Ed Westwick who? Jessica has been living it up and loving life while filming Love, Wedding, Marriage in New Orleans — and her new pal has a lot to do with her happiness!

Breaking up is usually hard to do, but Jessica Szohr seems just fine after splitting from her BF of a year-and-a-half, Gossip Girl co-star Ed Westwick, in April. Why? Chalk it up to one killer new friend, a lot of drinking and the magic of New Orleans!

“Jessica and I are having a great time every night partying,” Richard Reid, Jessica’s BFF and co-star on the New Orleans set of Love, Wedding, Marriage, tells HollywoodLife.com exclusively. “We’ve been bar-hopping.”

In fact, Jessica seems absolutely A-OK since allegedly getting dumped by Ed, 22. Richard tells us, “She seems fine. She’s got great energy, a great spirit. She’s so friendly, she’s introducing herself to everyone. She makes us go out even when we’re exhausted!”

But before you go thinking Richard, a soccer addict who spends his free time chilling at Buckingham Palace (his father is Sir Alan Reid, the Queen of England’s Treasurer) has designs on Jess, 25 — think again. “We’re a team of four,” he says. “There’s Michael Weston [another actor in Love, Wedding, Marriage] and Jess has her assistant, who’s a great friend of hers as well. The four of us have been going to dinner and to bars.”

And what of co-stars Kellan Lutz and Mandy Moore? Do they join in the fun? “Kellan’s really busy — he’s shooting this and another movie and finding time to hang out is hard. Mandy is great but busy [as well]…[But] we did meet up with Sam Worthington [who’s filming a different movie down south] and have a big night out!”

But back to Richard! We had to ask what you’d obviously want to know: what is he looking for in a girl? “I’m really fussy,” the 25-year-old English charmer says. “I really like a girl that I can have a great conversation with. I want us to be really comfortable in each other’s company.” As for looks, “I go for blondes, I would say. People make fun of me for it,” he admits, adding, “I just haven’t met the right brunette yet.”

Jessica, we smell a challenge!

– Laura Schreffler