Mischa Barton reveals she had an offscreen romance with Ben McKenzie during The O.C.
- Mischa Barton and Ben McKenzie had secretly dated while filming The O.C.
- Mischa’s first real-life boyfriend was Ben McKenzie.
Mischa Barton’s first Love was Ben McKenzie
Mischa Barton and Ben McKenzie dated while filming The O.C.
Their relationship remained private until Barton revealed it on Alex Cooper‘s Call Her Daddy podcast in February 2024.
The actress, 25, disclosed she and Ben had a real-life affair while playing an on-screen couple. She was just 17 when she made her debut as Marissa Cooper on the hit Fox series, the youngest cast member.
Similarly, Ben was 25 at that time. He portrayed her romantic interest, Ryan Atwood. Mischa recalled the early days of her shooting on the podcast and said,
Also read Mischa Barton regrets that bisexual nature of her character in The O.C. was not explored enough!
“It was kind of complicated for me, I went into that a virgin, a kid, really feeling like I needed to grow up quickly. Acting with people older than me was a bit like, Oh wow. They know what they’re doing. And there’s gonna be relationships on this show and you’re gonna need to play that part, and I didn’t feel really ready for that ‘cause I was always a really late bloomer in school and I hadn’t really dated.”
The actress acknowledged that she felt lost and unsure during her time on the show due to the age gap between her and her co-stars.
She mentioned that she frequently felt as though she “needed to catch up” with them.
Mischa also shared that the age difference between her and her co-stars, particularly with Ben made filming the series “a bit tricky for everyone.”
She explained that it was a lot of “firsts” for her, which set her apart from the other cast members since she wasn’t living on her own in L.A. yet.
Mischa Barton and Ben McKenzie began dating at the start of filming
Mischa recognized that they started dating very early in the series, which “set things off on the wrong foot” between them. She added,
“Because it was like – you know people hook up on these shows and whatever, these things happen, but it was – we threw ourselves all into it very fast.”
“It definitely was tricky that it happened like right out of the gate and that I felt overwhelmed and not ready for any of that, I remember they were like, ‘Mischa’s disappeared with Ben and she’s only 17 and a half, 18,’”
At one point, the show’s producers went to her parents to talk about her relationship with McKenzie. She said,
“It was kind of a whole ordeal. That’s in the very beginning of the show before we’re even like, halfway through a season, so there was a lot going on there, That show, it just… so much happened in three seasons, it really feels like it was over the course of seven years or something, but it wasn’t. It was all crammed into this tiny little space.”
Barton revealed that she was the one who ended her relationship with Ben because it was too intense and personal.
Although their real romance remained hidden, she admitted that Ryan and Marissa had a strong on-screen chemistry. Their undeniable chemistry was highlighted by their iconic first kiss on a Ferris wheel in the first season.
