The O.C star Mischa Barton reveals she dated co-star during filming which sparked concerned due to their age gap

If you’re interested in celebrity dating history, then you’re going to love this.

Fans of teen shows will know that The O.C. was something that could never be replicated due to its light-hearted teenage jokes, relatable familial conflict and of course, romance.

It’s also got Mischa Barton too which is a plus.

But did you also know who the actress was dating at the time of the show?

Call Her Daddy

If you’re an OG stan, you’ll know for sure that it was Ben McKenzie who played the leading role of Ryan Atwood.

Running from 2003 until 2007, the drama was set in California and followed the troubled teenager who was adopted by a wealthy family.

Alongside Ryan was his adoptive brother Seth (Adam Brody), and Mischa as the girl-next-door Marissa Cooper who he was in love with.

At the time, Mischa had been adamant that she and Ben were nothing but co-workers after speculations started to swirl about a possible romance.

But now we know, 18 years after she left the show.

On the latest episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, she admitted: “Yeah, that was my first… I had no idea what I was doing.

“I think that kind of set things off on the wrong foot too because… we threw ourselves all into it very fast… It definitely was tricky that it happened right out of the gate and I felt overwhelmed and not ready for any of that.”

Instagram/ mischabarton

But it wasn’t only the fact that she was young, it was an issue that Ben was older, 7 years to be exact, when Mischa was '17-and-a-half, 18.'

She went on to talk about how producers on the show were worried about the romance: “I remember they were like, ‘Mischa’s disappeared with Ben and like she’s only 17-and-a-half, 18’. The producers went to my parents. It was kind of a whole ordeal.

“That’s in the beginning of the show before we’re even halfway through a season.”

The host Alex Cooper went on to ask whether Ben had been her ‘first’ and she said: “Yeah, that’s what I’m saying, I had no idea about relationships at all, or sex, and so it was like kind of a whole learning curve for me.”

That was when she decided to end the relationship, believing that she wasn’t mature enough for a relationship just yet.

Mischa said: “I mean, yeah, (it was) one of those things where you’re so young and you’ve realised, ‘I’m not ready for this. I have no idea what I’m doing’.

Call Her Daddy

“(It was) overwhelming and too close to home. It would be a very very tricky thing to keep going on set… I felt not mature enough, younger than them (her co-stars) in that sense, I had not dated before.”

However, Ben’s reaction wasn’t the greatest. Mischa explained: “I think he was really angry with me, to begin with, and I felt the punishment of that. I felt that from the producers as well, that they were not happy about that.

“We had to just suck it up and get on with it but there was a lot of jabs behind the scenes and off camera.”

Tyla reached out to Ben McKenzie’s reps for comment.