One Tree Hill’s Sophia Bush had the public in shock last summer when it was reported the actress had filed divorce from her husband Grant Hughes just one year after their wedding. Now Bush has now shared her side of the story, including getting honest about her queer identity and romance with former US soccer player Ashlyn Harris, whom she has been linked to since October of last year.
In the months following her separation from Hughes, Sophia Bush began being linked to Harris, leading the internet to speculate the couple had been unfaithful to their spouses, especially with reports of Ashlyn Harris’ wife Ali Krieger filing for divorce just a month after Bush’s own bombshell breakup. Here’s what Bush has now explained about the topic:
The idea that I left my marriage based on some hysterical rendezvous—that, to be crystal-clear, never happened—rather than having taken over a year to do the most soul crushing work of my life? Rather than realizing I had to be the most vulnerable I’ve ever been, on a public stage, despite being terrified to my core? It feels brutal. Just because I didn’t want to process my realizations in real time on social media and spell them out for the world doesn’t mean the journey wasn’t long and thoughtful and exhaustive.
Bush goes into detail about what’s been going on in her personal life in a Glamour cover story she wrote herself. As she wrote candidly, just prior to her wedding she actually was close to “calling” it off, but opted to go through with it anyway. Once Grant Hughes posted a tribute to them both on their anniversary, she realized she “felt nothing.” Following her decision to go through a divorce with her husband, she explained that she found friendship in Harris, who had already been in the depths of a separation as well. But then the rumors started to flurry about her being a “home-wrecker.” As she continued:
It's painful to be doing deep work and have it picked apart by clueless strangers. Everyone that matters to me knows what’s true and what isn’t. But even still there’s a part of me that’s a ferocious defender, who wants to correct the record piece by piece. But my better self, with her earned patience, has to sit back and ask, What’s the fucking point? For who? For internet trolls? No, thank you. I’ll spend my precious time doing things I love instead.
In the cover story, Bush explains that the best word that defines her is “queer” before saying that she loves who she is right now “at this age and in this moment.” Bush is 41, being a memorable part of the One Tree Hill cast as Brooke Davis for nine seasons. (You can watch the whole series now with a Max subscription). In terms of speaking for Harris, here’s what Bush wrote:
I don’t believe it’s my place to discuss details of Ashlyn’s circumstances or her children, but I will say that I am absolutely in awe of her relentless integrity. The way she prioritizes and centers her kids, not only in her life but in the core of her being, is breathtaking to behold. Falling in love with her has sutured some of my own childhood wounds, and made me so much closer to my own mother. Seeing Ashlyn choose to not simply survive, but thrive, for her babies has been the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed a friend do. And now I get to love her. How lucky am I?
After having a major role in one of the most popular series of the early 00’s, Bush has been part of the Chicago TV franchise, having appeared on Chicago P.D., Chicago Med and Chicago Justice over the years. She left the NBC procedural in 2017 because she “wanted to” after years of hard work on the series. Most recently she returned to lead a TV role for CBS’ Good Sam. However, the show was cancelled after one season.
Her latest movie was a thriller called Junction, which came out in January. Following nearly a year of accusations and misunderstandings about Sophia Bush’s personal life, the actress’ candid explanation about what’s been going on as she wrote, these days she’s a lot happier in her own skin. As she wrote, she feels she “finally” feels like she “can breathe.”
