Over its six seasons, the original Gossip Girl never skimped on drama. The characters oscillate between friends and enemies, lovers and exes, and sometimes even step-siblings. It's been a wild ride for everyone, including the stars.
Taylor Momsen and Connor Paul weren't with Gossip Girl the entire time. They each departed in season 4 in 2011, which still gave their characters Jenny Humphrey and Eric van der Woodsen plenty of time to plot and antagonize each other. During this time, they struck up a real-life friendship and had a mini- Gossip Girl reunion on April 10 in Los Angeles.
From UES to Los Angeles
Momsen posted a photo of her reunion with Paolo on Instagram, showing the two with Halestorm frontman Lzzy Hale. "Can't leave LA without a proper reunion," she wrote in the caption of the post, apparently referring to her upcoming European tour with AC/DC this summer.
Her post sparked instant Gossip Girl nostalgia. "My two kids are reunited," one fan wrote in the comments, referring to them as Eric and Jenny. Many others shared the same name and shared their ecstasy at seeing the former Upper East Siders come together. Another fan added: "This makes my heart happy."
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Friendship forever
Eric and Jenny's ups and downs on the show have been dramatic, but Mawson and Paul's friendship seems to be growing stronger. When Momsen was a guest on Gossip Girl vet Penn Badgley's Podcrushed podcast in September 2023, she recalled how Paolo helped her when she first moved to New York. "Connor and I became friends and he took me under his wing," she said.
Mawson explained that she tried to go to regular school and Paul encouraged her to go to his school. He made sure to introduce her to his friends, but she said she didn't quite fit in since she was a senior and she was a freshman. "I'm younger than them, I'm the new girl, I'm the Grinch girl," she added, referring to her role as Cindy Lou in the 2000 film "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Cindy Lou) character.
Eventually, Mawson left school and began homeschooling, and both she and Paul left Gossip Girl . She chose to focus on her music career with her band The Pretty Reckless, while he became a regular on the ABC show Revenge . Still, he was always rooting for her. In 2012, he told The Hollywood Reporter that they had been "very close friends over the years" and that he thought he would still "go to her shows even if [he] didn't know who she was."
