Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody: Looking Back at ‘The O.C.’ Stars’ Relationship
Rachel Bilson is sorry for breaking your heart. Earlier this week, the 38-year-old actress apologized to fans of The O.C. who still aren’t over her breakup with co-star Adam Brody.
Bilson and Brody, 40, played on-screen couple Summer Roberts and Seth Cohen on the Fox show, which ran from 2003 to 2007. The TV romance eventually transferred over to real-life, and the pair dated for three years before ending things in 2006.
Rachel Bilson on ex Adam Brody: ‘He fared really well!’
Bilson’s belated apology came after InStyle magazine’s official Instagram account shared a throwback photo of Bilson and Roberts along with the comment “#rachelbilson and #adambrody’s breakup basically ruined high school for us.”
“I’M SORRY!!!!” Bilson commented on the March 24 post. “He fared really well!”
After his relationship with Bilson ended, Brody went on to find love with the star of another teen drama: Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester. The two married in 2014 and have a daughter named Arlo. Bilson was in a long-term relationship with actor Hayden Christensen, with whom she has a daughter. They separated in 2017 and she is now dating SNL alum Bill Hader.
Bilson and Brody started dating in 2003
Bilson and Brody made TV viewers swoon as Seth and Summer. In the show, awkward nerd Seth has had a long-standing crush on cool girl Summer, but she won’t give him the time of day. But eventually, they get together. After some ups and downs, the end up getting married in the series finale.
While Summer and Seth were falling in love on-screen, Bilson and Brody were having a real-life romance of their own. They started dating in 2003 after meeting on set and were together until 2006, thrilling fans of the soapy series.
The couple kept a low-profile when they were dating, but Bilson did share some details about their relationship with Teen People. “We always have a lot to talk about, and we tell each other everything,” she said in April 2006. “I feel like I have everything now – the dog, the house, the job and him. I can’t ask for anything more!”
They eventually grew apart
Bilson and Brody split in late 2006. There was no major drama surrounding the breakup. Instead, they just realized it was time to move on.
“It was a typical romance and they just grew apart,” a source told People at the time. “They’ve been on and off for awhile now.”
While the relationship didn’t work out, there are apparently no hard feelings between the two. In August 2019, Bilson and Brody ran into each other at the airport, where they snapped a selfie that she shared on Instagram.
“Ran into my ol buddy from jfk to lax,” she wrote before adding the hashtag #californiaherewecome, a reference to The O.C.’s theme song “California” by Phantom Planet.
Read more: Rachel Bilson Addresses Those Cute Comments She and Nick Viall Left on Each Other’s Photos
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