Sophia Bush & Ashlyn Harris Were ‘Just Friends At First,’ Source Says! Hmm...

The sparks were flying between Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris during their first meeting…

As you may recall, the 41-year-old actress shocked everyone when she suddenly filed for divorce from her husband of one year, Grant Hughes, earlier this year. And she didn’t stay single for very long afterward! It soon came out this month that Sophie was dating the 38-year-old soccer player, who is also going through a divorce with her wife, Ali Krieger. If you’re raising your eyebrows at the timeline, don’t worry, we are too!

Despite sources pushing the narrative that there is “no salacious story” behind this new romance, Ali says otherwise! She posted that she’s now in her “Beyoncé Lemonade Era” on Instagram. You know, the same album Beyoncé wrote about her husband JAY-Z‘s infidelity! So Ali basically accused Ashlyn cheating on her with Sophia! Yikes…

But insiders are still attempting to do some damage control again for Sophia and Ashley amid their budding romance! Despite the rumors their relationship began before their respective marriages ended, a source for Us Weekly on Thursday insisted they never cheated and were “just friends” after first meeting at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June. The same festival the two appeared to be getting very flirty at during a panel. Hmm. That does not sound like a platonic relationship to us…

The insider even claimed the “sparks flew” instantly between them at the festival. Mind you, a report claimed Ashlyn dumped Ali out of the blue days right after the event! Sophia divorced Grant and listed their separation date as June 27 — days after the event too. The timing is super fishy! Something must have happened to make both Ashlyn and Sophia abruptly leave their significant others… However, as we mentioned, this source swears they didn’t hook up behind their partners’ backs:

“Sophia and Ashlyn insist they were just friends, but by all accounts, it was instant chemistry.”

According to the insider, Ashlyn and Sophia later “bonded over their breakups and having to start over.” Things between them supposedly progressed from there, with them beginning to date each other. Again, we’re a bit skeptical! Another source for Us Weekly shared that the new couple are keeping their relationship private now but are happy with how things are going between them so far:

“It’s only been a couple of weeks since their first official date, but things already feel really natural between them. They love being together. They love sports and want to do good in the world.”

What do YOU think, Perezcious readers? Are buying the sources claims that Sophia and Ashlyn didn’t cheat? Let us know in the comments below.

[Image via MEGA/WENN, Judy Eddy/WENN]