One Tree Hill actress Sophia Bush has come out as “queer,” attending the White House Correspondents Dinner as a couple with former Women’s Soccer player Ashlyn Harris.
“I sort of hate the notion of having to come out in 2024. But I’m deeply aware that we are having this conversation in a year when we’re seeing the most aggressive attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community in modern history,” Bush wrote in a new Glamour cover story.
Notably, Bush’s admission comes nine months after filing for divorce from Grant Hughes.
“There were accusations of being a home-wrecker. The ones who said I’d left my ex because I suddenly realized I wanted to be with women,” the Chicago P.D. actress said.
“I want to give the act of coming out the respect and honor it deserves,” Bush 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. Right now I think the word that best defines it is queer,” she added. “I can’t say it without smiling, actually. And that feels pretty great.”
Bush went on to say that her friends and family see her coming out as queer as an exciting thing, referring to her public announcement of her sexuality as a “milestone.”
“Fans and friends were telling me how exciting this milestone was and how happy I looked. I felt nothing,” the actress said. “Things hadn’t been easy at home, but everyone says marriage is hard, right?”
“I didn’t see it until I saw it,” Bush added of her sexuality revelations. “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.”
Bush made her red-carpet debut as a couple Saturday night with former U.S. Women’s National Team goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, who was previously married to her teammate Ali Krieger. Megan Rapinoe was the maid of honor at the couple’s wedding.
Ashlyn Harris and Sophia Bush at the TIME And Amazon MGM Studios Late-Night Soiree At The Swiss Ambassador’s Residence Following White House Correspondents Dinner held on April 27, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Bryan Dozier/Variety via Getty)
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