Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Dominique Charriau/WireImage
There’s no bad blood betweenRachel BilsonandRami Malek!
The O.C.actress, 39, said on Tuesday that she and theBohemian Rhapsodyactor, 39, had patched things up after shepreviously revealedthat Malek had asked her to delete an old photo of the two from high school she had posted on Instagram.
“Rami and I actually have talked since that came out. He connected with me, and we’re all good,” she said during an episode of theLadyGangpodcast. “He was so sweet and we’re totally fine now and we talked about it and we’re good.”
She added, “He was so gracious, and I totally understood where he was coming from and he understood me. And I was just so happy we were able to squash it and, like, move on.”
Bilson also said she didn’t realize that the story would gain so much attention after she mentioned it on an episode ofDax Shepardand Monica Padman’sArmchair Expertpodcast last month.
“My friend sent me a CNN link to it. I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?'” she told theLadyGanghosts Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin and Jac Vanek.
Bilson admitted that the situation had caused quite a bit of anxiety, which she sought professional help for.
“I was so mortified though. Like, I was having a panic attack,” she said. “I had to go to therapy that day, and I was like, ‘I am having anxiety. I did not want this to resurface in this way. I feel so bad. Oh my god. Rami is going to think I’m doing this again.'”
She concluded that, while she was embarrassed in the moment, she was happy the incident could allow the pair to reconnect.
“It actually turned out to be a good thing for a reason, because we were able to reconnect and, like, make it better and everything is great,” she said.
A representative for Malek did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
getty images
Back in 2019, Bilson shared athrowback snapof herself and Malek as teenagers in New York City.
“Hey @ramimalek where’d you get that gold chain?” she captioned the post at the time, poking fun of the star and his past ’90s fashion look.
Bilson also added the hashtags “#tbt” “#oscarworthy” and “#dontforgetthelittlepeople” to her post as well.
During her conversation onArmchair Expert, Bilson noted that she and Malek both attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, and explained that the pair had a past friendship.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“Rami was a good friend of mine. We were [in] the same crew,” she said onArmchair Expert. “We didThe Crucibletogether senior year, we were the leads in it together — all these things. We kind of kept in contact a little bit.”
So when Malek began to gain recognition during the 2019 awards season for his role asFreddie MercuryinBohemian Rhapsody, Bilson thought it would be fun to share the throwback photo on social media.
“So obviously, he gets super famous and he’s always been extremely talented, a really amazing actor, even in high school,” she explained. “I had posted a throwback of us from our senior trip to New York, Broadway. We’re super nerdy, [it was] just the dorkiest picture of the both of us. But I throw it up, ‘cause it’s funny and I think it’s so important to be able to make fun of yourself.”
But after sharing the photo, Bilson said that Malek reached out to her directly in regards to the snap she shared.
RELATED VIDEO: Rami Malek On What He Was Most Surprised to Learn About Freddie Mercury
The response, Bilson said, caught her off guard and caused her to panic.
“I was like, ‘Oh, s—! OK.’ I get really hot and start sweating,” she said. “I’m all nervous, like, ‘Oh god! What did I do?’ He was a good friend, it’s a funny picture, you know? I don’t take myself that seriously.”
Want to get the biggest stories fromPEOPLEevery weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast,PEOPLE Every Day,to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.
“I’m friends with his stylist and she was like, ‘Well it’s not a great picture of him,'” Bilson continued, before she shared another interaction she had withThe O.C.creator about the photo. “It was right beforethe Oscarsand I remember Josh Schwartz being like, ‘You did him dirty. He’s about to be nominated.'”
“I was like, I guess I should’ve found something more flattering,” the actress added. “But I removed it and I even wrote to him a really nice message: ‘I’m so sorry. Go get the Oscar! You’re doing amazing.’ And I never heard anything back, which is fine. But I was super bummed because he was always so nice and we were good friends.”
source: people.com
