Sophia Bush confirms relationship with Florida soccer star Ashlyn Harris, addresses infidelity rumors

After months of speculation, Sophia Bush is opening up with her relationship with one of soccer's biggest stars.

The "One Tree Hill" alum wrote an essay for her Glamour Magazine cover story detailing the recent changes her personal life, from her split from ex-husband Grant Hughes to her budding romance with Ashlyn Harris.

"I finally feel like I can breathe. I don't think I can explain how profound that is," Bush wrote in her cover story. "I feel like I was wearing a weighted vest for who knows how long. I hadn’t realized how heavy it was until I finally just put it down."

The actress also touches the rumors she faced since entering her relationship with Harris and how she's revisited her sexuality, telling the outlet she has defined herself as queer.

Who is actress Sophia Bush? What is her connection to women's soccer?

Sophia Bush is an actress most known for her roles as Brooke Davis in "One Tree Hill" and Erin Lindsay in "Chicago P.D." She also makes headlines for her philanthropy work and social activism.

Currently, she's a co-host on the "Drama Queens" podcast along with her former "One Tree Hill" co-stars, Hilarie Burton Morgan and Bethany Joy Lenz.

And turns out, she's a huge soccer fan. She's an investor in a women's soccer club in Los Angeles, Angel City FM. Founders of the club include actress Natalie Portman, Reddit Founder and husband of Serena Williams Alexis Ohanian, entrepreneur Julie Uhrman and venture capitalist Kara Nortman.

Who is Ashlyn Harris? Soccer star is from Melbourne, Florida

Ashlyn Harris is a soccer player who shot to the worldwide stage when she earned a spot on the US Women's National Team in 2013. The soccer star is also a member of the championship–winning team from the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada and at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.

The Florida native has played for several college and professional teams throughout a 13-year career, including the Saint Louis Athletica, Washington Freedom, Washington Spirit, Orlando Pride and Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League. She graduated from Satellite High School in Satellite Beach, Florida.

Harris announced her retirement in 2022. USA TODAY noted that the goalkeeper earned 25 caps and played 10 years in the NWSL, spending the last several years as Krieger's teammate with the Orlando Pride and with Gotham.

How did Ashlyn Harris and Sophia Bush meet? Bush talks new relationship

While it's not known when the pair officially met for the first time, Bush says they have known each other since 2019. They reconnected while they both were going through divorces last year.

She also references their time during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity last June when the pair appeared on a panel together. Since this was way before any news of separation for either couple, fans online speculated that Harris and Bush were seeing each other around this time.

She admits she did not see this relationship coming at all.

"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. 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."

She said it took friends pointing it out for her to notice. After much consideration, she finally asked Harris to spend time individually.

"It took me confronting a lot of things, what felt like countless sessions of therapy, and some prodding from loved ones, but eventually I asked Ashlyn to have a non-friend-group hang to talk about it."

Bush called the over four-hour meal the two shared one of the most "surreal" experiences of her life.

'Blatant lies.' Sophia Bush addresses rumors she cheated on ex-husband Grant Hughes

Bush made headlines when she filed for divorce in August of 2023, roughly one year after their wedding in 2022. In her cover story, she cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split and detailed her difficulty with the relationship from the start.

After the start of her relationship with Harris, Bush recalled the vicious rumors that followed soon after

"There was a lot that quickly turned ugly," Bush wrote. "People looking in from the outside weren't privy to just how much time it took, how many painful conversations were had. 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 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—my partners have known what I'm into for as long as I have."

Who was Ashlyn Harris married to before relationship with Sophia Bush?

Bush wasn't the only one who faced infidelity rumors online. Harris also saw speculation and backlash from those who were fans of her relationship to fellow soccer star, Ali Krieger.

The couple was married for six years until Harris filed for divorce from Krieger last September, according to court records from the Seminole County Clerk's website.

USA TODAY reported that the two-time Cup champions met at a USWNT camp back in 2010. They previously told PEOPLE magazine that they instantly "clicked" and became “really close friends," previously keeping their relationship hidden from the public.

Harris and Krieger adopted two children together: daughter Sloane, who is 3 years old, and son Ocean, who is almost 2 year old.

Why did Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger split?

Neither Harris nor Krieger have publicly addressed the cause of the split since it was announced last year. According to Page Six, Harris stated in court documents that the marriage was “irretrievably broken.”

Harris broke her silence back in November, posting a six-part statement to Instagram denying rumors of infidelity.

“Let me be clear: I did not step out of my marriage. I was always faithful in my marriage, if not always totally happy,” she wrote. “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 this separation and divorce steps outlines for us by our therapists, lawyers, and our shared agency.”

However, Krieger did drop hints that something might have happened. USA Today previously wrote it was notable when she, in the midst of a divorce, posted photos of herself on Instagram with the caption: “Preparing for playoffs while in my Beyoncé Lemonade era."

For those not in the Beyhive, the album "Lemonade" is famously about the singer's response to husband Jay-Z's infidelity.

Bush says in the cover story that it is not her place to discuss Harris or her divorce but compliments her relationship with her children.

"I don't believe it's my place to discuss details of Ashlyn's circumstances or her children, but I will say that I am absolutely in awe of her relentless integrity. The way she prioritizes and centers her kids, not only in her life but in the core of her being, is breathtaking to behold," she wrote.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Sophia Bush of 'Chicago PD' is queer, dating soccer pro Ashlyn Harris