Rachel Bilson And Adam Brody's Past Relationship Timeline

Sometimes, life imitates art. And few know that better than actors Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody. The two played love interests Summer Roberts and Seth Cohen on the beloved teen drama "The O.C.," which aired on Fox from 2003 to 2007. Shortly after they started working together, Bilson and Brody began dating in real life, no doubt delighting those who loved their on-screen chemistry.

However, life also imitated art in that Bilson and Brody's relationship only lasted about as long as "The O.C." did. Since then, both performers have moved on to new projects, new relationships, and new journeys. Still, their brief time as a couple will always live on in the hearts and minds of those fans who couldn't get enough of Summer and Seth's romance back in the day. This begs the question: how exactly did it all go down — and where do Bilson and Brody stand nearly two decades after calling it quits?

In the 2023 book "Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History," Rachel Bilson revealed that she actually met Adam Brody shortly before they started working on the show — when he was dating one of her friends. Bilson confessed that, at the time, she thought Brody was "cute and funny," but also "kind of a d***."

Bilson changed her tune after she and Brody shared their first on-screen kiss while filming "The O.C." Season 1 in 2003. "I remember after shooting the scene where I kiss him, like, I remember thinking, 'Do I like Adam?'" she revealed on an episode of her podcast "Welcome to the OC, B****es!" in 2021. "And I remember thinking after work, because I feel like it was the last scene I shot that day, being, like, 'Wait, do I like Adam?' That's when those wheels started turning." The rest, as they say, is history.

Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody took some pretty major steps as a couple during their three years together. They moved in together and even adopted a dog, which they named Penny Lane. This name was, of course, taken from a famous street in Liverpool, England — the spirit of which was immortalized by the Beatles in their 1967 song "Penny Lane." Interestingly, neither Bilson nor Brody have publicly claimed to be huge Beatles fans. That said, Brody seems to at least respect the band. "I'm not a Beatles-phile at all, but I can definitely appreciate their greatness," he told NME in 2021.

At any rate, Bilson spoke highly of her relationship with Brody in an April 2006 interview with Teen People. "We always have a lot to talk about, and we tell each other everything," she said at the time (via People). "I feel like I have everything now — the dog, the house, the job, and him. I can't ask for anything more!" However, their romance would not survive the rest of the year, with People breaking the news in December 2006 that the two had broken up.

When Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody separated in late 2006, "The O.C." had just premiered its fourth and final season — but the last bit of filming was still going on. To make matters even more awkward, Bilson and Brody's characters actually got married in Season 4 after their real-life split. But, by all accounts, the two were total pros about it. "We broke up at the very end, so there wasn't much [left to film] after the breakup," Bilson said on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast in 2021. "We did get married after we broke up. ... They totally did that on purpose. That was the only scene left to shoot was the wedding. They're like, 'You broke up? Let's give you a wedding.'"

While Bilson and Brody never gave a specific reason for their split, an anonymous source speaking to People at the time claimed they had simply drifted apart. Brody also admitted in "Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History" that he was pretty disinterested in the show by the final season — something he now regrets. For her part, Bilson confessed that it was difficult to be supportive of Brody during that time. However, she also acknowledges how young they were and how far they've both come since then. "You grow up, you look back, and you can realize when you're young, you might behave in certain ways you wish you hadn't," Bilson said.

As it turns out, Rachel Bilson's three-year romance with Brody wouldn't be the last time she dated someone she had played love interests with on screen. In 2007, shortly after the "O.C." stars called it quits, Bilson began seeing "Star Wars" alum Hayden Christensen. Bilson and Christensen had met on the set of the action film "Jumper," which was released in February 2008. The pair got engaged in December 2008, though a rep for Bilson later confirmed to People that the actors had decided to call off their engagement in August 2010. Bilson and Christensen managed to patch things up around November 2010, and they welcomed their daughter into the world in October 2014. Us Weekly confirmed that the couple had split again in September 2017. Bilson and Christensen continue to co-parent their daughter.

Meanwhile, Adam Brody had a number of brief flings after he and Bilson ended things — though he eventually settled down with fellow actor Leighton Meester. Brody and Meester met in 2010 — on the set of the 2011 romantic comedy-drama "The Oranges" — but didn't start dating until 2013. The pair got engaged later that same year and tied the knot at a private ceremony in February 2014. The pair had a daughter in August 2015 and a son in October 2020.

Given how good-spirited Rachel Bilson was both during and after her relationship with Adam Brody, it should come as no surprise that the two are still on good terms. On the aforementioned Dax Shepard podcast in 2021, Bilson even congratulated Brody on the family life he eventually carved out for himself. "I had so much, and still do, love and respect for Adam," she said. "We went through so much together, being so young and everything with the show. And I'm so happy for him with his family, and his beautiful wife, and kids and everything."

Brody even made a guest appearance on Bilson's "Welcome to the OC, B****es!" podcast in 2021, and the two reminisced about old times — including some of their earliest encounters. "It was my pleasure, and it was such a joy," Brody said. "In the pilot, you made it your own instantly, and everyone fell in love with you. I felt like we were sparring so well together, so fast."

During that chat, Bilson also credited Brody with making her the actor she is today. "You made it so, like, comfortable to just go for it and not be afraid," Bilson said. "Everything you did in working with you really made me have the confidence to kinda, like, do whatever I wanted and go for it. I just wanna say thank you."