recalled the Country Strong star being a little reluctant to start a relationship with him.
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“She remained elusive to me for so long, you know, and aloof,” Brody said. “I couldn’t get a total read because even though she professe[d] 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.”
He joked: “She was perfectly willing to let that message in the bottle return to sea at several points.”
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