Hilarie Burton Reveals How She & Chad Michael Murray Learned They Were Written Off 'One Tree Hill,' Says it Was a 'Betrayal'

Hilarie Burton spilled some tea about her and Chad Michael Murray‘s departure from One Tree Hill.

The duo – who played Peyton Sawyer and Lucas Scott, respectively – were two of the hit series’ main stars. However, they were written out of the story in the seventh season.

While Chad returned as a gust star for OTH‘s ninth and final season, Hilarie‘s run on the show ended suddenly.

During a new episode of her Drama Queens podcast with Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz, Hilarie revealed that she and Chad were together when they realized that they would not be brought back for another season. They found out in a surprising way, too.

Keep reading to find out more…

Hilarie revealed that she and Chad learned that OTH had been picked up for a seventh season from producer Greg Prange while they were filming a scene together. While everyone else on set appeared to be ecstatic about the news, they were shocked.

“Chad looks at me and he’s like, ‘Have you even gotten an offer? I was like, ‘No,’ and he’s like, ‘I haven’t gotten an offer,’” she recalled, via Us Weekly. “And so around us, everyone is hugging and high-fiving. I mean, it felt like balloons were dropping from the ceiling. Everybody was so f-cking pumped. And he and I just kind of sat there and we knew it was coming.”

Hilarie said that as “the highest paid actors on the show,” they realized that they were “on the chopping block.”

While her sudden departure from the show was a “betrayal,” the actress is grateful for it now.

“My life is awesome because of that betrayal,” she explained. “I met my husband [Jeffrey Dean Morgan], I had my kids, I got to do White Collar with Willie Garson. My life is so much better because I was betrayed here. And that’s the thing that maybe I want anybody that listens to this to walk away with. It’s like the betrayal just opened the door for all the awesome s-it that I have now.”

If you missed it, Hilarie addressed a huge rumor about two of her OTH costars.