

Were you the sort of person who’d cut Rachel Bilson photos out of copies of Teen Vogue and paste her on your collage moldboards, or the sort who’d plaster your walls with pictures of Adam Brody? I’m somewhat ashamed to admit I was much more the latter. When my mom would ask me why, I’d explain that I thought he was a “really good actor.” What I left unsaid, of course, was that one day we’d ride around on a motorcycle and get married on the beach. Looking back, I now realize the truth—I’d much rather have had a farm wedding instead!
Anyway, when Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody broke up in 2006, it was maybe the worst day in many people’s lives. This was before anyone learned about object permanence, and that television characters are not real people, of course. Rachel Bilson, thankfully, has spent the greater part of her career apologizing to people for splitting with Brody, who’s since moved on with legendary Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester. (Blair and Dan forever!) Take this In Style post on Instagram, which shared one writer’s story of heartbreak and deception post-breakup. Instead of cruelly ignoring a fan’s pain, Bilson responded: “I’m sorry! He fared really well.”
Ironically, everyone soon learned just how terrible The O.C. really was after Bilson and Brody split, and moved on to sunnier prospects over with the Gossip Girl cast. (I still have my 8th grade binder with Blair cutouts behind the plastic cover.) Brody, of course, soon followed, and has been married to Meester since 2014.