Sophia Bush makes girlfriend Ashlyn Harris feel like she is the "best human" and the "best mother".

The former 'One Tree Hill' actress started dating the former women's soccer player in October 2023, and Ashlyn has told how Sophia has helped to heal "pain and trauma" she had in her life.

Speaking on the 'Second Wind Podcast', Ashlyn said: "What I love so much about her is she makes me feel the way I only thought we read about in books.

"She holds up a mirror and makes me feel like I'm the best human, I'm the best mother, and it's exactly what I needed and what I need to heal so much pain and trauma and grief in my life."

Ashlyn - who split from her wife, Ali Krieger, with whom she has two children, daughter Sloane, four, and two-year-old son Ocean, in 2023 - admits she has put "a lot of pressure" on herself to be a good mother, and she loves receiving praise from her significant other.

She added: "I think as a mom, we all can sit here and say, we always think we're failing ... I made a promise that my kids wouldn't feel the same kind of pain that I did as a kid and I put a lot of pressure on myself, and she's just like, 'You are the best mom. I just have never seen someone move and act the way you do.'

"And it's this type of reassurance that she came into my life when I was an open wound and she's so selfless and such a beautiful person that even in the hardest season of her life, she wants to help me heal, which is something I'll never forget."

Ashlyn - who won 25 caps for the USA women's team - also praised Sophia for seeing her "pain and scars" as a "superpower".

She said: "I felt like she just sat with me in the pain and was like, 'OK, well just when you're ready to walk through it, I'll be right here with you,' and it's such a selfless act of kindness and understanding.

"I met the most incredible human in the world who doesn't see my pain and scars as an issue.

"She sees it as a superpower, and she's showing and teaching me every day to use it in such a way that heals and helps other people, that I have an incredible gift to be not only a parent, but the way I show up for people.

"She's just made my life so much richer. I don't even know how to express it or articulate it."

Sophia finalised her divorce from Grant Hughes in January, after the pair split in August 2023, following 13 months of marriage.

The 'Incredibles 2' star previously praised Ashlyn, writing in an emotional essay for America's Glamour magazine: "I didn't expect to find love in this support system. I don't know how else to say it other than: I didn't see it until I saw it.

"And I think it's very easy not to see something that's been in front of your face for a long time when you'd never looked at it as an option and you had never been looked at as an option."