Rachel Bilson Calls Bill Hader Breakup "Harder Than Childbirth"

Much to the surprise of their The To Do List co-star Aubrey Plaza, Rachel Bilson addressed her past romance with Bill Hader⁠ in a rare and candid comment about her dating life.

By Gabrielle Chung Jun 17, 2022 2:30 AMTags
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As it turns out, Bill Hader just wasn't Rachel Bilson's destiny.

Though the O.C. actress has never been one to publicize details about her love life, she recently addressed her past relationship with the Saturday Night Live alum during a discussion about their 2013 movie, The To Do List. While speaking with the rom-com's lead, Aubrey Plaza, on the June 13 episode of her Broad Ideas podcast, Rachel, 40, confirmed that she and Bill, 44, dated "two years ago."

As a testament to how tight-lipped the former couple had been about the romance, the news was a revelation for Aubrey. "Are you serious?" the Parks and Recreation star asked. "I don't know s--t. I don't know anything."  

"We dated," Rachel assured. "I went with him to the f--king Golden Globes."

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Indeed, the pair stepped out together on the 2020 Golden Globes red carpet, just weeks after they were spotted on a coffee date in Bill's hometown of Tulsa, Okla. However, things didn't work out and the two called it quits by July 2020, with a source telling E! News at the time that Rachel was "absolutely devastated."

 

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The Hart of Dixie actress didn't share more about the relationship to Aubrey, but she did touch on a particularly difficult split during a previous episode of her podcast. Without naming her ex, Rachel admitted to guest Mandy Moore that she "went through a really hard breakup and it was during the pandemic."

"I could not leave my house, you know what I mean? I had nothing else to do but sit in it, and deal with it and feel it," she shared. "It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done⁠, harder than childbirth."

Rachel⁠—who continues to co-parent daughter Briar Rose, 7, with Hayden Christensen⁠ after their 2017 split—went on to say that the fallout with the unnamed ex "hurt like a motherf--ker," though she eventually came out through the other side. She explained, "If you actually face it, you can come out of it and be like, 'OK, I did that and I'm ready for the next thing.'"

It seems Bill has moved on as well. This January, a separate source confirmed to E! News that the Barry star is dating Anna Kendrick, with whom he co-starred in the 2019 Christmas flick Noelle.

And much like Bill's past relationship with Rachel, details about it are being kept under wraps. As the second insider noted, "It's been going on for quite a while but Anna's kept it really on the DL."