Chad Michael Murray Reveals the Meaning Behind His Cross Tattoo He Got When He Turned 25: It Was ‘Step One’

Mar. 15, 2025

Chad Michael Murray.Photo:Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty

Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty

One ofChad Michael Murray’s tattoos is a reminder to him of the day he decided to change his life.

In a new interview onThe Drew Barrymore Show,the actor, who is promoting his Netflix filmThe Merry Gentlemen(out Nov. 20), shared why the cross tattoo on his wrist is so symbolic.

“I remember it was my 25th birthday. I woke up and I just, I didn’t feel good. I was like, I don’t really like the guy that I am. I was pretty positive, like I don’t like that guy and I knew who I wanted to be. I just didn’t know how to get there,” he said.

TheOne Tree Hillalum, 43, recalled that, growing up, he believed he could be “half the man” his father was, after watching him “making ends meet to just put food on the table” while raising him and his siblings as a single dad.

So while in Wilmington, N.C., Murray, who recommitted himself to Christianity in his mid-20s, decided to get the cross symbol inked on his body to remind himself of “the idea of [life] can be what you make it.”

He says it was “step one” in becoming the man he envisioned himself becoming.

“I started surrounding myself with older people who I respected, who had lived lives and had made mistakes and errors along the way and just started trying to become a little bit more like them and seeing their jovial spirits bounce around and I just made a lot of different decisions. Now, did that push me away from a lot of people? Oh, yeah.”

He added of his healing journey: “I was just doing it because I just wanted to be a great husband and a great father.”

Murray also has a tattoo of the word “Relax” on his right wrist that he got on his 26th birthday. He posted a photo of both inks on Instagram inDecember 2019and revealed that this one is a favorite of his wifeSarah Roemer’s. The couple, who celebrated their 10-year wedding anniversary in September, share three kids.

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Chad Michael Murray.Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Jon Kopaloff/Getty

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In a May 2024 interview withThe Cut, Murraydetailed struggling with agoraphobia— an anxiety disorder that involves the fear of going into crowded spaces, or sometimes leaving one’s home — following his success fromOne Tree Hill, admitting that everything seemed great on the outside but he was “far more fragile than I ever put on.”

“I was around 23 and I had an event in Miami, but I couldn’t leave my hotel room,” he said. “The world felt like it was closing in; I was having anxiety attacks.”

Murray also married his former costarSophia Bushin his early 20s in 2005 after two years of dating. They separated five months later and finalized their divorce in 2006.

“I didn’t know up, down, left, right,” he said. “You move out there and you go, ‘Well, what am I supposed to do now? Get married? That’s exciting!'”

source: people.com