Penn Badgley Says Relationship With Blake Lively Saved Him In His Early Days Of Fame

Penn Badgley believes Blake Lively "saved" him from self-destruction.

Badgley and Lively starred in Gossip Girl between 2007 and 2012 and were in a relationship between 2007 and 2010. 

Speaking to Variety, Badgley, 36, shared that their relationship helped steer him away from a "dark undercurrent" that was developing in his life. 

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

Badgley admitted he paid a heavy price for having fame and success in his 20s. 

He said, "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."

Badgley can still vividly remember feeling isolated and having a lack of trust in other people.

He said: "I was never anything that I would define as suicidal at all, but I was certainly in despair.

"It had to do with 'Do I matter? Do I matter? Does anything matter?' These questions do inform how we feel. The answer that I came upon was 'Yes.' I think we all have to come to that. I don't know how you could come to 'No' and be happy, so we all have to come to that 'Yes' somehow. Probably repeatedly."

Badgley also lost his passion for TV acting during his time in Gossip Girl, where he played Dan Humphrey.

He recalled: "I didn't want to be in television. I was biding time a lot with Dan - I was not invested. And I'm not saying it's a good thing! I'm saying it's just what it was."

Badgley is currently in You, now on Netflix. — BANG SHOWBIZ

Photos: TPG News/Click Photos

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