Nobody Wants This featured a subtle reference to Adam Brody’s real-life marriage with Leighton Meester during her guest spot in season 2.
The popular series made its return to Netflix on Thursday, October 23, boasting several high-profile guest appearances from Seth Rogen, Kate Berlant, and Meester. In the fifth episode of season two, Meester played Abby, a mom influencer from Joanne’s (Kristen Bell) past, who enlisted Noah’s (Brody) help for her baby’s naming ceremony.
Noah was in the middle of discussing the event details with Abby when she paused their conversation to record a video for her followers. Although she called him “cute,” Abby wasn’t pleased with the final product of the shoot.
“She’s pretty. I’ll give her that,” Joanne remarked to Noah, who responded, “Not my type.”
While Noah didn’t express interest in Abby on screen, viewers may be delighted to know that Brody, 45, and Meester, 39, are a married couple in real life. After reconnecting on the set of The Oranges in 2011, the pair began dating, later marrying in 2014, and have since had two children.
Since going public with their relationship, they have shared the screen in Single Parents, River Wild, and an episode of Meester’s recent CW series, Good Cop/Bad Cop.
“My wife and I actually got married very fast after we started dating. It was an easy decision for me and us,” Brody revealed on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show in a March 2023 interview. “I was never scared of the idea of marriage or kids. It always seemed like a path I would take eventually, and I was excited to when it came together [and] when I met the right person.”
Brody recalled knowing he was drawn to Meester immediately, though it took her a few “years” to reciprocate his feelings. During an April 2023 episode of the “Popcrushed” podcast, he shared, “She remained elusive and aloof to me for so long. I couldn’t get a good read on her because even though she professe[d] to have been interested in me, she didn’t pursue it. She was perfectly willing to let it never happen.”
Brody joked: “She was perfectly willing to let that message in the bottle return to sea at several points. [Leighton] says, ‘Oh, it’s because I knew if we did [date] it would be a thing,’ or, like, ‘It’s too powerful.’”
Meester, mother to daughter Arlo, 9, and a son, 4, with Brody, previously spoke with Us Weekly about maintaining a healthy and fulfilling marriage.
“I don’t think there’s any kind of secret. I think it’s individual,” she stated in December 2023. “In our case, I think we get along. We like each other a lot.”
Prior to joining her husband on his Emmy-nominated series, Meester shared her favorite moments from Nobody Wants This.
“Honestly, all of it’s pretty good. I liked watching all the basketball stuff. I thought that was pretty funny,” she told TVLine in February. “Like I said, whenever I watch him on screen, I just forget it’s him, really, and this show is no exception.”
Meester expressed immense admiration for Brody as both an actor and her partner.
“He’s my favorite actor, and he’s my favorite person. So the combination makes for a wonderful day at work,” she said regarding their on-screen collaboration. “I get to be with my best friend, who I love and look up to. I always forget that I’m watching him when I am, and whenever I work with him, it feels very natural, and there’s so much love and trust. I’m just grateful every time I get to be on set with him.”
She added, speaking of Brody’s character Noah and Bell’s Joanne: “I just am a huge fan of the show and of his work, and so, I, like most of the audience, was really rooting for the two of them, and I loved how deeply developed both the characters were and how they got to be these imperfect people, finding each other.”
Nobody Wants This can be streamed on Netflix now.
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