Actress Sophia Bush came out as gay in a moving essay in Glamor and confirmed she was in a relationship with retired U.S. women’s national team soccer player Ashlyn Harris.
“I kind of hate the idea of having to come out in 2024,” Bush wrote in a cover story for the fashion magazine published Thursday. “But I am acutely aware that we are having this conversation during a year where we are seeing the most aggressive attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community in modern history.”
Bush noted that more than 500 anti-LGBTQ bills were proposed in state legislatures last year and said that motivated her to “give the act of coming out respect and honor that he deserves.”
“I have experienced so much safety, respect and love within the queer community, as an ally, my whole life, that when I came into myself, I already felt like it ‘was my home,’ she wrote. “I think I always knew my sexuality existed on a spectrum. Right now, I think the word that best defines it is queer. In fact, I can’t say it without smiling. And it’s pretty awesome.
The “One Tree Hill” star filed for divorce from entrepreneur Grant Hughes in August. People magazine first reported in October that Bush and Harris were dating, but has neither confirmed nor commented on the report. The couple then attended an Oscars viewing party together in March.
In the essay, Bush addressed online rumors that his relationship with Harris began before Harris officially divorced fellow soccer star Ali Krieger in September.
“Everyone who matters to me knows what is true and what is not,” Bush wrote. “But there’s still a part of me that’s a fierce advocate, that wants to correct the record piece by piece. But my better self, with its earned patience, has to sit back and ask: what the f– —– point? For who? For the trolls on the Internet? No, thank you. I’ll spend my precious time doing things I love.
Bush said that after the news of her and Harris became public, her mother told her that a friend called him and said, “Well, that can’t be true.” I mean, your daughter isn’t gay.”
“My mother thought it was obvious, from the way her friend emphasized the word, that she meant it with judgment,” Bush wrote. “And you know what my mother said? “Oh honey, I think she’s kind of gay. And she’s happy.’”
Bush wrote that she felt like she was wearing a weighted vest that she could finally put down.
“I finally feel like I can breathe,” Bush wrote. “I turned 41 last summer, in the middle of all this, and I heard the words I said to my best friend as they came out of my mouth. “It feels like it’s my first birthday,” I told him. This year was my very first birthday.
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