Sophia Bush says a painful chapter in her love life led to friendships worth keeping.
The "One Tree Hill" alum opened up about her ex-husband and former costar, Chad Michael Murray, on the Oct. 21 episode of Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy," revealing she has actually befriended a couple of women whom she says Murray cheated on her with.
Bush, 44, and Murray, 45, married in April 2005 and separated five months later. Their divorce was finalized in 2006.
During the podcast conversation, Bush discussed friendships she wrote about in her forthcoming memoir, "And I Will Tell You Mine: Notes from a Life in Progress."
"What I think is the most important thing to me – and I didn't talk about this in the book
– I wrote about some of the friendships I made with women who I think the world would probably think I would never speak to, that I really cherish," she said. "And frankly, when I look at the landscape, I'm like, 'badass, badass, badass, badass.' Like, in pretty decent company."
When Cooper asked whether she was referring to the women she believes Murray had cheated on her with, Bush replied that a friendship blossomed with "a couple" of the women. Bush did not identify the women in the exchange. She described them as tough and acknowledged how much everyone involved has changed.
"I know the adults we are are completely different people from who we were," she said.
She also joked about her ex-husband's taste in partners.
"You did have kind of great taste, bro. And, like, congrats. You crushed," Bush said of Murray. "Like, in a lineup, I'd take any one of us."
Cooper praised Bush for building friendships without blaming the women, to which the actress responded, "Because we have a lot in common, clearly. … It's like, what a weird blessing."
USA TODAY has reached out to Murray's reps for comment.
Sophia Bush recently revealed her marriage to Ashlyn Harris
Bush's comments come weeks after she revealed she and former soccer star Ashlyn Harris quietly married, despite previously denying engagement speculations.
In September, the couple told Vogue that they wed in upstate New York in summer 2025 and Harris' children – Sloane, 5, and Ocean, 4 – were in attendance for the special moment.
Bush has also faced infidelity rumors surrounding her relationship with Harris, which she has denied, saying their romance developed after both women had separated from their spouses.
Bush was previously married to entrepreneur Grant Hughes. The couple divorced in August 2023 after a year of marriage. Harris divorced her ex-wife, fellow soccer player Ali Krieger, in September 2023. The pair share two children.
Bush came out as queer in an April 2024 Glamour essay, describing how her friendship with Harris developed into a romance as they navigated the ends of their previous marriages. "I didn't expect to find love in this support system," Bush wrote.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sophia Bush shares 'weird blessing' from Chad Michael Murray's alleged cheating
