It’s been years since the teen drama The O.C. aired its final episode. The cast – led by Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody – have since moved on with Bilson headlining the series Hart of Dixie and Brody working on various shows and films, including Shazam! for the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).
Sadly, a reboot of the series doesn’t seem to be in the cards. That said, the cast has been having a reunion of sorts recently, thanks to the podcast Welcome to the OC, Bitches, which is hosted by Bilson and former The O.C. co-star Melinda Clarke. As many recall, Bilson and Brody were also an item both onscreen and behind the scenes at one point. And this podcast reunion has fans wondering if the co-stars have kept in touch all these years.
What Happened Between Rachel Bilson And Adam Brody?
In the series, Bilson’s Summer and Brody’s Seth eventually got together and remained a couple until the series finale. In fact, The O.C. even saw Summer and Seth tie the knot. Behind the scenes though, it wasn’t exactly happy ending for Bilson and Brody.
While working on the show, the two actors got to know each other and started dating. In fact, while they were working on the first season of The O.C., Bilson and Brody were very much a couple (they even adopte a dog together, a pit-bull terrier named Penny Lane). At one point, Bilson even gushed about her relationship with the actor, telling Teen People, “We always have a lot to talk about, and we tell each other everything. I feel like I have everything now – the dog, the house, the job, and him. I can’t ask for anything more!”
Sadly, the romance between Bilson and Brody was over after three years. News of their breakup emerged after the couple denied rumors that they had already split. Unfortunately, however, it seemed that this was inevitable. “It was a typical romance and they just grew apart,” a source told People. “They’ve been on and off for awhile now.”
Bilson and Brody had to play a couple on television despite their updated relationship status (or lack thereof). “We broke up at the very end so there wasn’t much [for us to film] after the breakup,” Bilson explained while speaking with Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast. “We did get married after we broke up … That’s always fun.” To make things more awkward, the show’s crew made the conscious decision to shoot Summer and Seth’s wedding scene last. “They totally did that on purpose. That was the only scene left to shoot, was the wedding,” Bilson recalled. “They’re like, ‘You broke up? Let’s give you a wedding.’”
Despite the heartbreak that they experienced while working on the show, Bilson has also said that she is “grateful” for the time that she and Brody had together. “Because of what the show was and how young we all were, going through it with someone experiencing the same thing and having that kind of support was really awesome,” the actress explained in her own podcast. “I'm actually grateful that I did have it. It was definitely a unique experience, and I don't think anyone else could have really understood it had they not been in it, so for that reason, it was super helpful and supportive, and I have total gratitude for the whole experience.”
After all this time, there are also no hard feelings between the two actors. Bilson, for one, is happy that Brody has since started a family with wife Leighton Meester. “We still got along really well. I had so much, and still do, love and respect for Adam,” Bilson remarked. “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.”
That said, it’s also worth noting that the former couple never got to work together again since The O.C. Because of that, fans are wondering if Bilson and Brody have remained friends.
Have They Kept In Touch Since The Show Ended?
Understandably, Bilson and Brody have gone separate ways since the show ended. Bilson herself had become a mother to a daughter that she shares with ex Hayden Christensen. Since both actors have settled down, it seems they never got to meet up again. That said, Bilson and Brody got to reunite by chance when the ex-couple ran into each other at LAX. Bilson even took a photo of the reunion and shared it on Instagram with the caption, “Ran into my ol buddy from jfk to lax #californiaherewecome.” Since then, it’s unclear if Bilson and Brody had seen each other again.
Fans will probably never see Summer and Seth together again in the future. That said, there is always a chance that Brody would join Bilson and Clarke’s podcast at some point. After all, the women are hoping that they would have all of the show’s former cast members on the podcast at one point.