The Erin Foster And Chad Michael Murray Cheating Scandal Explained

Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush's marriage may have been short, but the drama surrounding their relationship has been long-lived. The "One Tree Hill" co-stars tied the knot in April 2005, but split in February 2006. At the time, Bush pushed to have the whole ordeal annulled on the basis of fraud. Their split was later finalized as a divorce, but rumors of infidelity swirled around their romance.

Before Bush, Murray dated actor Erin Foster from 2001 to 2002. On October 19, "The O.C." alum dropped a bombshell on her podcast alongside her sister, Sara Foster. According to Erin, Murray was not single when he started dating Bush. "I mean yeah. He definitely did cheat on me with her in, like, a pretty egregious way while we were living together," Erin claimed while speaking to her sister on their "The World's First Podcast" (via People). Erin mentioned that the scandal was covered by the gossip blog DeuxMoi. "By the way, though, DeuxMoi's not — they don't lie. I mean, and that is what happened," her sister Sara added. "I've moved on, though. I'm over it now. I mean, just barely over it," Erin said, referring to being cheated on. 

Those claims of infidelity sparked a heated response from Hilarie Burton, who worked on "One Tree Hill" with Murray and Bush for the length of their relationship. 

Hilarie Burton did not take kindly to hearing Erin Foster's claims that Chad Michael Murray had cheated on her with Sophia Bush. The "One Tree Hill" alum blasted Foster in a lengthy post on her Instagram Stories. "Ooof. Cringe ... As the person who had a front row seat then? This wasn't it," Burton wrote, while going so far as to tag Foster in the reply (via Page Six). "We were all told you'd broken up which is why our guy was [pursuing] her," Burton added. "Now this is being spun to make my sister look like a brazen harlot," Burton wrote, while passionately defending her friend. 

Foster's claims are not the first instance of Murray being accused of infidelity. Shortly after the former couple split in 2006, Nick Carter called into Ryan Seacrest's radio show and claimed that Paris Hilton had cheated on him with Murray. Carter said it occurred while Murray and Bush were still together.

Although Murray never outright admitted the claims were true, in a 2011 interview, he was asked about cheating rumors and his rocky departure from "One Tree Hill." "I'm human and screw up," he told E!. A few years later, Bush had unkind words when looking back on their marriage. "We were two stupid kids who had no business being in a relationship in the first place," she said on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2014 (via E!). But that was not the last time Bush spoke on the failed marriage.

Years later, Sophia Bush had more venting to do about her marriage to Chad Michael Murray. In 2018, the actor claimed she only walked down the aisle to appease the brass at "One Tree Hill." "It was not a thing I actually really wanted to do, but you know, it's cool," she said, calling into Andy Cohen's SiriusXM show at the time (via Us Weekly). Those claims prompted a response from Murray's reps. "This story is ludicrous. Chad conducts himself in a completely professional manner and would never marry for any reason but love," they told Us Weekly.

Following the years of public drama from the fallout of his marriage to Bush, Murray kept his next nuptials low-key. He married Sarah Roemer in 2014, and tried to stay out of the spotlight. "I tend to keep everything quiet. I love my life. That's the part I keep for myself," he told E! in 2015.

Bush waited until 2022 to walk the aisle again when she wed Grant Hughes. Unfortunately, this was another short-lived marriage for Bush, as she filed for divorce only two weeks after their one-year wedding anniversary. Meanwhile, the woman who dated Murray before Bush, Erin Foster, married businessman Simon Tikhman in 2019. Foster did, however, find herself in hot water in 2020 when she joked about tying the knot just in time before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.