Apr 25
Congratulations, Sophia Bush: Comes Out As Queer, Dating Ashlyn Harris
Emell Adolphus READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Actor Sophia Bush has just officially come out as queer in an emotional Glamour magazine essay that perfectly captures the importance of LGBTQ+ visibility.
In the title of the essay, Bush declared: "I Finally Feel Like I Can Breathe."
Bush made it known that she sort of hates the "notion of having to come out in 2024," but she is "deeply aware that we are having this conversation in a year when we're seeing the most aggressive attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community in modern history."
Full stop.
With more than 500 anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in state legislatures last year, Bush said she wanted to "give the act of coming out the respect and honor it deserves."
Bush then went on to talk about sexuality journey, explaining that she has always known "that my sexuality exists on a spectrum."
"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," wrote Bush, who confirmed that she is in a relationship with retired U.S. Women's National Team soccer player Ashlyn Harris.
"I've 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," she wrote.
Delving into rumors surrounding her love life, Bush said "Everyone that matters to me knows what's true and what isn't." Yet "even still there's a part of me that's a ferocious defender, who wants to correct the record piece by piece," she explained.
The "One Tree Hill" star was married but filed for divorce from entrepreneur Grant Hughes in August. As news outlets began reporting that she was dating Harris, Bush wrote that family friends reached out to her mother with judgement. And that's when she knew she needed to go public.
"My mom felt that it was obvious, from the way her friend emphasized the word (gay), that she meant it judgmentally," Bush wrote. "And you know what my mom said? 'Oh honey, I think she's pretty gay. And she's happy.'"
And a weight has been lifted off of Bush ever since.
Bush wrote, explained, "I turned 41 last summer, amid all of this, and I heard the words I was saying to my best friend as they came out of my mouth. 'I feel like this is my first birthday,' I told her. This year was my very first birthday."
Congratulations, Sophia, and happy birthday!
