Sophia Bush pens open letter to address homewrecker rumors, Ashlyn Harris relationship
Sophia Bush is addressing her sexuality and infidelity rumors for the first time.
The "One Tree Hill" alum, 41, filed for divorce from entrepreneur Grant Hughes in August after a year of marriage. A month later, retired American soccer player Ashlyn Harris filed for divorce from her former teammate Ali Krieger. Shortly after Bush and Harris' divorce's became public, People reported in October that the two were dating.
In a personal essay written for Glamour, Bush explained the slow lead up and "painful conversations" that took place before she and Harris pursued a relationship. Social media, however, viewed their love as an affair.
"The online rumor mill began to spit in the ugliest ways. There were blatant lies. Violent threats. There were accusations of being a home-wrecker," she wrote. "The ones who said I’d left my ex because I suddenly realized I wanted to be with women — my partners have known what I’m into for as long as I have."
She added: "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."
Sophia Bush, Ashlyn Harris relationship: How it began
Bush, who met Harris in 2019, said she bonded with the soccer star after she and a group of women attended an event in Cannes during the summer of 2023. At the time, she and Hughes were "separated and preparing to file for divorce" and she met other women at the event going through relationship issues. They had formed a support group for other women in break ups and divorcees.
"It was tragic and hard. But it was also beautiful. There were moments of incredible sadness because no one signs up to get married thinking it’ll end. The days when we knew people needed to laugh, we sent inspirational memes and silly TikToks. We read books written by great therapists and shared emo quotes from poets," Bush recalled.
The actress said she "didn’t expect to find love in this support system" and she felt like her feelings for Harris developed slowly and simultaneous overnight. "And I think it’s very easy not to see something that’s been in front of your face for a long time when you’d never looked at it as an option and you had never been looked at as an option."
After "countless sessions of therapy" and some coaxing from friends, Bush said she finally asked the soccer pro to hang out as more than friends. The dinner date was "truly one of the most surreal experiences of my life thus far," she wrote.
The "Good Sam" star and producer said she had always felt connected to the queer community despite not publicly declaring she was a part of it. "I sort of hate the notion of having to come out in 2024," she wrote, although acknowledging visibility helps "in a year when we’re seeing the most aggressive attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community in modern history."
"There were more than 500 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills proposed in state legislatures in 2023, so for that reason I want to give the act of coming out the respect and honor it deserves," she continued. "I’ve experienced so much safety, respect, and love in the queer community, as an ally all of my life, that, as I came into myself, I already felt it was my home. I think I’ve always known that my sexuality exists on a spectrum."
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As far as the exact label, Bush said, "I think the word that best defines it is queer. I can’t say it without smiling, actually. And that feels pretty great.
"I have real joy. It took me 41 years to get here. And while I marvel at it, I will also make space for people’s pain," she continued, paying respect to victims of "bullying and harassment and being outed without consent."
Related: Is all the anger, fury really about transgender rights? Maybe not.
Sofia Bush says she 'threw up' after posting about her 1-year-wedding anniversary
Bush also discussed the unraveling of her marriage, which she said she realized before their nuptials.
"In April of 2022 I was close to calling off my wedding. Instead of running away, I doubled down on being a model wife," she wrote. "In 2023 my now ex-husband posted a lovely tribute to our first anniversary on Instagram. When I saw it, I felt the blood drain from my face. … I felt nothing."
Bush said she pushed through their relationship issues because of the reiterated comments that "marriage is hard" and due to public pressure, she posted about their anniversary.
"I typed something about how incredibly happy I was and tried to drown out the familiar voice in my head. 'Make it look easy. Make it look perfect. If your smile is shiny enough, maybe no one will notice that up close all of your teeth are broken,'" she recalled. "I hit post. And then I walked into the bathroom and threw up."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sophia Bush reveals her truth after divorce, Ashlyn Harris rumors
