Mischa Barton admits she and The O.C. co-star Ben McKenzie secretly dated

After years of denials, Mischa Barton has confirmed her secret romance with her O.C. co-star Ben McKenzie for the first time.

Mischa Barton has revealed her secret romance with her The O.C. co-star Ben McKenzie.

The O.C. star Mischa Barton says that she and her co-star Ben McKenzie secretly dated during the earlier days of the teen drama.

While speaking about being only 17 years old while in an onscreen relationship with McKenzie, who was 25 at the time, Barton shared that their romance “wasn’t just on screen either.”

“I went into that [show] a virgin, a kid,” she revealed on the Call Her Daddy podcast on Wednesday, reports Page Six.

“Acting with people older than me was a bit like, ‘Oh wow, they know what they’re doing. There’s going to be relationships on this show and you’re going to need to play that part.’ I didn’t feel really ready for that.”

Barton opened up about her secret co-star fling for the first time. Picture: Amy Sussman/Getty Images/AFP

There was an 8-year age gap between the pair.

Barton, now 38, added, “I was always a really late bloomer in school, and I hadn’t really dated. I just had no idea what I was doing really. So, I felt like I needed to catch up.”

The actress revealed that her relationship with the Gotham star, now 45, was her “first,” adding that she had “no idea” what she was doing.

“I think that kind of set things off on the wrong foot too because it was like people hook up on these shows and, whatever, and these things happen, but we threw ourselves all into it very fast,” she explained.

“Then when you break up and things don’t work, and they see you dating other people. Notoriously, there was a lot of dating on that show and different people getting together.”

Barton said it was “tricky” that their relationship “happened right out of the gate” and she felt “overwhelmed and not ready for any of that.”

The O.C.’s Rachel Bilson, Adam Brody, Mischa Barton, and Benjamin McKenzie at the 2003 Teen Choice Awards. Picture: Frederick M. Brown

Barton said that the producers of the drama series were concerned about her and McKenzie’s relationship due to their age gap.

“I remember they were like, ‘Mischa’s disappeared with Ben and like, she’s only 17-and-a-half, 18,”’ she recalled. “The producers went to my parents. It was kind of a whole ordeal.”

Barton added, “That’s in the very beginning of the show before we’re even halfway through a season. There was a lot going on there. So much happened in three seasons.”

She and McKenzie have both denied that they dated in the past, with the actress even telling Cosmopolitan in 2004 that the rumours were “terribly weird.”

The O.C. ran for four seasons from 2003 to 2007.

Barton appeared on the show until the season three finale, which premiered in May 2006.

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission.