Celebrities
Hilarie Burton Talks Embracing Her Gray Hair, Admits Some Women Were ‘Disgusted’ By It
Hilarie Burton says she’s in her “bog witch phase,” proudly embracing her gray hair and trusting the “gut instinct” that tells her when to stand her ground.
“When I walked away from One Tree Hill, I really got dragged through the mud for that. I knew it was the right thing to do, but it took the rest of the world 10 years to figure out why I made that decision,” Burton, 43, said in an interview for Yahoo’s Unapologetically series published on March 5.
“When I’ve picked other fights — like when I let my hair go gray — it was something everybody wanted to talk about and address,” she continued. “Now we’re having conversations about how many female beauty standards have been rooted in pedophilia, and how an aging woman has been vilified.”
The former MTV veejay revealed that the reaction to her gray hair was mixed with some women thanking her and others being “disgusted.”
“I knew that someone who’s known for being a teenager going gray and pushing back against the beauty standards forced on us would be cheeky,” Burton explained.
Plus, she added that it’s helpful to have a “gray haired husband” who she can point to and ask, “Why aren’t you asking him these questions?”
The One Tree Hill alum began dating Jeffrey Dean Morgan in 2009 after they were set up on a blind date by Morgan’s Supernatural costar Jensen Ackles and Ackles’ wife, Danneel, who appeared with Burton on One Tree Hill.
In 2010, Burton gave birth to their son, Augustus “Gus” Morgan, followed by their daughter, George Virginia Morgan, eight years later in 2018. The next year, Morgan, 59, and Burton officially tied the knot with Ackles officiating the ceremony.
