Penn Badgley Explains How Ex Blake Lively ‘Saved’ Him From Substance Abuse

Penn Badgley is crediting his previous relationship with Blake Lively for protecting him on a much less self-destructive path.

The “You” star mirrored on his psychological state whereas capturing his common teen drama “Gossip Girl” that ran from 2007 to 2012 in a profile printed in Variety Wednesday.

Badgley admitted that he didn’t actually need to be on TV on the time, and was “biding time” whereas portraying the present’s brooding Dan Humphrey — who Badgley mentioned was a personality he “was not invested” in. Yet he was additionally experiencing instantaneous fame on successful present and was in a extremely publicized relationship together with his co-star Lively from 2007 to 2010.

He described this period of his life to Variety as “fun and fast-paced” however with a “dark undercurrent that would bottom out in my later 20s.”

When Variety requested if this tinge of gloom was associated to any form of substance abuse — a prevalent narrative for a lot of of his contemporaries on the time — Badgley dismissed the belief. But he admitted his disinterest in substances was influenced by courting somebody who wasn’t taken with it.

“To be honest, I never struggled with substance,” Badgley mentioned. “Blake didn’t drink, and I think our relationship in some ways saved me from forcing myself to go down that road.”

Yet, it does appear that Badgley did undergo considerably of an existential disaster after “Gossip Girl” wrapped.

Badgley’s spouse, Domino Kirke, described her future husband as being “a little lost” and “between worlds” after they first met, on his podcast “Podcrushed” in October.

“Half my belongings were in a trash bag,” Badgley mentioned throughout the identical podcast episode, noting that he was additionally “couch surfing” on the time.

“I knew ‘Gossip Girl’ was this insane thing that happened to you,” Kirke continued, noting that the mutual buddy that launched them had informed her that Badgley was touring rather a lot on the time in an try to search out himself. “I loved that he was seeking something in life bigger, higher than him,” Krike mentioned.

She added that she was additionally interested in his disinterest in consuming alcohol.

Badgley touched on this level of his life whereas speaking to Variety.

“Like anybody who experiences some degree of fame and wealth, I was presented with the universal truth that not only does it not make your life better or easier, it actually can greatly complicate things, and make you quite unhappy,” he mentioned.

To learn how Badgley acquired himself out of this funk, head over to Variety.