It’s been awhile since we’ve trekked over to the Upper East Side with the characters of Gossip Girl — a reboot on Max has even come and gone — but the story of best frenemies Blair and Serena remains beloved for those looking to indulge in a teen drama. The wild hookups, the cast of Blake Lively and other hot up-and-comers, and MY GOD, the Gossip Girl outfits all have a way of making us wish it was 2007 again. It’s been over a decade, though, since it all came to an end, so how exactly did each main character’s story wrap up?
From the big reveal about Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) to the political future of Chace Crawford’s Nate Archibald, here’s everything you need to remember about how Gossip Girl ended for each of its affluent young New Yorkers.
Dan Gets Unmasked Without Much Fallout
Gossip Girl ended in 2012 after six seasons with the revelation that “Lonely Boy” Dan Humphrey had been the blogger with the big mouth all along. (What a plot twist!) In professing his love to Blake Lively’s Serena van der Woodsen, he said with her being so out of his league, he’d known the only way to get on her radar would be to literally write himself into her narrative.
The ending caused confusion for many fans, as it didn’t make sense for Dan to be pulling the strings on many of GG’s schemes, and that’s possibly because Gossip Girl wasn’t always supposed to be Dan. This has also caused some viewers — as well as members of the cast — to not know who Gossip Girl was, even after the big reveal.
Despite the anonymous, Kristen Bell-voiced blogger wreaking havoc on all of their lives for the duration of their high school careers, Dan’s friends actually let him off the hook pretty easily, and he ultimately gets what he wanted from the whole thing: Serena.
Serena Gets Married And Finds Happiness
Despite the somewhat toxic nature of Serena and Dan’s relationship in later seasons, the couple that seemed destined to be together did make it happen — despite Dan being Gossip Girl, despite Dan writing terrible things about her in his book (he also wrote a nice chapter, though that went unpublished), and despite warnings from BFF Blair that “Lonely Boy” would never fit into their world.
The series’ final moments flash forward five years, where the high school buds have all reunited for Dan and Serena’s wedding. Not much else was revealed about what Serena’s young adult years held.
Chuck Bass Finally Gets A Family
Bad boy Chuck Bass, played by Ed Westwick, got quite the emotional — but ultimately happy — ending on Gossip Girl, as he first lost a family member before gaining one. Leading up to the finale, Chuck and his father Bart had gotten into a fight, during which Bart tried to kill his son but ended up falling to his death from the rooftop. With Chuck quickly becoming a suspect and his on-off girlfriend Blair as a witness, they decide to get married to keep Blair from having to testify against him.
It wasn’t the most romantic of circumstances, but it was still a lovely wedding for the fashion-forward couple, even if it was interrupted by the police to take the newlyweds in for questioning. He wasn't charged due to lack of evidence, and when we see him again at Dan and Serena’s wedding five years later, he appears happy and finally with a family.
Blair Gets Her Happily Ever After (Personally And Professionally)
As revealed in the time jump forward, Blair and Chuck are still married and have a son named Henry. Not only has the former queen bee finally locked down and settled in with the guy she’d wanted all along — never forget: “Three words, eight letters. Say it and I'm yours.” — she’s also killing it professionally. It’s revealed that Blair has taken over for her mother as the CEO of Waldorf Designs.
Nate Archibald: Future Mayor?
Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) arrives at Dan and Serena’s wedding on a private jet, so we can assume things are going well for the editor-in-chief of The Spectator. Nate is the lone member of his friend group to not have a spouse (or children) five years after Blair and Chuck’s wedding, but a career in politics is teased. A reporter tells Nate he’s leading the polls for the upcoming mayoral race — despite not having announced his candidacy — and Nate replies that they’d “talk tomorrow.” You can draw your own conclusions.
Rufus And Lily Remain Friends But Are Dating Other People
Many Gossip Girl fans didn’t like that Dan’s dad Rufus (Matthew Settle) and Serena’s mom Lily (Kelly Rutherford) rekindled their romance when their children started dating and were married for most of Seasons 3-5. Thankfully when we jump ahead to their kids’ nuptials, the exes remain friendly, but Lily is back with Serena and Eric’s father William van der Woodsen, while Rufus is dating ‘90s singer Lisa Loeb.
Fan-Favorite Dorota Still Works For Blair
Though Blair’s maid Dorota Kishlovsky (Zuzanna Szadkowski) wasn’t technically a main character on Gossip Girl, I’d be remiss to not report how her story on the show concluded. Dorota became a fan favorite for her fierce loyalty to Ms. Blair and her enthusiasm for the queen bee’s schemes. More than a few times she even played an important role in Blair’s mischievous plots.
Well, fans will be happy to know that Dorota was still working with Blair and Chuck in the five-year time jump and appeared to be close with their son Henry. I shudder to think of the trouble Henry and Dorota would get into in his teen years!
Gossip Girl may have ended over a decade ago, but new audiences are still finding it and realizing what all the fuss is about. If you want to check it out for the first time or relive all of the events to led to Dan and Serena’s wedding, all six seasons — plus the two-season reboot of the same name — can be streamed with a Max subscription.
