Rachel Bilson Chace Crawford
LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 03: Actors Rachel Bilson and Chace Crawford onstage during the 2008 Teen Choice Awards at Gibson Amphitheater on August 3, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by L Cohen/TCA 2008/WireImage)

It was the early noughts and Rachel Bilson and Chace Crawford has struck a friendship. Like any eagle-eyed paparazzi and tabloid at the time it was suspected that the pair might have been dating. In a new episode of the actress’s Broad Ideas podcast, the O.C. star reunited with Crawford to address the longtime rumours.

“Someone saw us talking and the press went with, ‘Oh, did Rachel and Chace hookup?'” Bilson reflected on the podcast. “My publicist came to me and because at the time I was on a break from my serious relationship, I told her she had to kill the story.”

She continued, “They printed it, but it had a quote from my publicist that this is completely fabricated and I’m like, ‘Wait that is so mean. I would never want to do that to Chace!'” It’s not clear what the exact quote was but it didn’t matter because according to the Gossip Girl alum, he wasn’t aware of any relationship rumours.

“You are so nice. I didn’t even realise this all went down,” Crawford responded. “I would have been thrilled if they thought we were dating!”

While a romance did not blossom between the two, Bilson admitted that she briefly had a crush on the actor. We don’t blame her, after all he’d later be catapulted to fame for his role as Nathanial Archibald in the teen drama series, Gossip Girl. 

“We were silently battling for Chace’s attention,” Bilson recalled, referring to a night at the Boom Boom Room in New York City with a friend. “We were for sure in competition for you.”

Bilson dated and was subsequently engaged to Hayden Christensen from 2007 before they split after ten years of dating. She recently split from Bill Hader. As for Crawford, he has been dating Rebecca Rittenhouse since 2015.

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