Chace Crawford Says Leaving Behind Gossip Girl Was “Jarring”

Three words, twenty letters: Nate Archibald forever. 

Chace Crawford reunited with his former Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley, a.k.a Dan Humphrey, to reflect on their time as New York City royalty while filming the CW show. Chace, who played Golden Boy Nate Archibald on the series, said that the actors’ lives completely changed while filming. And when the show came to a close back in 2012, it took a while to get readjusted to their new reality.

“We were all… trying to find our way,” Chace told Penn in a July 13 episode of his podcast Podcrushed. “Yeah, that wasn’t a normal way to meet, to make relationships, to meet girls, to do anything. It was intense, man. It was a lot.”

The 36-year-old added, “I kind of describe it, again, like an athlete or a quarterback or someone getting injured and ending their career like, instantly. Your identity is kind of pulled out of, the rug is pulled out from under you.”