Mischa Barton admits to ‘complicated’ romance with ‘The OC’ co-star Ben McKenzie

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Mischa Barton confirmed that she and her The OC co-star Ben McKenzie had a “complicated” off-screen romance. 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.” At the time, Barton said that she felt that she had “no idea what I was doing.” She noted that she tried to compensate for being the youngest, “So I felt like I needed to catch up I think a lot of the time.” With her experiencing a lot of her “firsts” and her mom being on set, things were “tricky” between her and her co-stars, including Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody. She said it was like “seven years,” explaining that the experience was “crammed into this tiny little space” and starting a show by dating her costar made things worse. In a 2021 essay for Harper’s Bazaar UK, Barton got candid about how she felt like she was “pressured” to lose her virginity while she was on the show because she felt “like a fraud” being a virgin playing wealthy party girl Marissa, whom Barton described as “fast and loose.”