Rachel Bilson says she had a panic attack when her Rami Malek photo story went viral, but confirms they're 'all good' now

• Rachel Bilson previously said Rami Malek asked her to delete a photo of them as high-school seniors.
• In a new interview, the actress said that she and the Oscar-winning actor have spoken since then.
• "He connected with me and we're all good," Bilson said, adding that Malek was "so sweet."

Rachel Bilson says that she and her high-school classmate Rami Malek are on good terms after revealing that the award-winning actor asked her to delete a throwback photo of them from Instagram.

"Rami and I actually have talked since that came out," Bilson said during an interview for the latest episode of PodcastOne's "LadyGang" podcast. "He connected with me and we're all good."

The actress added: "He was so sweet and we're totally fine now and we talked about it and we're good."

Bilson and Malek were classmates at Notre Dame High School in California, the same school they attended with Kirsten Dunst. In early 2019 around awards show season, the "O.C." star shared a photo of her and Malek from their senior trip to New York.

They were pictured outside a Broadway theater, with Malek looking nearly unrecognizable in a white T-shirt, a black jacket, a gold chain around his neck, and spiky hair.

Then in March 2021, Bilson made headlines when she revealed that the Oscar-winning "Bohemian Rhapsody" star messaged her and asked if she could remove the photo.

"But it wasn't like, 'Hey! How are you?!' It was straight to: 'I would really appreciate if you take that down. I'm a really private person,'" she told Dax Shepard during an interview for "Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard."

Bilson also recalled panicking and getting nervous when the actor messaged her. But she respected his wishes by removing the photo and sending him "a really nice message."

On the "LadyGang" podcast, Bilson said that she was surprised by how big her story became and how interested people were.

"I was so mortified though. Like, I was having a panic attack," she said. "I had to go to therapy that day, and I was like, 'I am having anxiety. I did not want this to resurface in this way. I feel so bad. Oh my god. Rami is going to think I'm doing this again.'"

The "Heart of Dixie" actress said that it was a blessing in disguise because they were "able to reconnect and make it better."

"He was so gracious, and I totally understood where he was coming from and he understood me. And I was just so happy we were able to squash it and move on," Bilson said, adding that Malek didn't have "any ill-intention."