On the ABC family sitcom Single Parents, Leighton Meester plays Angie, a single struggling to raise her son without much help from his rolling stone of a father Derek (Adam Brody). Meester and Brody are happily married in real life, but even they can admit that working together sometimes blurs the lines between fact and fiction.
The spouses’ on screen interaction in Single Parents is funny and relatable, but it’s not at all an accurate depiction of their relationship. Derek and Angie are no longer together, but the exes keep crossing paths because of their son, so they’re trying to make it work. Brody’s character isn’t exactly Father of the Year, which creates obvious tension in his family; though he has good intentions, Derek is as irresponsible as they come.
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Meester enjoys getting to work with Brody on the set of the ABC series because it shows a different side of him. “On the show, he's such a little dummy and it's very cute and he's very handsome," she told Entertainment Tonight of her husband. "And in real life that's 98 percent not true. He's mostly, totally, like a grown-up."
Even with such clear distinctions, even Meester has a hard time separating Brody from Derek because he’s just so good at playing the role. “He is the baby daddy. In real life and not real life," said the actress, 34. "Sometimes I'll be like, Oh yeah, I forgot I'm married to you.”
Forgetting that Brody is her husband and not her irresponsible baby daddy might actually be a more common occurrence going forward, because the minds behind Single Parents are planning to give Derek an even bigger role in the coming seasons. That means more shenanigans as well as more secretly wishing that Angie and Derek would try to make it work — even though, for obvious reasons, that might be the worst idea ever.