Armie Hammer had a distinguished acting career before a slew of scandals and legal troubles brought it to an abrupt end. However, prior to all of this, he appeared in a number of highly regarded shows and movies. One of which was Blake Lively’s Gossip Girl. He appeared on the show as Gabriel Edwards, a con man who briefly dates Lively’s character Serena van der Woodsen.
But he was abruptly removed in the second season after just four episodes. Even though his time on the show was limited, it reportedly had a fascinating tie to Anne Hathaway’s tragic real-life love story.
Armie Hammer and Blake Lively’s Romance on Gossip Girl Was Allegedly Inspired by Anne Hathaway
Armie Hammer‘s character Gabriel Edwards makes his first appearance in the 20th episode of season 2, titled Remains of the J. He and his girlfriend, Poppy Lifton, along with Serena van der Woodsen, depart for Spain together. Upon her solo return, Serena contacts Cyrus Rose to seek guidance for an annulment.
She tells him that Edwards and Poppy had a major argument, with her hooking up with Edwards afterward, possibly leading to a marriage.
However, Edwards crashes Cyrus Rose’s seder dinner, and the duo begin a real relationship. But when Blair and Chuck discovered that Edwards was cheating on Serena with Poppy and was complicit in an investment scam involving other investors, things soon fell apart. Serena ends their relationship after realizing she’s been taken advantage of, marking his last appearance in season 2, episode 23, titled The Wrath of Con.
This story of Edwards and Woodsen was reportedly based on the real-life love story of Anne Hathaway and her ex-Italian real estate developer, Raffaello Follieri. The duo crossed paths in 2004 through a mutual friend. Despite coming from quite different backgrounds, the two had a similar enthusiasm for charitable work (via InStyle).
Following this, the couple made several appearances on the red carpet and went on excursions together, winning over admirers with charm and warmth.
However, Follieri’s conviction on charges of wire fraud and money laundering brought an abrupt stop to this love story. (via Vanity Fair).
This marked the end of Hathaway and Follieri’s four-year relationship, which ended in 2008.
Why Was Armie Hammer Abruptly Removed From Gossip Girl?
The actor was removed from the show after just a few episodes. But in reality, Hammer was meant to be a series regular on Gossip Girl. In a 2017 interview with Andy Cohen on the Watch What Happens Live show (via The Things), Hammer answered the same.
Armie Hammer: Let me just say that was a tough show to film and I didn’t end up actually filming all of the episodes I was supposed to because it was [so tough].
Host Andy Cohen: Oh really? So you were like, ‘Get me out of this?
Armie Hammer: It was also like Get him out of here.
This statement further started the rumor mill that Blake Lively was the one who got the actor fired from the show. Chelsea Handler, who was also sitting beside the actor, pointed out Lively with a “sounds like she was the problem.” But he denied Handler’s assumption but followed it up with a suspicious look, raising an eyebrow.
There were other sources as well (via Elle) that the actor had apparently called Blake Lively “an insufferable b**ch” during the seder dinner scene. Following this, he was immediately fired from the show.
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