Ashlyn Harris is proud of her girlfriend, Sophia Bush, for publicly coming out as queer.
The former U.S. Women’s National Team goalkeeper shared her support for Bush, 41, via her Instagram account on Friday, April 26.
“Proud of you, babe,” Harris, 38, wrote over a picture of the Glamour cover story in which Bush spoke out about her sexuality.
Harris and the One Tree Hill alum started dating in fall of 2023, shortly after each filed for divorce from their respective spouses, Ali Krieger and Grant Hughes.
“Sophia and Ashlyn insist they were just friends, but by all accounts, it was instant chemistry,” a source told Us shortly after their first date. “They love being together. They love sports and want to do good in the world.”
They’ve been spotted together several times in the months since, including at an event at Art Basel in December and the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s annual Oscars viewing party in March.
Bush didn’t officially confirm the relationship until the Glamour story, published on Thursday, April 25.
“As I came into myself, I already felt it was my home. I think I’ve always known that my sexuality exists on a spectrum,” she said in the self-written story. “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.”
Coming out ultimately meant a sense of freedom for Bush, who said it took therapy and prodding from loved ones to be comfortable with reaching this point.
“I finally feel like I can breathe,” she said. “I don’t think I can explain how profound that is. I feel like I was wearing a weighted vest for who knows how long. I hadn’t realized how heavy it was until I finally just put it down.”
Harris, for her part, shares two children, daughter Sloane, 2, and son Ocean, 20 months, with Krieger, 39. As rumors about Harris’ new relationship have swirled, Bush said she’s been the target of “violent threats,” “blatant lies” and “accusations of being a home-wrecker,” which she says are simply untrue.
“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,” she wrote. “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? Rather than realizing I had to be the most vulnerable I’ve ever been, on a public stage, despite being terrified to my core? It feels brutal.”
