AceShowbiz - Mischa Barton has admitted she and her co-star Benjamin McKenzie secretly dated when she was a teen. The actress, now 38, was 17 when she starred in "The O.C." alongside the actor when he was 25 and after years of speculation about their bond has admitted their relationship was not restricted to being "just on screen."

Mischa told the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, "I went into ('The O.C.') a virgin, a kid. Acting with people older than me was a bit like, 'Oh wow, they know what they're doing. There's going to be relationships on this show and you're going to need to play that part.' I didn't feel really ready for that." Mischa added, "I was always a really late bloomer in school, and I hadn't really dated. I just had no idea what I was doing really. So, I felt like I needed to catch up."

Mischa also revealed her relationship with Ben, who is now 45, was her first, adding she had "no idea" what she was doing. She said, "I think that kind of set things off on the wrong foot too because it was like people hook up on these shows and, whatever, and these things happen, but we threw ourselves all into it very fast. Then when you break up and things don't work, and they see you dating other people. Notoriously, there was a lot of dating on that show and different people getting together."

Mischa admitted it was also "tricky" that their relationship "happened right out of the gate" and she felt "overwhelmed and not ready for any of that." She also told how producers of the Fox series were worried about the pair's age gap when they were having their relationship off screen, adding, "I remember they were like, 'Mischa's disappeared with Ben and like, she's only 17-and-a-half, 18.' The producers went to my parents. It was kind of a whole ordeal."

Mischa and Ben have previously denied they dated, with Mischa branding the rumors they had been an item "terribly weird."