Mischa Barton Breaks Up With Aussie Heir James Abercrombie
This is meta, yo.
Instagram Back at the turn of the millenium, actress Mischa Barton's face was everywhere. As a child star the British transplant wowed in her small role in the Sixth Sense, and when she was cast as the lead in the teen drama The OC, it seemed like she was going nowhere but up! But then, something happened. A string of bad relationships, issues with mental health, wellness, and excessive partying stopped her career in its tracks. That's all about to change though as she's been cast in the MTV reboot of The Hills, a reality show about people living in the Hollywood Hills (in case you missed it the first time). Mischa's back in the headlines thanks to the gig, and people are already talking about the latest rumor about her in the news...Who is James Ambercrombie?
1. The Hills
2. The Split
According to sources close to the actress, Mischa ended her time with James not long after shooting on The Hills began. "She broke it off with him a couple of weeks ago, and is just really taking time to be single right now," said a source. Could it be that she's done with the guy now that her star is on the rise once again? Hopefully that's not what led to their split. James isn't a stranger to the limelight, and it would be foolish to break up with someone for that reason anyway. I mean, the guy makes his entire living as a model, and those people know what it's like to have all eyes on them. Add to that the fact that his dad is Andrew Abercrombie, former Victoria Liberal Party treasurer, and the public eye isn't really new to him in the slightest.
3. James
As if the fact that James is a hunky model isn't reason enough to date him (I'm sure his personality is sparkling too, don't get me wrong), he's also not exactly a slouch when it comes to the money department either. I'll speak plainly: The dude is loaded like bananas. His family fortune is estimated to be about $574 million! That's roughly $574 million dollars more than I will ever have.
You'd thinking coming from a well-to-do family would mean that James would want to keep a low profile when it came to his romance with the actress. Not so. In fact, the dude's rep issued a statement about it when the couple started dating in 2017: "James is currently dating well-known actress Mischa Barton. James met Mischa at a party in Los Angeles just a month ago. They then headed off on a small trip to France. He is now back in Los Angeles and they are spending a lot of time together," it read.
4. Why?
So now that it's basically offical that the couple is on the outs, people are engaging in endless amounts of speculation when it comes to determining why they decided to call it quits for good. Chances are pretty slim, like we said before, that she dumped him because he wasn't ready for the spotlight. Besides, when you land a guy that rich you don't just break up with him for no reason.
Well unfortunately, the reason being handed down by Mischa's anonymous sources isn't as fruitful as we hoped. “James just turned out to be not the person that she thought he was," they solemnly intoned. What on earth that could possibly mean is up to your personal interpretation. Dating is a crapshoot, maybe things just didn't work out. That happens sometimes.
5. What's Next
Now that she's a free operator and her star is rising once more, the question is what comes next for her? "Mischa is just taking some time to focus on herself right now. She hasn’t been doing a ton of promotion for the show like the rest of the cast has,” said a source. Ah yes, the age old focusing on work right now. But just because she and James have broken up, that doesn't mean Mischa isn't bringing any drama to the reboot. In fact, since she was dating James when shooting began chances are their split will be more than chronicled. “She has adjusted to the show and to the cast, but there is just a lot of tension in her life and he was a big part of that,” said a source.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. She's an experienced generalist with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, pop culture, and true crime.