The O.C. Cast Just Had The Reunion We’ve All Been Waiting For

It’s been 15 years since we bawled our eyes out at The O.C. finale. As of late, nostalgia for the iconic teen drama has been at an all-time high. Rachel Bilson, who portrayed Summer Roberts, and Melinda Clarke, who brought the badly-behaved Mrs. Julie Cooper to life, host the aptly-named Welcome Back To The O.C., B*tches podcast, where they often interview former co-stars. Now, Clarke has delighted fans by revealing that she shared a very special reunion with her on-screen family, portrayed by actors Tate Donovan and Mischa Barton.

As fans of the hit series will remember, Donovan played Clarke’s TV husband Jimmy Cooper – a failed stockbroker with a tendency for becoming embroiled in shady financial schemes. Meanwhile, Barton portrayed the couple’s troubled eldest daughter, Marissa Cooper. The acting trio posed for a picture as they reunited in Charleston, South Carolina, and excitingly hinted at an ulterior motive for meeting up.

On the same evening, the Coopers were also spotted hanging out with Gossip Girl alums Chace Crawford and Jessica Szohr — talk about a full-blown noughties telly reunion. The group attended the city’s Ep-ix & Chill convention. “It was great to catch up with mum and dad,” Barton wrote on her Instagram story, directly shouting out her on-screen parents after dropping a huge hint. “Ran into Gossip Girl last night. What are the chances? Just kidding, we were there for a reason.”

Commenting on the family selfie, meanwhile, another familiar face from The O.C. cast gushed over seeing the Coopers back together. “And that’s the Coop scoop! Love all three of these faces,” wrote Bilson, who was once Barton’s on-screen bestie.

Barton’s happy reunion with her former cast-mates may come as a surprise to some fans, after the actor previously spoke out about alleged poor treatment she faced on set, and claimed that Bilson’s promotion to series regular resulted in producers “evening out everybody’s pay.” There was also “sort of general bullying from some of the men on set that kind of felt really s****y” Barton added, speaking to E!.

Bilson addressed Barton’s bullying claims during an episode of Welcome to The OC, B*itches!. “We knew there was a lot of pressure on her, but if it was really that bad of an experience, that’s not right for any young person. But, some of the comments were very perplexing to me,” Bilson remarked. “So, I don’t know what the truth is about that. I do know that, yes, this was an enormous amount of pressure for her. And for everybody.”

Both she and Clarke added that they’d welcome the chance to host Barton on their nostalgic podcast, in order to “hear her entire perspective and what she is saying she experienced.”

So, does the Cooper’s reunion also mark something of an olive branch being extended? We’ll just have to watch this space!