Sophia Bush: Brooke Davis, Breakups & Beginning Again

Episode of Call Her Daddy · October 21, 2026 · 1 h 26 min

Alex Cooper interviews Sophia Bush about her memoir, playing Brooke Davis on One Tree Hill, the cast's misconduct statement, her divorces, coming out, and marriage to Ashlyn Harris.

Summary

Alex Cooper hosted actress Sophia Bush on the occasion of her memoir's release. Bush described abandoning plans for medical school, studying journalism at USC, and leaving college at 21 to join One Tree Hill as Brooke Davis, a role she said was conceived as comic relief. She recounted pushing back against the increasing sexualization of the character, including a confrontation over being asked to appear topless in a hot tub scene, and said playing Brooke taught her to question double standards applied to bold women.

Bush detailed how the show's female cast members protected one another from the showrunner, whom she said deliberately sowed distrust among the women. She explained how, after the Me Too movement and a former writer's public account, she helped draft an anonymized collective statement signed by 18 women, at the suggestion of Daphne Zuniga. She also discussed her early marriage to co-star Chad Michael Murray, describing ignoring warnings from Hilarie Burton and her own instincts, and later becoming friends with some of the women he was involved with.

Bush reflected on her second marriage to Grant, which she said was built on a shared project rather than true compatibility, and on learning that her capacity for overwork masked personal unhappiness. She described her long friendship with soccer player Ashlyn Harris turning romantic, stated that both had filed for divorce and lived separately before their first date, and addressed the tabloid backlash. She closed by describing proposing to Harris and their small backyard wedding, saying she finally felt fully herself.

