It’s been more than three years since that big reveal and an even bigger wedding at the end of Gossip Girl. Like it usually happens with post-hit-series careers, things went differently once the cast left the TV version of the Upper East Side. And while we’re about to see Blake Lively fighting a shark in the new thriller The Shallows, let’s see which of her colleagues managed to stay afloat in these unsafe Hollywood waters.

Blake Lively

Since the show’s finale back in 2012, Lively gracefully adopted her character’s It girl lifestyle and managed to conquer both the fashion and film worlds. She was the star of the romantic fantasy The Age of Adaline. She also became the new face of Gucci perfume and appeared in Nicolas Winding Refn-directed promo short film. She also gave birth to a daughter in 2014 and she and Ryan Reynolds are expecting their second child. That’s pretty much the same future we’ve envisioned for Serena van der Woodsen.

Leighton Meester

Meester has been following her music aspirations since 2007, and we still adore her 2009 Robin Thicke collaboration “Somebody to Love.” Yet her debut record, the independently released Heartstrings, only saw the light of day in 2014. Meester obviously has no trouble paying for studio time herself, as she’s endorsing a bunch of fashion and beauty brands, including Jimmy Choo. She stayed busy on the movie front, too, appearing in several films, including comedy Life Partners alongside her husband Adam Brody. That’s basically every teen soap fan’s dream: Gossip Girl’s Blair ends up with The OC’s Seth.

Penn Badgley

This Lonely Boy finally put an end to his solitude by forming a music band MOTHXR (that’s Mother but way cooler). They released their debut record Centerfold back in February and are touring the country at the moment, playing sensual '80s-flavored R&B pop. But he didn’t forget his acting roots, having starred in several indie productions since Gossip Girl ended. His biggest film project was 2013’s Greetings from Tim Buckley, where he got to take on the role of Jeff Buckley’s son. He also got to play a singing actor in the miniseries The Slap, which he called his last TV project. We’re guessing a Gossip Girl reunion is not in the cards, then?

Chace Crawford

Everything worked out pretty sweet for Nate Archibald as he finished the series as a perfect candidate to become the next Mayor of New York City. As for Crawford, he starred in several independent movies before going back to TV as the lead in the Blood & Oil soap opera, which was killed only after 10 episodes due to low ratings. Next we’ll see him in a Warren Beatty-directed comedy Rules Don’t Apply, which comes out in November.

Ed Westwick

Just like Chace Crawford and Blood & Oil, Westwick’s return to television with a crime series Wicked City (yep, he played a serial killer) didn’t survive the ratings battle and was cancelled after three episodes. But Westwick’s worldwide fame secured him some foreign projects, like Chinese action flick Last Flight and a movie in his native England Romeo & Juliet, where he played Tybalt, because who would ever cast Chuck Bass as a good guy?! Apparently someone already did, as he was chosen to portray a more positive character in the upcoming thriller A Conspiracy on Jekyll Island. Now that's something we can't wait to see.

Taylor Momsen

Momsen’s transition from teen actress to a raunchy rock chick began right on Gossip Girl. Momsen’s still embracing her rockstar spirit and fronts The Pretty Reckless band, which just finished recording their third album. She didn’t break her word on quitting acting as she’s been solely focusing on music for the last several years.

Jessica Szohr

Jessica “Vanessa” Szohr stayed on TV and was a female lead in the short-lived 2015 drama series Complications. She later starred in the second season of a show about mixed martial arts, Kingdom (she played a photographer). She’s also friends with Taylor Swift, so that’s her you’ve seen in Swift’s “22” video.

Connor Paolo

Paolo played Serena’s little brother on Gossip Girl but switched his focus to play Jack’s little brother on Revenge. His character was one of the many casualties on the show and was killed off in the second season’s finale. He didn’t do much acting for several years, but this year returns in the German horror about the dangers of social media, Friend Request.