Chad Michael Murray’s ‘good guy’ act fails during interview as fans remind him of past scandals
Chad Michael Murray's haunting past preceded his 'good image' on 'The Drew Barrymore Show.' Murray made an appearance on the popular talk show in December last year to promote his comeback Netflix film 'The Merry Gentlemen.' "Why are you such a good person? You just seem like such a nice human being. I don't even know you in person," Barrymore welcomed him cheerfully. However, fans believed that she was trying to whitewash his 'serial cheater' tag with the optimistic interview. As per The Things, the 'One Tree Hill' star was involved in several scandalous romances in his 20s and presently claimed to have turned into a "better person."
"I remember it was my 25th birthday. I woke up, and I just didn't feel good. I was like, 'I don't really like the guy that I am," he recalled. "I knew who I wanted to be. I just didn't know how to get there," he added. Further, during the interview, Murray got emotional while speaking about his father; he revealed they were on the verge of bankruptcy and that his father supported him and his five siblings by working as a full-time air traffic controller. After getting an epiphany, the 'Survive the Night' actor claimed to have gotten a symbolic tattoo of a cross to "ground himself in faith." He recalled "hanging out with older people who I respected, who had lived lives and had made mistakes and errors along the way," until he became "a little bit more like them."
Fans weren't prepared to give Murray a 'clean chit' even though his personal story seemed inspirational because many thought he was merely acting like a good guy. "I mean, Chad didn’t end up being that great. The man ended up dating a child and cheating in all his relationships, so he’s not half the man his dad was," a viewer criticized. "This guy is so fake to me," a fan agreed. "He sounds so fake—his hair, his voice, his facial expressions, everything," an online user chimed. "Too bad he wasn't this nice while married to Sophia Bush, but he has grown into a wonderful man. And his wife could use some of his maturity and serenity, cause damn, she's so childish still," a netizen reasoned.
Murray first dated Erin Foster in 2001. As per E! News, the 'Barely Famous' actress claimed that they were in a live-in relationship when Murray cheated on her with his 'One Tree Hill' co-star Sophia Bush. "I mean, yeah," Foster confessed on one of her 'The World's First Podcast' episodes. "He definitely did cheat on me with her in, like, a pretty egregious way." He was then involved with Bush from 2003 to 2005; the pair were briefly married for five months. Unfortunately, the marriage didn't last since the 'Fortress' actor cheated on his then-wife with Paris Hilton.
In a May 2024 interview with The Cut, Murray confessed that he "was a baby" and labeled his short marriage a mistake. "I didn't know up, down, left, or right," he said. He went on to date Kenzie Dalton, a background cheerleader, from 2006 to 2013. The couple was briefly engaged but split later. He is now married to Sarah Roehmer; the couple met on the sets of the TV series 'Chosen' and tied the knot in 2015 in an intimate ceremony. They have two daughters and a son. Murray admitted to being a 'changed person' after his marriage: "I think when I was younger, romance was an idea to me, but now I think romance is in the little things that you never thought were romantic before," he told Parade.
