Sophia Bush Says Ashlyn Harris Thought She Was “Straight”
Sophia Bush recently shared the charming story of how her relationship with Ashlyn Harris began and how asking out the former USWNT player dug out the unexpected. In the latest episode of her Work in Progress podcast, Sophia, 42, opened up about asking Ashlyn, 38, out for the first time in October 2023.
“Our friends were trying to set her up with someone,” Sophia recounted during her conversation with guest Nico Tortorella, adding, “and I was like, ‘If she’s ready to date, she’s going on a date with me.’ Like, sorry. Uh-uh. No way.”
The actress recalled Ashlyn’s surprise, saying, “Yeah. Like, no fu—-g way. And people were, like, ‘Wait, what?’ And she even said to me, ‘Hold the phone. I always thought you were straight?!’ And I was like, ‘I always thought you were happy. But, like, we’re both single. What are we doing?'”
Sophia filed for divorce from entrepreneur Grant Hughes after 13 months of marriage in August 2023, and Ashlyn filed for divorce from ex-wife and fellow soccer pro Ali Krieger in September 2023. In April, Sophia publicly came out as queer in an essay for Glamour.
Reflecting on their first date, Sophia said they both found it amusing, neither having considered the other as a potential partner.
Sophia also shared insights from her coming-out experience, revealing how even close friends had made assumptions about her sexuality. “Even a lot of the queer women in my life were, like, ‘Oh, we knew you were, like, an ally and we maybe wondered when we saw this TV show or this movie you’ve done or whatever: ‘that doesn’t really look like acting.’ But, like, we didn’t really know.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, we all do it. Like, even in our friend groups, we make assumption,'” she stated.
In the podcast, Sophia explained why she decided to clarify her sexuality. “People will really take your self-discovery from you,” she said.
“What made me make the decision was knowing that we’ve gotten into a post-fact vacuum. So I was like, ‘What I’m gonna do is just sit and wait, but eventually what I’m gonna do is clarify very firmly but gently what’s real, cause it matters to me,'” she stated further.
