Blake Lively and Leighton Meester (both of whom coincidentally became first-time moms recently) both jumpstarted their careers by joining the "Gossip Girl" cast in 2007, as they played teens Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf, respectively - but they weren't anywhere near the first options for the role!

It's been three years since fictional New York City's Upper East Side became a little bit emptier after the "Gossip Girl" cast stopped being mean and nightmarish on its streets, so now CW casting director, Rave Rapaport, feels comfortable enough to reveal a few secrets about the show's casting.

According to E! Online, Rapaport recently dropped a huge bomb about what the "Gossip Girl" cast would have looked like it studio execs had actually gotten what they hoped for, as before Lively and Meester, the options were Olsen twin Ashley and Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's daughter Rumer Willis.

"I feel like you go back and think, There is nobody else that could have played these characters," Rapaport told BuzzFeed about the process of choosing the "Gossip Girl" cast. "I think the network initially pitched us Ashley Olsen and Rumer Willis for Blair and Serena - I love Rumer, she's grown into quite an amazing actress and person, but that, to me, was based on protecting the investment of a television show where creatively, these lesser-known girls really captured the essence of the show and carried it for six years."

According to Hollywood Life, for Rapaport, Lively was always the first choice to lead the "Gossip Girl" cast, but execs weren't too convinced about the actress who's now Ryan Reynolds' wife wasn't too convinced, saying she was too "sunny California" and didn't have the "Upper East Side debutante" air they were looking for - but that was all fixed with some hair and makeup!

In any case, it's a good thing they didn't get their way - surely the "Gossip Girl" cast wouldn't have been nearly as magical!