Sophia Bush is no longer holding back. In an emotional essay for Glamor magazine, the actor openly acknowledged being queer and confirmed reports that she was in a relationship with former women's soccer player Ashlyn Harris.
"As an ally my entire life, I have experienced so much safety, respect, and love within the queer community that when I come back to myself, I already feel like this is my home," she wrote. "I think I always knew there was a spectrum to my sexuality. Now I think the word that best defines it is 'queer.' In fact, I can't say it without smiling. It feels great."
Bush expressed dismay at the idea that she had to come out, but decided to officially come out in order to gain visibility at a time when the LGBTQ+ community is under attack. "Over 500 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures in 2023, so I want to give coming out the respect and honor it deserves," she wrote.
The One Tree Hill alum divorced her ex-husband Grant Hughes in August 2023 after one year of marriage. Weeks later, she was rumored to be having an affair with Harris, sparking numerous rumors about the circumstances and timeline of her breakup. Bush addressed the speculation in a candid letter, clarifying that her breakup was a long, emotional process that did not overlap with her current relationship.
In fact, she considered canceling her 2022 wedding, but ultimately decided against it. But after undergoing fertility treatments the following year, she began to accept her true feelings.
"I tried to go through months of endless ultrasounds, hormone injections, so many blood draws that I had scar tissue in my veins, and retrieval after retrieval while realizing that I had chosen to be my partner. People don’t necessarily speak the same emotional language I used,” she wrote. "I think deep down I knew I definitely made a mistake."
Bush had been friends with Harris since 2019, but as they divorced, they both found themselves relying on a group of mutual female friends. "It really took other people in our safe support bubble to point out to me how we would complete each other's sentences or be profoundly affected by the same thing," she recalls. "I asked Ashlyn to talk about it in a non-friend circle."
After months of dating speculation, the couple made their first public appearance in March at Elton John's Oscars party. However, it took Bush some time to recover from the "blatant lies" and "family-wrecking accusations." She writes, "Just because I don't want to process my realizations and articulate them to the world in real time on social media doesn't mean the journey isn't long, thoughtful, and exhaustive."
