Sophia Bush Offers Update on Friendships With Hilarie Burton and Bethany Joy Lenz
Fans previously speculated there had been a falling out between the friends.
Sophia Bush is opening up about where things stand with former One Tree Hill stars Hilarie Burton Morgan and Bethany Joy Lenz amid ongoing fan speculation about a falling out.
The three reunited in 2021 to form a One Tree Hill rewatch podcast, Drama Queens. Several years of guest stars, touring, talking through the trauma of working on the show together, and working through old grudges came to a partial close in 2024, when Morgan left the podcast.
The timing coincided with when her character, Peyton Sawyer, departed from One Tree Hill. Morgan also stated that this was the reason she left the podcast. Still, by then there were already rumors of tension between her and Lenz, something the latter confirmed when she told Call Her Daddy‘s Alex Cooper that there had “been some bizarre misunderstandings that I really hope we can figure out one day.”
Bush and Morgan, on the other hand, had appeared particularly close post-One Tree Hill, and even after Morgan left Drama Queens. But earlier this year, fans noticed Morgan had unfollowed Bush on social media and began to speculate something had gone down.
The two refrained from commenting publicly on the status of their friendship until this week, when Bush spoke with People about where things stand.
“I mean, we’ve all known each other for, now longer than we were alive when we didn’t, and they’re some of the longest relationships of my life,” she said of both Morgan and Lenz. “One thing I really value is that no matter what anyone’s going through, we wait for each other.”
To Bush’s credit, these friendships do seem to cycle in and out and back again. Lenz previously spoke about her religion at the time making it difficult for her to be close with Bush during One Tree Hill. Bush echoed these sentiments in her recently released memoir, And I Will Tell You Mine: Notes from a Life in Progress.
Obviously, whatever tension may or may not currently exist within the group is a personal issue and not something any of the three are airing publicly. But in speaking with People, Bush remained firm in her belief that the core of their relationship remains strong.
“I think that’s really important when you have friction or ease, that no matter what, you’re there, whether it’s easy or hard. That’s something I really do appreciate about all of us,” she said. “We got a real gift in each other. But it’s not a TV episode gift, it’s a real-life gift, and that comes with real-life stuff. It’s a lot of love that I have and that I know we all do for a long time.”
