“I think the draw for me with Chuck and Blair was how unique they were to television. I admit to loving a very specific prototype couple before CB came along: the bad boy and the good girl. I liked the cliché redemption arc that always brought tears to my eyes. There was a comfort in knowing exactly how those couples and stories would play out, so I was reluctant to jump into the water with Chuck and Blair. He wasn’t just a bad boy, he was a bad, bad boy. He did despicable things and felt no remorse. And Blair… Well, Blair was the bad girl. She was the one you root against in romantic relationships while the “good” girl sneaks in and gets the guy. So, it was to my utter surprise when I found myself wanting the baddies together. Their spark, their energy – it just exploded on screen. I liked that they were devious and manipulative, and that they could revel in that together. There was something very freeing about watching a couple that not only accepted one another fully, but really enjoyed one another.

I once heard that loving someone means more than just loving the good parts of them, but also loving the monsters under their bed. I feel like that’s what it ultimately comes down to with Chuck and Blair. They love the good parts of one another - they’re loyal, they’re deeply devoted to each other and their friends - but they also know how to love the one another’s monsters. They fought them away together. I think it says a lot that at their lowest points, it was always the other who was there as a shining beacon of light. It didn’t always work out for the best, but the intentions were always good.

You hear so much about one person in a relationship needing to be redeemed, but that too was different with Chuck and Blair. They both came into this relationship needing redemption. It’s been a constant theme between them. Sometimes they needed to find forgiveness in others, sometimes in themselves, and most times from each other. I think it testifies to the strength of this couple that no matter what awful thing has been thrown at them, or what awful thing they’ve done to each other, they’re always able to come back around to the love. Some call that unhealthy, but I see it as the exact opposite. There’s something very beautiful and kind in the forgiveness they show one another. At their core they understand that while the love they share is messy, it is pure. It is the strongest thing in both their lives, the lightning rod they continually return to. And to me that’s the best kind of love. That kind of love survives the bad things, the third parties, the wandering hearts – it triumphs because it’s steadfast. At the end of the line, it will always be Chuck and Blair. Their hearts will always return to one another.”