Leighton Meester Reacts to ‘Gossip Girl’ Costar Michelle Trachtenberg’s Death for the First Time

Leighton Meester is feeling the loss of Michelle Trachtenberg.

The Gossip Girl alum, 39, opened up about her former costar’s death for the first time while talking about the lifelong friendships she formed while starring on the hit TV show. She told Flaunt that the news of Trachtenberg’s death hit especially hard, knowing that they were the same age when she died.

“It’s devastating,” she said. “She was a wonderful, talented person, and everyone loved her. It’s very, very sad for everyone who knew her.”

“Now, I can see that [the show’s legacy] continues — in some ways, even more so than back then — to live on, which is incredible,” she added.

Trachtenberg was found dead in a New York City apartment on Feb. 26 at the age of 39. Her official cause of death was revealed on April 16, with the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirming to PEOPLE that the actress’ sudden death was a result of complications of diabetes mellitus. The manner of death was ruled as natural.

The duo starred opposite one another on Gossip Girl, which ran from 2007 to 2012. Meester played Blair Waldorf while Trachtenberg played troublemaker Georgina Sparks.  

After Trachtenberg’s death was confirmed by the NYPD, many of her former costars reacted to the news of her death, including Penn Badgley, Blake Lively, Ed Westwick and Chace Crawford.

In late April, Badgley, 38, told E! News that her passing was “really surreal, really saddening.”

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“What I remember of her is she was incredibly quick to laugh,” he told the outlet. “She was really joyous. We all have our ups and downs, our lights and shadows, but she had this — I mean, she was mature, but she had this childlike, joyous laugh.”

The actor went on to share that he hadn’t crossed paths with the Buffy the Vampire Slayer star in over 10 years, but described her as having a “really pure heart.”