Leighton Meester Reflects on "Bittersweet" Gossip Girl Journey

In a recent interview, Leighton Meester, the actress who portrayed Blair Waldorf on the hit TV series Gossip Girl, reflected on her time on the show. Meester revealed that she has maintained close friendships with two of her former co-stars, Amanda Setton and Zuzanna Szadkowski, who played Penelope Shafai and Dorota, respectively.

Meester described her character's friends on the show as "kind of her underlings or whatever" and "minions." She expressed her affection for Setton, saying the actress still lives in Los Angeles and has become "a very, very dear friend." Meester also spoke fondly of Szadkowski, calling her "such a dear friend" and someone she keeps in touch with regularly.

However, Meester's overall experience on Gossip Girl was not entirely positive. She admitted that the work was "hard and long" and that there was nothing she was particularly "nostalgic for" from that time period. Meester likened her Gossip Girl journey to "going to college," with both "really good times" and difficult moments where she "made friends and lost friends" and "reinvented" herself.

Despite the challenges, Meester is grateful for her time on the show. She acknowledged that she's "different" now compared to when she was playing the role of Blair, a character she started portraying a decade ago at the age of 20. Meester has since married fellow actor Adam Brody and they have two children together.