A complete timeline of Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris' relationship as they make their first red-carpet appearance
Sophia Bush and former US soccer player Ashlyn Harris began dating in 2023.
Bush confirmed her and Harris' relationship and came out as queer in a Glamour cover story.
Here's a timeline of their relationship, and what they've said about it.
Sophia Bush has opened up about her relationship with Ashlyn Harris for the first time, six months after they were first romantically linked.
In an essay written for her April 2024 Glamour cover story, the "One Tree Hill" actor revealed that she and the recently retired professional soccer player reconnected in an ad-hoc divorcée support group following the end of their respective relationships.
Bush filed for divorce from her entrepreneur husband, Grant Hughes, in early August 2023 after just over a year of marriage.
Meanwhile, Harris, a former member of the United States Women's National Soccer Team, officially divorced her wife, fellow soccer pro Ali Krieger, in September 2023, per Page Six. The two had exchanged their vows less than four years earlier in December 2019, ESPN reported.
Bush wrote in her Glamour essay that she "didn't expect to find love" in the support system she found to help her through her heartbreak.
"I don't know how else to say it other than: I didn't see it until I saw it," she continued. "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. What I saw was a friend with her big, happy life. And now I know she thought the same thing about me."
Here's a complete timeline of everything we know about Bush and Harris' relationship.
August 4, 2019: Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris are photographed together for the first time, possibly at their first meeting
In her Glamour essay, Bush wrote that she and Harris first met in 2019.
While she didn't elaborate on the details of when or where, that year the two were photographed together, speaking to comedian Travon Free at a US Women's Soccer Team Brunch in Los Angeles on August 4, 2019.
June 19, 2023: The pair appear on a panel at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France.
Both the actor and soccer star spoke on a panel titled "Building Brand Partnerships from Angel City FC to Gotham FC," with Bush being introduced as an Angel City Football Club investor.
Afterward, Bush shared photos from the weekend event on her Instagram page.
Reflecting on the event in her Glamour essay, Bush wrote that during the weekend, Harris had "been such a kind ear to those of us who opened up about our problems" and implied that at that point, Harris' relationship troubles had begun, adding, "Soon it became clear that she needed our ears too."
July 26, 2023: The pair pose alongside each other at a World Cup watch party.
A month later and back in America, Bush and Harris were publicly seen together during a World Cup watch party.
In one photo from the evening, they smiled for cameras alongside Harris' teammate, Sydney Leroux.
August 4, 2023: Bush files for divorce from her husband after 13 months of marriage.
Seven weeks after marking her first anniversary with Grant Hughes on Instagram by calling their marriage the "best decision" of her life, Bush began proceedings for their legal separation, People reported.
Bush and Hughes, who told Vogue they met a decade ago on a New Year's trip to Nicaragua, tied the knot at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2022.
September 19, 2023: Harris files for divorce from former teammate Ali Krieger.
According to court documents obtained by Page Six, Harris submitted her petition stating that their union was "irretrievably broken." The news of their split wasn't reported until almost a month later, on October 11.
The pair, who met as USWNT teammates in 2010, share two adopted children: a daughter, Sloane, and a son, Ocean, according to People.
October 17, 2023: People reports that Bush and Harris are seeing each other.
In October 2023, People reported that Bush and Harris were dating, citing an anonymous source close to the couple.
"After being friends for years, and running in the same social circles, Sophia and Ashlyn went out on their first dinner date a couple of weeks ago," one anonymous source told People. "This is so recent, and they are both beginning new chapters."
At the time, representatives for Bush and Harris did not respond to People's request for comment.
The same anonymous source told People that Krieger and Harris' divorce "began months ago," and that they had been living separately.
October 19, 2023: Krieger insinuates that Harris was unfaithful by posting about being in her 'Beyoncé lemonade era'
In an October 2023 Instagram post, Krieger posted several photos with the caption, "Preparing for playoffs while in my Beyoncé lemonade era."
Fans have long speculated that Beyoncé's 2016 album references her husband, Jay Z, cheating on her. And some took Krieger's post as a potential allegation that Harris had cheated on her — presumably with Bush.
Bush, however, responded to the "home-wrecker" accusations in her Glamour cover story.
"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," Bush wrote. "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 (so that's not it, y'all, sorry!)."
November 18, 2023: Harris denies that she had been unfaithful in her marriage.
In an Instagram post, Harris addressed the end of her marriage to Krieger, denying that she had cheated on her. The post did not mention Bush. In it, Harris wrote that she and Krieger planned to keep the news of their separation private until the end of Krieger's season, before it became public.
"Let me be clear: I did not step out on my marriage," she wrote in the post. "I was always faithful in my marriage, if not always totally happy. 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 the separation and divorce steps outlined for us by our therapists, lawyers, and our shared agency."
December 7, 2023: Bush and Harris are seen together in Miami.
Gallery owner Michelle Tillou shared a photo from Art Basel Miami, posing alongside Harris and Bush and captioning the post "@artbasel selfies."
March 10, 2024: Bush and Harris are photographed together at Elton John's Oscars party.
The couple were seen together with actor Eric McCormack in a photo, marking their first time at a public event as a couple, People reported.
April 25, 2024: Bush discusses her relationship with Harris for the first time.
Bush's Glamour story marked the first time she publicly addressed her relationship with Harris.
"Falling in love with her has sutured some of my own childhood wounds, and made me so much closer to my own mother," Bush wrote. "Seeing Ashlyn choose to not simply survive, but thrive, for her babies has been the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed a friend do. And now I get to love her. How lucky am I?"
Bush also wrote that she felt the word "queer" best described her sexuality and reflected on her public coming out process.
"Would I like to make the public part of this journey a choice for myself, and not have it taken from my lips and set ablaze by gossip blogs and bottom-feeder online bots? Of course," she wrote.
"I'm very aware, though, as we discuss bullying and harassment and being outed without consent — that I'm incredibly lucky this happened in my adulthood," she continued. "I really love who I am, at this age and in this moment."
April 27, 2024: Bush and Harris make their red debut together
Two days after Bush talked about her relationship with Harris in Glamour, the couple made their red carpet debut at the White House correspondents' dinner in Washington, which was also attended by stars including Chris Pine, Scarlett Johansson, Billy Porter, and Rosario Dawson.
The couple coordinated their outfits for the event, with Bush in a strapless black dress and gold flowers, and Harris in a black suit with gold spikes.
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