Mischa Barton Admits to Dating 'The OC' Co-Star Ben McKenzie, Reveals Timeline of Their Relationship

Mischa Barton is opening up in a brand new interview!

After years of rumors, the now 38-year-old actress reveals that she did in fact date her co-star Ben McKenzie in real life, as well as on the show with their characters.

Mischa opened up about their relationship on Call Her Daddy, revealing more insight into when they dated and more.

Keep reading to find out more…

“It wasn’t just on-screen either,” Mischa admitted when asked about the age difference with her co-stars and dating on-screen. She was 17 during the first season, while her co-stars were in their 20s.

“I mean, it was kind of complicated for me,” she continued. “‘Cause like I said, I went into that like a virgin, like a kid, really feeling like I needed to grow up quickly to portray, you know, acting with people older than me was a bit like, ‘Oh wow, they know what they’re doing. There’s going to be relationships on this show and you’re going to need to play that part.’”

“I didn’t feel really ready for that. I was always a really late bloomer in school, and I hadn’t really dated. I just had no idea what I was doing really. So, I felt like I needed to catch up, I think, a lot of the time,” Mischa shared.

She then admitted that it was her first relationship and she “had no idea what I was doing.”

“I think that kind of set things off on the wrong foot too, because it was like, you know, people hook up on these shows and, whatever, and these things happen, but we threw ourselves all into it very fast,” she said. “Then when you break up and things don’t work, and they see you dating other people. Notoriously, there was a lot of inter-dating on that show and different people getting together.”

The actress shares that this took place at the start of the show in season one.

“It definitely was tricky that it happened right out of the gate,” Mischa continued. “I felt overwhelmed and not ready for any of that… I remember they were all like, ‘Mischa‘s disappeared with Ben,’ and she’s only 17 and a half, 18, and the producers went to my parents… It was kind of a whole ordeal. That’s in the very beginning of the show, before we’re even halfway through a season.”

Mischa also opened up about what it was like after they broke things off, noting that they just had to “suck it up and get on with it.”

“There was a lot of jabs behind the scenes and off camera, and kind of… I felt like that kind of ostracized me as well, because there was a difference in maturity level there… We got through it.”

Back in November, the book “Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History” was released, sharing one cast member everyone wanted to date, Emma Stone auditioning for a role, a character almost getting killed off in season one, and so much more. Find out some of the biggest bombshells here!

If you missed it, find out the other actresses who auditioned for Mischa‘s role of Marissa…