Ashlyn Harris has reacted to her girlfriend Sophia Bush coming out as queer.
The 41-year-old actress, who was best known for her role as Brooke Davis on One Tree Hill, made headlines after releasing her candid essay with Glamour magazine.
In the emotional article written for the outlet's cover story, the star delved into the trials and tribulations of navigating one's identity and how that came to influence aspects of her life.
She started by penning how she was close to calling off her wedding with Grant Hughes, whom she had been married to for only one year. "Instead of running away, I doubled down on being a model wife," she wrote.
The actress wrote that things seemingly took a turn after her then-husband decided to dedicate an anniversary post to her on social media.
"When I saw it, I felt the blood drain from my face," she revealed. "Fans and friends were telling me how exciting this milestone was and how happy I looked. I felt nothing."
Despite feeling overwhelmed and battling with marital difficulties at home, Bush said that she felt pressured to follow through with her commitment.
"I felt mounting pressure from strangers online waiting for me to post something - what a strange part of public life to have to navigate - so I sat myself down and chose a picture," she said, adding that after writing a "nice story," she published the post and then went to throw up.
Shortly after, the Chicago P.D. star went on a journey of self-discovery, acknowledging a group of women who were also opening up about their home lives, including her now-partner soccer star, Ashlyn Harris.
“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,” she said.
“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," she continued. "And now I know she thought the same thing about me."
Although the pair were falling in love, Bush said it “turned ugly” as they faced allegations of infidelity because Harris was previously married to fellow soccer star Ali Krieger.
“There were blatant lies. Violent threats. There were the accusations of being a home wrecker," she recalled. "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!).”
Despite people’s opinions online, Bush shared that the situation left her even more “in awe” of Harris’ “relentless integrity” and devotion to her children - Sloane, three, and Ocean, one.
She then went on to state that she was totally over trying to defend herself; she was queer and people were just going to have to accept that.
“Falling in love with her has sutured some of my own childhood wounds, and made me so much closer to my own mother," she concluded. "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?”
The 38-year-old soccer star spoke out after her beau released her moving self-written essay
She reposted a picture of Bush on the front of the magazine to her Instagram Story, and applauded her in the caption, writing: “Proud of you babe.”
The actress also expressed gratitude to her fans and followers for the support she received, penning: "Ever-evolving + still weird. Thank you for the kindness, vulnerability, and the stories and journeys of your own so many of you have shared."
"Courage is contagious. here’s to a life in progress," she added.
We are so happy for Bush!
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