After Serena van der Woodsen returned from her self-imposed exile, she found herself excluded from her old crowd when her former betrayals came to light but soon finds an ally in the form of Dan Humphrey, an outsider in her privileged world.  While their uptown/downtown relationship keeps Gossip Girl interesting, their portrayers in real life have reportedly also started dating.


According to N.Y. News Daily, Blake Lively, who portrays former It girl of the Upper East Side Serena, has been romantically involved with Penn Badgley, who plays chain-smoking and caffeine-addicted poet Dan, since Lively broke up with her ex-boyfriend, actor Kelly Blatz (The Oakley Seven, Simon Says).

"No one is really supposed to know [about Lively and Badgley's relationship]" a source revealed to N.Y. News Daily.  "I was told by a friend of the family."

Lively and Badgley were reportedly spotted shopping together last December 17 at ABC Carpet and Home on Broadway, looking every bit the couple.

When the dating news surfaced the media, reps for the actors did not comment on the dating issue. But during an interview with OK Magazine Australia's January issue, Lively denied the gossip.

“No. Definitely not,” Lively told OK Magazine when asked if there has been romance on the set.  “Not That I know of, at least!”

On the other hand, Lively reveals that the cast and crew maintain a very close relationship.

“When we see each other, we get so excited…we're dancing and singing and handing each other cookies.  We're going to be so sick of each other in like six years!  It's so exciting to see us now. I hope it always stays that way,” she said.

Gossip Girl also stars Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf, Chace Crawford as Nate Archibald, Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass, Matthew Settle as Rufus Humphrey, Taylor Momsen as Jenny Humphrey, Kelly Rutherford as Lillian van der Woodsen, and Kristen Bell as the voice of Gossip Girl.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: OK Magazine, N.Y. News Daily
(Image courtesy of The CW)