Sophia Bush Publicly Comes Out as Queer For the First Time in Moving Personal Essay

At 41 years old, Sophia Bush is experiencing what she says is something of a "first birthday" all over again.

Bush has publicly come out as queer for the very first time in a moving personal essay for Glamour, writing that her public declaration has given her the ability to "finally feel like I can breathe."

"I don’t think I can explain how profound that is,” she wrote for the publication while simultaneously posing as their April 2024 cover star.

"I feel like I was wearing a weighted vest for who knows how long," she said. "I hadn’t realized how heavy it was until I finally just put it down. This might sound crazy—but I think other people in trauma recovery will get it—I am taking deep breaths again. I can feel my legs and feet. I can feel my feet in my shoes right now. It makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time."

In August 2023, Bush filed for divorce from her former husband and entrepreneur Grant Hughes after one year of marriage, People reported at the time.

After her divorce, Bush reportedly started dating Ashlyn Harris, a former soccer player, who recently filed from divorce from her former wife Ali Krieger in September 2023, again according to People who first broke the story.

“The idea that I left my marriage based on some hysterical rendezvous—that, to be crystal-clear, never happened—rather than having taken over a year to do the most soul crushing work of my life? … It feels brutal," Bush wrote, addressing accusations that her relationship with Harris was nefarious and the rumored affair ended their respective marriages.

“It took me 41 years to get here,” she continued, discussing her sexuality. “When I take stock of the last few years, I can tell you that I have never operated out of more integrity in my life. I hope that’s clear enough for everyone speculating out there, while being as gentle as I possibly can be.”

Bush described how she grew close to Harris in 2023, after they both helped each other navigate the end of their marriages.

As time went on she said she eventually asked Harris to go on a "non-friend-group-hang" that she described as one of "the most surreal experiences" of her life.

“Maybe it was all fated. Maybe it really is a version of invisible string theory. I don’t really know,” she continued. “But I do know that for a sparkly moment I felt like maybe the universe had been conspiring for me. And that feeling that I have in my bones is one I’ll hold on to no matter where things go from here.”