Adam Brody is the actor everyone is talking about right now. Though he's adored for his previous roles in Gilmore Girls, Shazam and, perhaps mostly iconically, The OC, the actor is getting a lot of traction thanks to his brand new Netflix show, Nobody Wants This.
Starring alongside Kristen Bell, the 44-year-old plays a rabbi named Noah who comes across Joanne, a non-Jewish single girl with whom he has a great connection, but their different cultural backgrounds challenge their relationship.
Away from the show, however, Adam's love life seems to be more smooth sailing since he's been happily married to fellow actress Leighton Meester, 38, for a decade.
© Todd WilliamsonThe couple met way back in the 2000s when Leighton was still filming the TV and cultural phenomenon, Gossip Girl, and he admitted he was taken with her immediately.
Fast forward many years, and they are now husband and wife and parents!
We've done a deep dive into their relationship from how they met to what they've said about each other...
How Adam Brody and Leighton Meester met
Adam previously revealed that he met his future wife in a deli shop in Los Angeles. Though he didn't specify the year, he explained that, at the time, Leighton was with her fellow cast mates from Gossip Girl, meaning they would have first crossed paths circa 2007.
Speaking with Penn Badgley – Leighton's former co-star – on his podcast, Podcrushed, Adam opened up about more about the moment he first laid eyes on Leighton.
© Noam Galai"I used to eat [at this deli in LA] all the time and I was there on my own with maybe a friend or two, and [screenwriter and executive producer] Josh [Safran] happened to be taking a bunch of the cast of Gossip Girl through after a prop party after your first upfronts, and that's when I saw her. I was smitten instantly."
He added: "I was smitten for a long time. I didn't get to know her for many years after, even though we worked together briefly, and she's so lovely and she's so sweet, she's so nice, she's so good."
© Rob GauthierDespite knowing Adam had met The One, he did candidly reveal that Leighton kept things cool at first and didn't show an interest until much later.
"This is to her credit, she remained elusive to me for so long. And aloof! 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, but she was perfectly willing to let that never happen."
© NetflixHe continued "There were many false starts, and she was perfectly willing to let that message in the bottle return to sea."
In 2010, Adam and Leighton's paths would cross again when they were both cast in the film The Oranges and they have been together pretty much ever since, though their romance didn't become public until a few years later. By November 2013 they were engaged.
A private, romantic wedding
Adam and Leighton married in early 2014 in an extremely private and intimate ceremony. The couple chose to keep the details of their nuptials to themselves and so not much knowledge is out in the public domain.
However, around the time they wed, E! News reported that they said 'I do' in a "beautiful" ceremony in North California by the ocean surrounded by family and friends.
What Adam and Leighton have said about each other
The couple prefer to keep themselves as private as possible, but they both have shared the odd anecdote about what their life is like as a married couple.
In a previous interview with GQ, Adam explained how they manage to keep themselves so private: "She's more inherently private than I am. 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."
MORE: The OC then vs now: See how the stars have changed over the years
© Kevin MazurHe added: "I'm not [criticising] 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."
In a more recent interview, Adam told Today with Hoda and Jenna the secret to a happy marriage: "Pick someone good. Be in love with someone who's great and listen to them. If you're with someone great, then you're on third base.
"It takes sacrifice and humility and you have to grow together, and you have to be willing to grow because you're not going to be able to stay 100 per cent right where you are, but yeah if you're with someone wonderful then you're on third."
Leighton has also shared how lucky she is that she and Adam found each other. Chatting with E! News, she described their relationship as the same as any "normal relationship – with all the good and the bad."
She added: "We're super, super lucky, and I think we recognize how lucky we are with one another. We give each other a lot of respect and time and attention and focus. Like, really put our time and energy into a relationship."
Adam and Leighton's rare comments on their children
Adam and Leighton are parents of two children: a daughter, aged nine, and a son, aged four.
In 2019, before welcoming their son, Adam told GQ about his close bond with his daughter: "She's the thing I'm most proud of and gives me the most joy. She's just so dang awesome.
© John Salangsang/Shutterstock for SAG"It just gives you a new perspective in the best way – something to focus on that's greater and more important than yourself.
"She has even become my security blanket for the outside world in terms of 'I don't need your approval I have my daughter'."
During the same chat with Today with Hoda and Jenna, he said he and Leighton are very "honest" in their style of parenting. "We have some truthful conversations, for better or worse, but other than that I wouldn't say we're overly strict. But I keep them safe!"
