Adam Brody and Leighton Meester cherish their privacy, as well as the privacy of their two children.
That means fans eager to learn about the actors and their kids have had to learn patience, as comments about their lives are rare. When the stars do open up, however, it proves to be worth the wait.
Read on to learn every sweet statement Brody and Meester have shared about raising their little ones.
Starting their family
Brody and Meester connected on the set of their 2012 film, “The Oranges,” and began dating the following year.
Though they never shared news of an engagement, the couple tied the knot in 2014 — another detail they kept to themselves at the time.
It wasn’t much longer before the occasional co-stars decided to start a family. In August 2015, Meester gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Arlo Day. But parenthood didn’t make the two any more forthcoming.
“I don’t talk about Arlo very much,” Meester explained in an interview with Refinery29. “I am very proud of that area of my life. But I’m also really proud of the show (‘Making History’), and of the work I do. I think the perception is: You’re an ingenue, or you’re an icon, or you’re a mom. There’s no in between.”
It’s a boy!
Arlo became a big sister in 2020, when Brody and Meester welcomed a baby boy to their family.
Brody revealed the happy news during Hold the Phone TV’s “The Fun Time Boys Game Night Spectacular” that same year.
“I have a new kid,” the “Nobody Wants This” actor said. “Since I last played (online), I have a new kid. I have a boy, and he’s a dream. He’s a dream boy.”
As for the boy’s name, it remains a mystery. Neither Brody, nor Meester, has ever shared that detail.
Parenting during the pandemic
Baby No. 2 arrived at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and though it was a difficult period, it also proved to be a special one for Brody and Meester.
“It’s been pretty magical,” Dad told People magazine shortly after their son’s birth. “It’s such a crazy time for everyone and we’re so, so, so fortunate that we have some of the security we do and have the flexibility with our jobs we do. We talk about it all the time and we’re just ridiculously fortunate and lucky.”
Being in their own family “cocoon” gave them an optimistic perspective amid the pandemic.
“The world outside is scary for the moment and also thrilling and hopeful,” he noted.
Their parenting style
Strict or let it go? Helicopter or free range? Brody visited TODAY With Hoda & Jenna in 2024 and described how he and his wife approach parenthood.
“(We’re) very honest,” he told the hosts. “We have some very truthful conversations, for better or worse. But other than that, I wouldn’t say overly strict.”
But they’re not too lax, either.
“There is a helicopter, you know, to keep them safe,” he continued. “I’m not overly strict, but I see the sharp edges, literally. And I want to keep those heads maintained.”
Understanding privilege
Meester lived through lean years growing up, with her family relying on food stamps and welfare at times. So, it’s important to her that her kids understand their advantages in life, especially Arlo, who’s now old enough to understand the concept of privilege.
“We live in such a bubble,” Meester told E! News in a 2023 chat. “And we obviously are really happy and grateful to give her everything that we never had growing up. But we also want her to understand that not everyone grows up like that.”
It’s a topic the family talks about at the dinner table.
“She knows sort of in a child-friendly way, that there are different ways that people are growing up,” Meester added. “So I hope that she can take that in, but mostly just to be grateful for everything that she has.”
The intersection of kids and career
When Brody had the chance to question his partner for Interview magazine, he asked her how being a mom has impacted the 38-year-old’s career.
“It’s inevitable that it’s changed it, and we’ve had these conversations endlessly,” Meester told her husband. “I wouldn’t change anything and I’m proud of the mom I am. But I also feel like I’m open to a lot of self-doubt and worry, and to more extreme hypervigilance and neurosis. So all I can do is take it a day at a time. But when I’m with my kids, our kids, I feel like all I can do is be present. Then when I’m working, I miss them like crazy. It’s hard not to feel as a mom that you’re not doing enough and I think that’s always going to be reinforced by our society.”
The former “Gossip Girl” star then gave him her “sweet, canned answer” to the same question.
“(Motherhood) gave me a lot of compassion, and this whole other level of appreciation for other people and a sensitivity that I don’t think I ever had before,” she said.
The ultimate couple ‘project’
Brody and Meester have worked together on big and small screens, most recently sharing the spotlight in the short-lived television sitcom “Single Parents,” playing exes with a child in common.
But according to Brody, their best project together is the family they’ve formed off-screen.