Sophia Bush, 41, announces she is queer and in love with Ashlyn Harris as she shares her former partners have always known she was into women: 'I can finally breathe now!'

Sophia Bush has broken her silence on her much-talked about love life as she wrote an essay in her own words for Glamour magazine.

The 41-year-old star, who was not wearing a shirt for the cover, broke her silence on what is going on with her close relationship with athlete Ashlyn Harris, 38, after her 2023 divorce from Grant Hughes, whom she wed in 2022.

Bush revealed in her own words that she now identifies as queer: 'I feel like I can finally breathe,' she said.

And the Chicago PD actress admitted that she is indeed 'in love' with Harris whom she became friends with in 2019 then started a romantic relationship with in October 2023 after her marriage with Grant fell apart and Ashlyn left her wife. 

'I didn't expect to find love in this support system,' began the star who noted that her bond with Harris was rare and beautiful. 'I don't know how else to say it other than: I didn't see it until I saw it.'

Also in her interview the One Tree Hill star noted that she had told her previous partners that she was attracted to women. In addition to Hughes, she was also married to Chad Michael Murray from 2005 until 2006.

Sophia Bush has broken her silence on her much-talked about love life as she wrote an essay in her own words for Glamour. The star broke her silence on what is going on with her close relationship with athlete Ashlyn Harris after her 2023 divorce from Grant Hughes whom she wed in 2022

Bush revealed in her own words that she now identifies as queer: 'I feel like I can finally breathe,' she said. And the beauty admitted that she is indeed 'in love' with Harris. 'I didn't expect to find love in this support system,' began the star

Bush with Harris in July. She said they began friends in 2019 then grew closer when they both became single

And Bush also detailed her fertility struggle with Hughes which she shared was 'heartbreaking.'

As far as falling for Ashlyn, who is a former soccer player, she said it was a new frontier.

'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,' she shared.

'What I saw was a friend with her big, happy life. And now I know she thought the same thing about me,' said the star.

Bush added that the road to her romantic relationship with Harris was long after they met in 2019 and spent years becoming friends: 'People looking in from the outside weren't privy to just how much time it took, how many painful conversations were had,' said Sophia.

'A lot of effort was made to be graceful with other people's processing, their time and obligations, and their feelings.'

Harris has two children with her estranged wife Ali Krieger, whom she split from last year. 

Bush then added that the rumors about her seeing a woman shocked her.

She then said there were many 'blatant lies and violent threats' toward her because she was with Harris

'There were the accusations of being a home-wrecker,' she said.

'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!),' she said, making it very clear she was open with her former partners that she liked women.

Now she feels very comfortable in the queer community as she has experienced so much 'safety, respect, and love in the queer community, as an ally all of my life, that, as I came into myself, I already felt it was my home.'

With her ex Grant Hughes in 2022 in Washington, DC

In this image, Harris is seen putting her arm around Bush; in her Glamour essay Sophia said she admired how great of a mother her new partner is

'I don't know how else to say it other than: I didn't see it until I saw it.' Also in her interview she noted that she had told her previous partners that she was attracted to women. In addition to Hughes, she was also married to Chad Michael Murray from 2005 until 2006

'There were the accusations of being a home-wrecker,' she said. '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!),' she said, making it very clear she was open with her former partners that she liked women'

Sophia asserted that her sexuality 'exists on a spectrum.'

And she concluded: 'Right now I think the word that best defines it is queer. I can't say it without smiling, actually. And that feels pretty great.'

In an accompanying Glamour podcast, Sophia dished: 'I feel like I've been wearing an 80-pound weighted vest for probably a decade, and I finally just f**king put it down...

'For the first time in my life I know what ease is, I am the most excited about the future that I have ever been and I don't feel like I owe anything to anyone.

'I have never been more in integrity in my life... All I am making space for is joy and I would've loved for a lot of things to have happened a little differently but at the end of the day, I have nothing to apologize for.'

She concluded: 'The bonus of this whole journey is that I spend every day around a person that being close to is like getting shone on by the sun.'

Elsewhere in the essay, Sophia, who was photographed by Lauren Dukoff, confessed that two months before tying the knot with Hughes she came 'close' to calling of the wedding, but admitted: 'Instead of running away, I doubled down on being a model wife.'

And when her one-year wedding anniversary rolled around she felt sick because she knew she was not happy and the union was not good for her.

Revealing what sparked the demise of the split, she continued: 'But after the wedding I found myself in the depths and heartbreak of the fertility process, which was the most clarifying experience of my life.'

The star detailed enduring endless ultrasounds, hormone shots, blood draws that left scar tissue in her veins and retrievals, 'while simultaneously realizing the person I had chosen to be my partner didn’t necessarily speak the same emotional language I did.'

Before tying the knot with Hughes she had previously been married to her One Tree Hill co-star Murray.

The couple said 'I do' in Santa Monica before celebrating at Hotel Casa del Mar with their friends and family.

But the co-stars shocked fans when they split just five months later.

In addition to Hughes, she was also married to Chad Michael Murray from 2005 until 2006

It was rumored at the time that Murray had stepped out on their marriage with none other than his House of Wax co-star Paris Hilton

Bush attempted to get the marriage annulled on her grounds of fraud, but her efforts were unsuccessful, and the divorce was ultimately finalized in 2006.

'This is a difficult and unfortunate situation. I am glad this is being resolved sooner rather than later,' she said in a statement shared with People at the time of the finalization.

Recounting their relationship in 2014, she said on Watch What Happens Live: 'We were two stupid kids who had no business being in a relationship in the first place.'

'To all the other costars who've worked it out, more power to you.'

Late last year, Sophia appeared to hit out at her ex-husband hours after he sidestepped allegations he allegedly cheated on Erin Foster with her back in 2002.

The actress took to Instagram in November to share a meme featuring a cake iced with the message: 'Congrats on leaving that toxic relationship!'

The early aughts scandal resurfaced in October when Foster confirmed on The World's First Podcast: 'I mean, yeah. [Chad] definitely did cheat on me with [Bush] in a pretty egregious way while we were living together.'

The daughter of legendary musician David Foster added: 'While we were living together. Pretty cool.'

Harris was in a relationship with former USWNT teammate Ali Krieger from 2010 to 2023.

In March 2019, they announced their engagement then they wed in December 2019. 

In February 2021, the couple announced the adoption of their daughter, born two days earlier, and in August 2022, they announced the adoption of their son. 

In September 2023 Harris filed for divorce in Florida.