Leighton Meester Is Happy Valentine's Day Is 'More Meaningful' for Kids Now: 'It's Not How I Did It in the '90s' (Exclusive) Nicholas RiceFebruary 14, 2026 at 11:30 PM 0 Leighton Meester in June 2025. John Nacion/Variety via Getty Leighton Meester tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that she thinks Valentine's Day has evolved over the years The actress and singer says she is glad the annual Feb.
- - Leighton Meester Is Happy Valentine's Day Is 'More Meaningful' for Kids Now: 'It's Not How I Did It in the '90s' (Exclusive)
Nicholas RiceFebruary 14, 2026 at 11:30 PM
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Leighton Meester in June 2025.
John Nacion/Variety via Getty
Leighton Meester tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that she thinks Valentine's Day has evolved over the years
The actress and singer says she is glad the annual Feb. 14 holiday is "more meaningful" for kids nowadays
Meester shares two children, a daughter and son, with husband Adam Brody
Leighton Meester is grateful that Valentine's Day has evolved over the years.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the actress and singer, 39, compares growing up in the 1990s and what the annual Feb. 14 holiday was like then, as opposed to how it is celebrated now, specifically when it comes to her two children.
"With my kids, there's this nostalgic little cereal box where they get Valentine's, and everyone's included. It's really great," says Meester — who shares a daughter, Arlo, and a son, whose name has not been shared publicly — with husband Adam Brody.
"It's not how I did it in the '90s, which was that you would hope you'd get one from someone you liked," she continues. "That's not how they do it nowadays, thankfully."
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Leighton Meester (left) and Adam Brody (right) in January 2026.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Meester and Brody first met on the set of The Oranges, and they later made their romance public in February 2013. The pair was engaged by November of that same year, and they later wed in February 2014.
Meester and Brody's daughter was born in 2015, and their son later expanded their family in 2020.
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Meester tells PEOPLE that she looks at Valentine's Day from a different perspective nowadays. "Being married and in a romantic relationship over so many years, it takes on such an intimate, different meaning," The Buccaneers star explains. "I think it grows and expands, and it just feels even more and more meaningful over time."
"My [wedding] anniversary is near Valentine's Day too, so that whole season is meaningful to me," adds Meester.
Leighton Meester in February 2025.
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
When it comes to what the idea of "love" means to her overall, Meester — who continues her ongoing partnership with Godiva for a Valentine's Day and self-love-themed campaign — wonders, "How do I distill it?"
"It truly is a feeling I don't think I can philosophize on succinctly, because I think I have a different relationship with it with my own children, with my partner, with my friends and with myself," she explains.
"And everyone experiences their love with a partner or their kids or their parents [in a different way]," continues Meester.
"It's the meaning of life. It really is. I think it's what makes life worth living," the Gossip Girl alum adds.
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Source: Entertainment
Published: February 14, 2026 at 08:45PM on Source: RED MAG
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