Sophia Bush has ended the rumors about her relationship with Ashlyn Harris and confirmed they are very much in love.
The One Tree Hill alum broke her silence on their romance after months of speculation that they were dating following the end of their respective marriages last year.
"I didn't expect to find love in this support system. I don't know how else to say it other than: I didn't see it until I saw it," she told Glamour of falling in love with Ashlyn.
"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.
"What I saw was a friend with her big, happy life. And now I know she thought the same thing about me."
Sophia also brushed off any criticism she has received for her romantic involvement with the retired soccer star after she was labeled a "homewrecker".
"People looking in from the outside weren't privy to just how much time it took, how many painful conversations were had," she explained.
"A lot of effort was made to be graceful with other people's processing, their time and obligations, and their feelings. What felt like seconds after I started to see what was in front of me, the online rumor mill began to spit in the ugliest ways.
"There were blatant lies. Violent threats. There were the accusations of being a homewrecker. 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 (so that's not it, y'all, sorry!)."
Sophia was married to entrepreneur Grant Hughes for just over a year before she filed for divorce in August 2023.
Meanwhile, Ashlyn filed for divorce in September 2023 after nearly four years of marriage to fellow soccer pro, Ali Krieger, with whom she shares two children, daughter Sloane, three, and son Ocean, one.
Opening up about her sexuality, Sophia revealed that she identifies as queer. "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," she explained.
"I think I've always known that my sexuality exists on a spectrum. Right now, I think the word that best defines it is queer. I can't say it without smiling, actually. And that feels pretty great."
Sophia's new relationship comes after she and Grant split one month after their first wedding anniversary. The former couple tied the knot in Tulsa, Oklahoma in June 2022.
Guests included her Chicago PD co-star and friend Marina Squerciati, and One Tree Hill pals Bethany Joy Lenz and Hilarie Burton.
Grant proposed in 2021 in Lake Como and on their first wedding anniversary on June 11, 2023, he posted a long tribute to their romance.
He wrote in part: "Happy 1st Anniversary, my love! What a full, beautiful, dynamic, exciting, growth-filled year we’ve had together. I truly love doing life with you!"
Sophia's now-deleted tribute of her own read: "Today marks 365 days of calling you 'husband'. Best decision of my life. It still feels just like this. Ecstatic. Running toward the future, grinning and laughing, together. I love you, my favorite. Happy Anniversary."
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