Blake Lively Opens Up About Ex Penn Badgley

With all the attention surrounding her personal life, Blake Lively wants a timeout from the spotlight.

"People ask me why I don't tweet," the 23-year-old actress tells the July issue of Glamour. "Honestly, I'm so sick of myself."

(The new Us Weekly, out Wednesday, details Lively's sexy new romance and European adventures with Leonardo DiCaprio. Late Tuesday, the star also became the unwitting center of a supposed nude photo scandal; in a statement her rep told Us alleged photos storming the web are "100 percent fake.")

Whether people are talking about her ex-boyfriend (Penn Badgley) or her new man (DiCaprio), the Green Lantern star says she's never let public opinion affect her relationships.

"I have a strong sense of myself. That gives me a sense of security, you know? If I define myself by things that are always changing, like the public's opinion, or what I'm wearing, or what job I'm doing, there's no stability in that."

Besides, Lively points out, things are fine between her and Badgley, 24. "Every relationship you have, you're learning and growing and taking something from that," she says of her Gossip Girl costar. "So for me, it's never been too dramatic of a thing when something ends."

Boys aside, Lively admits there is another great love in her life: fashion. "Gossip Girl completely blew open the door to fashion for me. I'd go to fashion shows and call my publicist and say, 'Can I wear that?' I think I became my own stylist by not knowing any better. And once I was told it was time to get one, I thought, 'This is one of my favorite hobbies! And I'm going to pay someone to steal my hobby from me? That's a terrible idea!'"

After all, the California girl -- who noshes on chicken potpie from Tea & Sympathy before red carpet events -- says she prefers to let the clothes do the talking.

"I don't feel like I have to do so much with hair and makeup, because I'm the mannequin for these beautiful clothes, so I never want to do anything too distracting," she explains. "Most of the time, I put my hair in a ballerina bun, and I take it down and it's wavy, and then I leave. I feel shy when people are fussing on me."

Credit: Us Magazine

Blake Lively, Leonardo DiCaprio Together in Italy

Newly single Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted Sunday in Portofino, Italy with Blake Lively.

DiCaprio, 36, and Lively, 23, were caught hugging on a yacht Tuesday during the Cannes Film Festival.

Earlier this month, sources confirmed to Us Weekly that DiCaprio and supermodel Bar Rafaeli, 25, ended their five year relationship.

So are things really over for the Oscar nominated actor and Rafaeli? "They do this every two years," a source pointed out to Us. "They could be back together next week."

Lively ended things with Penn Badgley, her beau of three years and Gossip Girl costar, in September 2010.

Credit: Us Magazine

Taylor Momsen, Jessica Szohr Leave Gossip Girl

Attention, Upper East Siders: Gossip Girl has two less ladies in its midst.

Taylor Momsen and Jessica Szohr have left the CW hit's cast, and will not be returning for the fifth season. After TVLine broke the story, a show insider confirms the news to Us Weekly.

Both Momsen (as little sister Jenny Humphrey), 17, and Szohr (as Brooklynite Vanessa Abrams), 26, had been with the show since its fall 2007 debut; TVLine reports that they have been invited to make future guest-star appearances.

The remaining Gossip Girl gang, however, is intact, with Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick and Chace Crawford all confirmed to return; actress Kaylee DeFer is also joining the permanent cast as Charlie Rhodes, cousin to Serena van der Woodsen (Lively).

Last November, Momsen -- who has kept busy with her band Pretty Reckless -- began an "indefinite hiatus" from the show amid numerous headlines about her shocking wardrobe and foul-mouthed interviews.

Credit: Us Magazine