Ashlyn Harris is making her feelings for girlfriend Sophia Bush clear on a special birthday.
“There are people who walk into your life and change it. And then there are the rare ones who quietly change the way you see the world,” Harris, 40, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, July 8. “You’re that for me.”
The soccer player praised Bush, 44, for loving with intention, leading with empathy and fighting for people who need someone in their corner.
“You make everyone around you feel a little braver, a little safer, a little more themselves,” she shared. “That’s your superpower.”
Harris continued, “This past year has reminded me that the best relationships aren’t built on grand gestures. They’re built in the ordinary moments. The coffee in the kitchen. Slow dancing our way through the house. Telling you I missed you when I wake up in the morning. The long conversations after everyone else is asleep. The laughter that catches you off guard. The choosing of each other, over and over again.”
Bush and Harris started dating in the fall of 2023 after both going through divorces. (The One Tree Hill star was married to Grant Hughes from 2022 to 2023 while the athlete was married to ex Ali Krieger from 2019 to 2023.) Since then, the pair have documented their love story on social media as they traveled the world and experienced a second chance at love.
Ashlyn Harris and Sophia Bush Courtesy of Ashlyn Harris/Instagram
“Thank you for loving our family so fiercely,” Harris — who shares two kids with Krieger, 41 — said. “Thank you for loving me in all of my seasons… the messy ones, the joyful ones, the uncertain ones and the beautiful ones. You’ve never asked me to be anyone other than exactly who I am, and that’s one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever been given.”
In her carousel of photos, Harris included just a few of the special memories she has made with Bush in recent months. The actress later commented, “My heart. Every birthday with you has been the best birthday 🚀.”
As a new year begins for Bush, Harris hopes the next 12 months surprise her girlfriend in “all the best ways.”
“I hope it stretches you, fills you up and gives back to you the same light you’ve spent your life pouring into everyone else,” she wrote. “You are my home, my peace, my biggest challenge in all the right ways, and one of the greatest loves of my life. Happy Birthday, Soph. I love you dearly sweetmeat 🤭😝 .”
Fans of Bush received a surprise of their own when Disney announced a brand-new music-driven film called The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen. Raven-Symoné and Adrienne Bailon-Houghton will join Bush as she takes on a supporting role as Jennifré.
The film is expected to begin shooting in South Africa later this month.
