Sophia Bush confirmed that she and Ashlyn Harris were in a relationship in a Glamour cover story.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Dia Dipasupil/WireImage
- Sophia Bush and former US soccer player Ashlyn Harris began dating in 2023.
- Bush confirmed her and Harris' relationship and came out as queer in a Glamour cover story.
Sophia Bush has opened up about her relationship with Ashlyn Harris for the first time, six months after they were first romantically linked.
In an essay written for her April 2024 Glamour cover story, the "One Tree Hill" actor revealed that she and the recently retired professional soccer player reconnected in an ad-hoc divorcée support group following the end of their respective relationships.
Bush filed for divorce from her entrepreneur husband, Grant Hughes, in early August 2023 after just over a year of marriage.
Meanwhile, Harris, a former member of the United States Women's National Soccer Team, officially divorced her wife, fellow soccer pro Ali Krieger, in September 2023, per Page Six. The two had exchanged their vows less than four years earlier in December 2019, ESPN reported.
Bush wrote in her Glamour essay that she "didn't expect to find love" in the support system she found to help her through her heartbreak.
"I don't know how else to say it other than: I didn't see it until I saw it," she continued. "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."
Here's a complete timeline of everything we know about Bush and Harris' relationship.
August 4, 2019: Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris are photographed together for the first time, possibly at their first meeting
Travon Free, Sophia Bush, and Ashlyn Harris at a US Women's Soccer Team Brunch in Los Angeles, USA on August 4, 2019. Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images
In her Glamour essay, Bush wrote that she and Harris first met in 2019.
While she didn't elaborate on the details of when or where, that year the two were photographed together, speaking to comedian Travon Free at a US Women's Soccer Team Brunch in Los Angeles on August 4, 2019.
June 19, 2023: The pair appear on a panel at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France.
July 26, 2023: The pair pose alongside each other at a World Cup watch party.
Ashlyn Harris, Sophia Bush, and Sydney Leroux at Gracias Madre on July 26, 2023. Todd Williamson/Peacock via Getty Images
A month later and back in America, Bush and Harris were publicly seen together during a World Cup watch party.
In one photo from the evening, they smiled for cameras alongside Harris' teammate, Sydney Leroux.
August 4, 2023: Bush files for divorce from her husband after 13 months of marriage.
Sophia Bush and Grant Hughes photographed on July 15, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. JOCE/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Seven weeks after marking her first anniversary with Grant Hughes on Instagram by calling their marriage the "best decision" of her life, Bush began proceedings for their legal separation, People reported.
Bush and Hughes, who told Vogue they met a decade ago on a New Year's trip to Nicaragua, tied the knot at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2022.
September 19, 2023: Harris files for divorce from former teammate Ali Krieger.
Ashlyn Harris (right) holds son Ocean as she poses for a photo with then-wife Ali Krieger (left) and daughter Sloane. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
According to court documents obtained by Page Six, Harris submitted her petition stating that their union was "irretrievably broken." The news of their split wasn't reported until almost a month later, on October 11.
The pair, who met as USWNT teammates in 2010, share two adopted children: a daughter, Sloane, and a son, Ocean, according to People.
October 17, 2023: People reports that Bush and Harris are seeing each other.
Sophia Bush at the opening night of "Melissa Etheridge: My Window" in September 2023. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
In October 2023, People reported that Bush and Harris were dating, citing an anonymous source close to the couple.
"After being friends for years, and running in the same social circles, Sophia and Ashlyn went out on their first dinner date a couple of weeks ago," one anonymous source told People. "This is so recent, and they are both beginning new chapters."
At the time, representatives for Bush and Harris did not respond to People's request for comment.
The same anonymous source told People that Krieger and Harris' divorce "began months ago," and that they had been living separately.
October 19, 2023: Krieger insinuates that Harris was unfaithful by posting about being in her 'Beyoncé lemonade era'
November 18, 2023: Harris denies that she had been unfaithful in her marriage.
Ashlyn Harris at the Human Rights Campaign's Los Angeles DInner. Monica Schipper/Getty Images
In an Instagram post, Harris addressed the end of her marriage to Krieger, denying that she had cheated on her. The post did not mention Bush. In it, Harris wrote that she and Krieger planned to keep the news of their separation private until the end of Krieger's season, before it became public.
"Let me be clear: I did not step out on my marriage," she wrote in the post. "I was always faithful in my marriage, if not always totally happy. Like in many partnerships, there was work and therapy and processing done. None of this happened on a whim. We spent the entire summer working to tackle the separation and divorce steps outlined for us by our therapists, lawyers, and our shared agency."
December 7, 2023: Bush and Harris are seen together in Miami.
Sophia Bush at the premiere of "Junction" in Los Angeles. Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Gallery owner Michelle Tillou shared a photo from Art Basel Miami, posing alongside Harris and Bush and captioning the post "@artbasel selfies."
March 10, 2024: Bush and Harris are photographed together at Elton John's Oscars party.
Ashlyn Harris, Eric McCormack and Sophia Bush attend the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 32nd Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party on March 10, 2024 in West Hollywood, California. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation
The couple were seen together with actor Eric McCormack in a photo, marking their first time at a public event as a couple, People reported.
April 25, 2024: Bush discusses her relationship with Harris for the first time.
Sophia Bush. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Bush's Glamour story marked the first time she publicly addressed her relationship with Harris.
"Falling in love with her has sutured some of my own childhood wounds, and made me so much closer to my own mother," Bush wrote. "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?"
Bush also wrote that she felt the word "queer" best described her sexuality and reflected on her public coming out process.
"Would I like to make the public part of this journey a choice for myself, and not have it taken from my lips and set ablaze by gossip blogs and bottom-feeder online bots? Of course," she wrote.
"I'm very aware, though, as we discuss bullying and harassment and being outed without consent — that I'm incredibly lucky this happened in my adulthood," she continued. "I really love who I am, at this age and in this moment."