Rachel Bilson is looking back where she started from.
The actress reminisced about the fanfare surrounding The O.C. during the mid-aughts, revealing she once abandoned costar and then-boyfriend Adam Brody as he "was getting swarmed by a mass mob" after their 2004 appearance on MTV's Total Request Live.
"I left Brody behind," Rachel recalled in the newly released oral history book Welcome to the O.C., "because I was so nervous and didn't know what to do."
She added that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen "rescued me and threw me in their car."
In fact, it was the Full House alums who pointed out that Adam was not with them.
"They were like, ‘Don't you need to get your boyfriend?'' The Hart of Dixie star continued."And I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, we've got to go get him.'"
For Rachel, that memory highlights just what it was like when the cast skyrocketed to fame after the series debuted in 2003. "There were definitely these very lavish things being brought to me," she recalled, "which I always was grateful for and never took for granted. It was pretty amazing."
The book, which was written by O.C. executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage along with journalist Alan Sepinwall, features several recollections from cast and crew members throughout the show's four seasons. This includes Adam, who noted he doesn't actually remember all that much about being in the spotlight at the time.
"We all hung out so much that I felt in a bubble," he admitted. "I didn't have many Beatles moments."
The cast has also shared their nostalgia for the show over the years, including on Rachel and Melinda Clarke's Welcome to the OC, B---ches! podcast—with Adam, Mischa Barton and Kelly Rowan among those who have made appearances.
As the 42-year-old explained to E! News in 2021, the podcast gave her a chance to "catch up with old friends" as well as "revisit something that was so important" to her.
"It just felt like the right time to do it," she continued. "It's always held such a special place for me. It gave me everything and I've always been so grateful for it."
Keep reading to learn some surprising facts about the iconic teen drama.