‘How lucky am I?’ What Sophia Bush said about dating Ashlyn Harris – and their complete relationship timeline, from separating from their former partners, to the football star’s ex’s ‘Lemonade era’
Sophia Bush has opened up about her relationship with Ashlyn Harris for the first time, six months after they were first romantically linked.
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.
Here’s everything we know about Bush’s new partner and their relationship.
Ashlyn Harris is a former professional football player
Ashlyn Michele Harris is a former member of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team. Born in 1985, the 38-year-old was an integral part of the championship-winning team that triumphed at both the 2015 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Canada and the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup in France.
August 4, 2019: Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris are snapped together for the first time
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.
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, 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 2023: reports emerge that Bush and Harris are dating
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
In an October 2023 Instagram post, Krieger posted several photos with the caption, “Preparing for playoffs while in my Beyoncé lemonade era.”
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.”
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.
- Harris was previously married to Ali Krieger, with whom she has 2 children; Krieger previously suggested that Harris cheated on her by referring to Beyoncé’s Lemonade album
- One Tree Hill star Bush was married to Chad Michael Murray and Grant Hughes before being linked with the former football star; Bush just wrote a piece for Glamour about being queer and falling in love