Chapters

Linked moment · 0:03Skip to 0:03 using a listen link in the info box.
0:03
Opening and Daddy Gang greeting
Cooper and Bush open the show together and discuss the evolving meaning of the show's name.
1:41
Writing the memoir
Bush describes the emotional roller coaster of writing and releasing her first book.
3:46
From pre-med to One Tree Hill
Bush recounts discovering acting, attending USC, and leaving college at 21 to join the One Tree Hill cast.
12:52
Brooke Davis and sexualization
Bush explains how Brooke was pitched, the push for more revealing scenes, and her confrontation with the showrunner.
26:30
Protecting each other and the collective statement
Bush describes how the women shielded new cast members and organized an anonymized statement about the showrunner's conduct.
37:38
Chad Michael Murray and self-trust
Bush discusses her relationship with Murray, Hilarie Burton's warning, and the showrunner's role in dividing the women.
49:04
Wedding day and intuition
Bush reflects on distinguishing nerves from intuition, dissociation, and a groomsman's revealing phone call.
56:12
Second marriage to Grant
Bush explains how she mistook a shared passion project for compatibility in her second marriage.
58:26
Ashlyn Harris: friendship to romance
Bush describes meeting Harris online in 2015, their friendship, and realizing her feelings during their divorces.
1:09:27
Going public and the overlap rumors
Bush addresses tabloid coverage, clarifies the timeline, and describes weathering public negativity.
1:15:08
Proposal and backyard wedding
Bush reveals she proposed to Harris and describes their intimate wedding and newfound sense of gratitude.
1:22:12
Closing reflections
Cooper and Bush discuss growth, the memoir, and their long-planned conversation.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Sophia Bush
Bush says playing Brooke led her to question why bold women are labeled derogatorily for behavior that earns men praise.
“Because if the boys act like this, they get high fives, but then she gets called something derogatory”
Listen from 14:15 · Brooke Davis
Sophia Bush
Bush recounts refusing a nude strapless bra meant to make her look topless in a hot tub scene.
“they gave me bathing suit bottoms, but a nude strapless bra. And I was like, no, I want a bathing suit top”
Listen from 18:25 · Sexualization of women in media
Sophia Bush
Bush says she defiantly challenged her boss over the increasingly revealing scenes written for her character.
“I literally said to my boss, I go, keep writing these scenes. I dare you”
Listen from 18:25 · Sexualization of women in media
Sophia Bush
Bush argues that men also suffer under patriarchy but do not face the harassment women must navigate daily.
“Men are clearly not happy either in a patriarchal system, but they don't have to deal with what we have to deal with”
Listen from 23:05 · Feminism
Sophia Bush
Bush alleges the showrunner deliberately tried to keep the female cast from trusting each other.
“our boss being so insidious as to really try to make sure the girls wouldn't feel safe to be friends with each other”
Listen from 24:14 · Sexual harassment on the One Tree Hill set
Alex Cooper
Cooper argues the showrunner used his power by turning the women against one another so they would not identify him as the problem.
“he's recognizing, oh, I easily can weaponize my power by making sure these women are all looking at each other”
Listen from 25:55 · Sexual harassment on the One Tree Hill set
Sophia Bush
Bush describes how senior cast members crashed the showrunner's dinners with new actresses so they would not be alone with him.
“we would act jealous so she wouldn't have to sit alone with him at a restaurant”
Listen from 26:53 · Sexual harassment on the One Tree Hill set
Sophia Bush
Bush recounts Daphne Zuniga's suggestion of an anonymized collective statement describing the misconduct.
“if we did a collective statement, we can anonymize who everything happened to, but we can be clear about what happened”
Listen from 30:25 · Sexual harassment on the One Tree Hill set
Sophia Bush
Bush says 18 women signed their letter, followed by a letter from 25 women on the showrunner's then-current show.
“there were 18 of us who signed our letter to see the response letter of 25 women from the show he was working on at that time”
Listen from 32:48 · Me Too movement
Sophia Bush
Bush contrasts her One Tree Hill experience with working for Shonda Rhimes, whom she praises highly.
“I've also been an actress on a Shonda Rhimes show. I would work for her until the day I die”
Listen from 32:48 · Fame
Sophia Bush
Bush says that as a young woman in her relationship with Murray she trusted others over her own judgment.
“I trusted every single other person in the room more than I trusted myself”
Listen from 38:48 · Infidelity
Sophia Bush
Bush says the women later learned the showrunner had been spreading stories about each of them to the others, which explained her rift with Hilarie Burton.
“years later, we all came to learn our boss was telling every woman on the show stuff about the other women”
Listen from 43:52 · Sexual harassment on the One Tree Hill set
Sophia Bush
Bush distinguishes ordinary marital difficulty from suffering.
“You hear people say, marriage is hard. But if hard is suffering, that's not the same thing”
Listen from 49:44 · Marriage and long-term partnership
Sophia Bush
Bush says she and her second husband mistook shared commitment to a project for compatibility as partners.
“I absolutely see how we mistook a a melding on something really important as meaning it was important that we were important”
Listen from 56:38 · Divorce
Sophia Bush
Bush denies any overlap between her relationship with Ashlyn Harris and their prior marriages.
“Two people who had filed for divorce and lived in separate residences from their exes went to dinner”
Listen from 1:10:31 · Infidelity
Sophia Bush
Bush says she proposed to Harris and they married in a small backyard ceremony.
“got married in the backyard, had dinner. And it was, it was the best, most perfect day ever”
Listen from 1:17:59 · Marriage and long-term partnership
Sophia Bush
Bush argues that the belief women are too old or undeserving to want more is a product of patriarchy.
“this idea that it's too late or you're too old or who are you to want more? That's patriarchy”
Listen from 1:22:28 · Feminism

People

In the conversation

Alex CooperAmerican podcaster and media entrepreneur, host of Call Her Daddy
Sophia BushAmerican actress, activist, and author, known for playing Brooke Davis on One Tree Hill

Discussed

Chad Michael MurrayAmerican actor, One Tree Hill co-star and Bush's first husband
Hilarie BurtonAmerican actress who played Peyton Sawyer on One Tree Hill
Ashlyn HarrisFormer U.S. women's national soccer team goalkeeper, Bush's wife
Grant HughesBush's second husband, referred to as Grant
Daphne ZunigaAmerican actress who played Brooke's mother on One Tree Hill
Shonda RhimesAmerican television producer behind Grey's Anatomy
Harvey WeinsteinFormer film producer convicted of sex crimes
Esther PerelBelgian-American psychotherapist and author of Mating in Captivity and The State of Affairs
Jeffrey NordlingAmerican actor who played Bush's father in an unaired ABC pilot

Topics

From the publisher

Join Alex in the studio for a conversation with Sophia Bush! Sophia opens up about her highly publicized relationships and her past struggles to trust herself within them. She looks back on One Tree Hill, the legacy of Brooke Davis and joining forces with her female castmates to speak out about the misconduct they faced behind the scenes. Plus, Sophia sets the record straight on her current relationship, clears up the timelines, and gets candid about coming out, finding love and finally feeling like herself. Enjoy!

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 31, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Society & Culture·Relationships·TV & Film