Sophia Bush Revealed What It Was Really Like To Continue On "One Tree Hill" After Her Divorce From Chad Michael Murray

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If you're of a certain age, it's very possible you spent a decent amount of your adolescence watching the wild ride that was One Tree Hill.

The cast of One Tree Hill cutting a giant cake in the shape of the number 100
Brownie Harris / CW Network / courtesy Everett Collection

You probably also know that two of the show's biggest stars, Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush, got married in 2005 after two years of dating — and they split five months later.

Chad and Sophia sitting next to each other at a dinner table during a scene
Cw Network / courtesy Everett Collection

Breaking up is, obviously, hard to do — but Chad and Sophia continued working on the show for years, until the former left the show in 2009. At one point after their split, their characters (Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis, respectively) even dated on the show.

The former couple sitting on a couch in a scene from the show
Cw Network / Fred Norris / courtesy Everett Collection

On a recent episode of Sophia's Drama Queens podcast with former One Tree Hill costars Bethany Joy Lenz and Hilarie Burton, the actor made some rare comments about what it was like to continue working with her ex.

The cast laying on a mattress for an overhead shot
Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection

The conversation began when Bethany brought up how Sophia was "going through a breakup with the person that you were playing a romance opposite of."

Promo shot of Bethany wearing a lace tank top and jeans
Warner Bros / Nigel Perry / courtesy Everett Collection

"Regardless of what all those circumstances were, that’s incredibly difficult — emotionally, to be able to be vulnerable and be there in that moment,” she said to Sophia.

  Warner Bros / Fred Norris / courtesy Everett Collection
Warner Bros / Fred Norris / courtesy Everett Collection

Bethany also said that she thought it was "really beautiful" that Sophia could be "that raw and open and vulnerable" in her acting, despite the circumstances — to which Sophia replied, "People can call it whatever they want."

  Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection
Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection

"They can say it’s strength, they can say it’s pride, they can say it's professionalism — you can put a positive or a negative skew on it," she continued.

Chad and Sophia standing together next to a table in a scene from the show
Warner Bros / Fred Norris / courtesy Everett Collection

"But I was always going to put Brooke Davis ahead of everybody and everything else. Nothing mattered to me but being honest for her.”

  Warner Bros / Fred Norris / courtesy Everett Collection
Warner Bros / Fred Norris / courtesy Everett Collection

It's pretty surprising that Sophia chose to talk about the experience at all. Just last year, the actor said that she wouldn't be answering any more questions about Chad from now on.

Chad standing behind a turntable as he watches Sophia walk away in a scene from the show
Warner Bros / Fred Norris / courtesy Everett Collection

During an appearance on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast, Sophia said she's "not allowed" to talk about her marriage to Chad because "I’ve tried to poke fun at being a dumb kid, and whenever I’ve done that, it gets twisted into I’m talking shit about somebody who I don’t even know anymore, who’s clearly a grown-up.”

  Shedrick Pelt / Getty Images
Shedrick Pelt / Getty Images

"It just doesn't work, so I'm not going to."

Sophia in a pantsuit smiles for a photo outside of a building
Raymond Hall / GC Images / Getty Images

You can listen to the Drama Queens episode here.