Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris are finding love. News broke Tuesday that the actress and soccer star are dating. Both women are off the heels of their respective divorces, with Harris filing for divorce from soccer player Ali Krieger on September 19, after 4 years of marriage, and Bush filing for divorce from her second husband Grant Hughes on August 4 after 13 months of marriage. Bush was previously married to Chad Michael Murray from 2005–2006.
Insiders have been sharing details about their romance with different outlets. According to Page Six, things got romantic after they appeared together on a panel in the South of France at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in June. They were later photographed together at a La Copa Mundial Femenina watch party in July. “It’s very new” but they’re “definitely a couple,” an insider said. According to PEOPLE, they had their first date a “few weeks ago.”
Sources told Page Six they went on a “cozy” double date with Stacy London and her girlfriend, Cat Yezbak, at Chelsea Handler’s show at the Beacon Theater in NYC on September 29. They explained that “Ashlyn snuck into the theater wearing a mask“ to join them. It’s unclear if the double date was their first date.
So who is the woman who stole Bush’s heart?
Personal life
Harris was born on October 19, 1985, in Satellite Beach, Florida, and has an older brother named Chris, whom she was very active with, skateboarding and surfing.
Known for her incredible fashion she played club soccer with the boy’s team until the age of 14 and had incredible success in high school. She helped her high school team win state championship titles her sophomore and junior years in 2002 and 2003 and was named the nation’s number one recruit by Soccer America after her senior year.
Harris has been very open about her struggles with depression, and addiction as a youth and young adult. She has been an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and was a voice for the sexism faced by female athletes and inequality.
She previously found love with her fellow professional soccer player, Krieger. The couple began dating in 2010, were engaged in March 2019, and celebrated their marriage on December 28, 2019, in Miami. Megan Rapinoe, who played a pivotal role in their coming out, was Harris’s maid of honor.
On February 14, 2021, the couple revealed the adoption of their daughter, Sloane Phillips Krieger-Harris, who was born just two days prior. The following year on August 16, 2022, they shared the sweet news that they adopted a son named Ocean Maeve Krieger-Harris. On September 19, 2023, Harris filed for divorce in Seminole County, Florida.
Professional career
Harris played as a goalkeeper and played professionally since 2010, after graduating and playing for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. She played for the Women’s Profesional Soccer League until it was suspended in 2012 following legal and financial challenges.
After a brief season with FCR 2001 Duisburg, in 2012, she joined the newly formed National Women’s Soccer League in 2013, playing for the Washington Spirit. She went on to play for the Orlando Pride from 2016-2021, finishing her career with NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2022.
She retired at the end of 2022, after 12 professional seasons, and is the first NWSL player to reach 500 saves and is a two-time World Cup winner.