The OC star Alan Dale reveals he was ‘disappointed’ to hear about Mischa Barton and Ben McKenzie romance

Actor commented on recent revelation of actors’ off-screen relationship

Alan Dale has shared his take on the off-screen romance between his The OC co-stars Mischa Barton and Ben McKenzie.

Last month, Barton revealed that she and McKenzie entered into a relationship soon after meeting on the set of the teen drama in the early 2000s.

Barton played the troubled but sweet rich kid Marissa, who was in an on-off relationship with McKenzie’s fish-out-of-water bad boy Ryan until her shocking departure at the end of season three.

As the youngest member of the core cast, Barton was 17 at the time, while McKenzie was 25.

Dale, who played Marissa’s stepfather Caleb Nichol on the programme, has spoken out about the revelation of his co-stars’ relationship, and admitted that he’d only recently learned of their connection.

“I didn’t know about the thing with Ben. I did see that article, and I was a bit disappointed really,” he told Metro, before noting that he’d picked up on other castmates treating Barton differently.

“I did, however, remember that they were already a bit dismissive of her, and the kids, and what I felt about that was – at the time and I still feel – that they were very young.

“I mean, they were still only 24/25 but she was 18. You know, so that’s a big gap at that age.”

Alan Dale, Ben McKenzie and Mischa Barton starred in The OC together (Getty)

Dale, commenting on Barton’s feelings towards her former relationship, added: “I worry about her future really, because there’s no point hanging on to that sort of stuff. I’m sorry about that with Mischa.”

While featuring on the Call Her Daddy podcast in February, Barton, now 38, spoke about the impact of her and McKenzie’s romance and how it affected her experience on the show.

“I think that kind of set things off on the wrong foot, too, because it was like – you know people hook up on these shows and whatever, these things happen, but it was – we threw ourselves all into it very fast,” she explained.

Barton also noted that after their breakup, she struggled with dealing with personal matters in a professional environment.

“I felt overwhelmed and not ready for any of that,” she told Cooper. “I remember they were like, ‘Mischa’s disappeared with Ben and she’s only 17 and a half, 18,’ and the producers went to my parents and were like... it was kind of a whole ordeal.”

As well as their time spent on The OC, Dale and Barton now share an additional TV credit: since 2023, Barton has starred in the rebooted Australian soap Neighbours, on which Dale played fan favourite Jim Robinson from 1985 to 1993.