Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush’s short-lived romance made headlines in the early 2000s due to uncertain timelines and the actors having to continue working together on the hit drama “One Tree Hill.” Now, 20 years later, Bush and Murray are still recounting the disaster of a marriage that lasted less than a year, only to make it seem more problematic.
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The two initially met when they began filming “One Tree Hill” in 2003, Murray popped the question in 2004, and they married in 2005. Five months later, the couple announced that they had separated. They continued to work on the show together for years following the split. Cheating speculation, an attempted annulment, and exploitation: The nature of the whirlwind relationship was certainly enough to raise alarms and questions. Here are a few of the suspicious things that led to the early demise of Murray and Bush’s relationship.
Murray reportedly cheated on his ex-girlfriend with Bush
Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush’s relationship was messy from the start. Before his relationship with Bush, Murray was dating actress Erin Foster from 2001 until they called it quits in 2002, and Foster revealed the reason why on her podcast, “The World’s First Podcast.” “I mean, yeah. He definitely did cheat on me with her, in like, a pretty egregious way, while we were living together. Pretty cool,” she recalled. Though she doesn’t detail the nature of the affair, when the comments were brought up to Murray, he couldn’t confirm nor deny it.
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When E! News asked Murray about the claims, his response was pretty vague — telling, even. “It’s not one of those things that I want to go down the road of because there’s just never a winner,” he said, later adding, “Things have changed so dramatically for me since I was a young man that I just try to live in this space — always.” You know what they say: Once a cheater, always a cheater.
They admitted they were too young to get married
Chad Michael Murray was 24 when he married Sophia Bush, while she was 23. Both parties have deliberated on the fact that they got swept up in the whirlwind romance and were too young to make such a commitment. In a 2024 interview with The Cut, Murray explained what was going through his mind at the time. “I was a baby,” he explained, “I didn’t know up, down, left, right. You move out there and you go, ‘Well, what am I supposed to do now? Get married? That’s exciting!'”
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Bush felt a different kind of force pushing her toward marriage, as she disclosed to Andy Cohen on his radio show. “It was not a thing I actually really wanted to do,” she said. “Ladies have to learn how to take up space in the way that men are taught they are entitled to.” The actor then went on to detail that she was applauded for being a positive influence on Murray, and she didn’t want to let down those who worked with them.
Murray allegedly also cheated on Bush
Old habits die hard. Upon the announcement of their separation, there was speculation that Chad Michael Murray had also cheated on Sophia Bush. Supposedly, Murray hooked up with Paris Hilton while filming their horror movie “House of Wax.” Neither Murray nor Hilton has spoken on the rumors. However, Hilton’s boyfriend at the time, Nick Carter, had a few things to say.
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While appearing on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show back in 2006, Carter was asked if Murray and Bush were together when Murray had an affair with the fashion designer, which he confirmed. To make matters worse, the Backstreet Boy admitted that he hooked up with Ashlee Simpson as a way to get back at Hilton for being unfaithful. Even after the events transpired, Carter didn’t feel remorse — for Hilton, anyways. “Paris and her are two different people and Ashlee is a good person from what I know … and I’m not saying that Paris is a bad person, but I’m saying she’s got to work her problems out,” he said, as TMZ reported.
Bush tried to get the marriage annulled
Sophia Bush attempted to wipe any trace that she and Chad Michael Murray were ever married. She attempted to get an annulment early in 2006, citing fraud as the reason. Ultimately, her request was denied, and the two had to get a divorce in December of that year.
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Bush never specified why she attempted to file for annulment, but a source close to her disclosed the alleged reason to People. “Sophia went into the marriage believing in the sanctity of marriage, and Chad simply did not share that vision,” they said. Based on that alone, it’s pretty clear that Murray’s unfaithfulness was likely the straw that broke the camel’s back.
When they announced their separation, they both made statements that summed up how they felt about the situation. “This is a difficult and unfortunate situation, I am glad this is being resolved sooner rather than later,” Bush said. Murray, on the other hand, didn’t seem to express any relief about the decision. “I am saddened to announce that Sophia and I are separating,” he said. “This is a very difficult time for me.”
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One Tree Hill producers reportedly exploited the relationship and divorce
It’s always iconic when on-screen romances translate into the real world, but the “One Tree Hill” producers may have taken it too far. During a 2024 episode of the “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard” podcast, Sophia Bush detailed how the network “ran ads” about the split in an attempt to draw in viewers. “They made practice of taking advantage of people’s personal lives and not just for me and for my ex — for other actors on the show who would share, like as you do when you get close to people, deeply personal things that were happening in their lives and they would wind up in storylines,” she said.
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Having to continue to work in a professional setting with someone you were once married to is no easy feat. Once the divorce came, though, Bush didn’t have a moment to so much as let her guard down. “It was opportunistic and ugly and when you run a show, you’re like a parent,” she told Shepard. “You’re supposed to protect your flock and it was the opposite of that.” The actor also acknowledged that the situation was likely tough for Chad Michael Murray as well, calling the situation “ugly.”
