For me, knowing that Chad cheated on Sophia made me dislike the character of Lucas and highlights how his character seems to be so indecisive (and kinda annoying). Also, becasue of Lucas' cheating storyline, it seemed to 'prove' Lucas is a bit of a SoB and how insincere he seems when he gives these speeches about love. Please don't hate me (to all you Leyton fans) it ended the Brucas storyline which probably would have been the main romantic storyline had it not beeen for their divorce. Yes, I know Mark Schawn always intended OTH to be about Leyton but does to Chad and Sophia becoming romantically involved the Brucas storyline became not just a distractio/tangent but the key plot. Now I have also heard that even though offered more money, Chad and Sophia do not wnat to continue with OTH.... (jsut a theory)
This is only my opinion so please don't crucify me.

sorry typo
...OTh to be about Leyton, but *DUE* to Chad and Sophia....

It's annoying to know that they won't continue with OTH cause of that,but cause it ruined Brucas? NOT AT ALL!!! They could ruin it a lil bit more! =)

The divorce has NOTHING to do with BL's brake-up. Mark even said it him self that, Chad & Sophia really can't do anything about it. When CS divorce it was i think the beginning or some where in the middle of S3, and BL were still together. Both CS are professional actors/actress and they always separate their personal lives from their acting.

Besides I think S6 is the season where OTH needs to end.

What lF4E said...stole the words outa my mouth. I'm sick of debating on this. I won't crucify you melanie, but do your research. Like leytonfan4ever said, chad and sophia were professionals and endured a season of lovey dovey kissing despite their marital fracture. The fact that chad and sophia both opted out of a s7 is smart in my opinion. I don't know if there's much else to explore on after yet another season (as much as I love OTH, I don't want it to become dawson's creek - a dragged out soap opera in which characters jump back in forth into different relationships to keep things "lively"). as for chophia opting out for personal reasons, who knows? Maybe brucas ends up together by the end of season 6, then things would be fishy to me as well, but so far...from what i've seen, Brucas' break-up/"lack of reunion" was not caused by Chophia's split.

U always have the right to your opinion, and ignore ppl who take cheap shots at you for it, but also, please do your research when you're making bold claims (especially unfounded ones) cause otherwise you'd kinda be bagging for bullies to trample you :)

what lF4E and abs said. i think if their divorce was going to affect their characters brucas would have broken up in season 3. I have heard mark say a bunch of times that they their relationship would have no effect on their coupling and they will not be affecting no matter what they feel about this.

Whoa, didn't realise there was a *debate* on this topic.
I appreciate what lf4e, abs07 and dm4e are saying - i know that their marriage ended while they were still doing the brucas storyline. While they are both professional, I still maintain that it had to have had some sort of influence - however small. (Though I will admit I am a Brucas fanb which undoubtedly influences my opinion also)

However, this question wasn't so much about Brucas, nor end of OTH (that was giving other reasons) it was about the character of Lucas (see question!).
For me, somehow that bite of reality just kinda destroyed (maybe too strong a word) the whole stand-up, kind, decent bloke character Lucas was meant to be.
Please feel free to respond if you feel I have wrongly interpreted your answers.

there actors for christ sake they act if there getting paid to play a role they play that god dam role no matter what there past is

You guys want proof?

Last year you had to weather the separation of stars Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush. Did that affect the on-set morale? How is it now?

You know what, they were really professional about it. Last year, I didn't want to talk about it because it wasn't any of my business and it really didn't have anything to do with the show. We never, ever catered a story line to them, and we just can't. I actually told them, and I have said this publicly, I told them when they were dating and when they were engaged that I hope you guys are happy forever, but if you're not and something goes wrong, this is a business. We're making a TV show and I can't cater the story lines to your romances.

Source: link

And I think 6 seasons is enough for a teen drama. Too much and it might get awful!

No cuz u could see how close their characters were in s5

kudos on the find ritergrl: doesn't get any clearer than that. Melanie, I know what your question originally answered, but most ppl are answering what you said in your original comment. It's a widely misunderstood concept (brucas break-up vs chophia divorce). No matter what, Mark had 409 written since the pilot. It wasn't simply that leyton was planned for "someday"...it was planned for season 4 episode 9. So brucas didn't break-up sooner or later than they should have. it was all planned. you can watch the special feature in the season 1 box if you need to see the 409 script mark held in his hand. ritergrl's excerpt from an interview also substanciates that truth. You can believe what you want.

To comment on the actual question asked: Chophia's break-up didn't ruin Luke for me. Chad's poor acting in most of s4 ruined luke for me 4 a while. but then chad came back strong in s5 and blew me away despite his divorce. What luke did to peyton in s5 blackened luke for me a little. but the story was well written and I respect mark for what he put luke through in order to bring him to the person he is, and the new man he will be in s6; and I look forward to it.

but i hate for doing that to sophia..