Sophia Bush ‘Wouldn’t Change a Thing’ After Coming Out as Queer

Sophia Bush is sharing how she feels in the wake of her Glamour essay.

In the candid April 2024 cover story, an essay penned by the One Tree Hill alum herself, Bush opened up about her marriage with ex-husband Grant Hughes, got real about her fertility journey and publicly came out as queer.

Now, two days after the piece was published online on April 25, Bush is giving fans a glimpse into her mental state.

On Instagram Stories, the star shared a post from businesswoman and activist Erin Gallagher, who said she was “proud of” Bush and echoed some the lessons she shared in her essay.

Alongside the star’s April Glamour cover, Gallagher wrote, “The moment you decide to stop living your life for others — that only the opinions of the safe, caring people who love you matter — everything becomes so simple and clear.”

In her response to the Gallagher’s praise, Bush revealed that she would not have done anything differently.

“Free and light and scared and trembling and wouldn’t change a thing,” the actress wrote.

Bush’s use of “free and light” evokes the moment in her essay after she comes out and shares how her loved ones responded to her sexuality and relationship with former women’s soccer player Ashlyn Harris.

“I finally feel like I can breathe,” the actress wrote. “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.”

She continued, “This might sound crazy — but I think other people in trauma recovery will get it — I am taking deep breaths again. I can feel my legs and feet. I can feel my feet in my shoes right now. It makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time.”

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This sense of weightlessness comes after Bush made headlines for filing for divorce from Hughes after a year of marriage in August 2023.

Two months later, PEOPLE broke the news that the actress had started seeing Harris, who filed for divorce from ex-wife and fellow soccer pro Ali Krieger in September 2023.

Elsewhere in her Glamour essay, Bush addressed the “home-wrecker” rumors and allegations she faced after her separation from Hughes.

“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,” Bush wrote.

“Just because I didn’t want to process my realizations in real time on social media and spell them out for the world doesn’t mean the journey wasn’t long and thoughtful and exhaustive,” she added.

Now on the other side of this journey, the star said she now has “real joy,” which she found by coming to terms with her sexuality. 

“It took me 41 years to get here,” she shared. “When I take stock of the last few years, I can tell you that I have never operated out of more integrity in my life. I hope that’s clear enough for everyone speculating out there, while being as gentle as I possibly can be.”