‘The O.C.’ stars Mischa Barton and Ben McKenzie secretly dated: ‘I went into that a virgin’

nypost.com:

hit TV show “The O.C.”The teen soap drama aired from 2003 until 2007, with Barton’s character Marissa Cooper and McKenzie’s Ryan Atwood embarking on a multi-season relationship.The “Hills: New Beginnings” alum, 38, confessed that she and the “Gotham” actor, 45, dated in real life while on the Fox show. “It was kind of complicated for me,” she said of her romance with McKenzie on a recent episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast.McKenzie was 25 years old at the time of shooting while Barton was just 17.“I went into that a virgin, a kid, really feeling like I needed to grow up quickly,” she said.“Acting with people older than me was a bit like, ‘Oh wow.

They know what they’re doing. And there’s gonna be relationships on this show and you’re gonna need to play that part,’ and I didn’t feel really ready for that ‘cause I was always a really late bloomer in school and I hadn’t really dated,” the actress continued.Barton left “The O.C.” at the end of the third season in 2006, when — spoiler alert — Marissa dies in Ryan’s arms after being hit by a car.

She then explained that she had “no idea what I was doing” on the series, saying: “So I felt like I needed to catch up I think a lot of the time.”“I felt overwhelmed and not ready for any of that,” she said of her romance with the “Southland” actor. “I remember they were like, ‘Mischa’s disappeared with Ben and she’s only 17 ½, 18,’ and the producers went to my parents and were like — it was kind of a whole ordeal.”Because she was one of the youngest cast members on set, her age gap was “tricky” for everyone.“I was experiencing all my firsts and I was so young and my mom would be on set and … I just needed a lot more attention in that sense,” Barton said.“The O.C.” also starred.