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Hilarie Burton is looking back at her final day on set of One Tree Hill. During the latest episode of her re-watch podcast Drama Queens with former co-stars Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz, the ladies recalled filming the season six finale, which marked the final episode that Hilarie, 41, appeared in. In the podcast, Hilarie explained why filming her final scene was “awkward” and “deeply uncomfortable.” Keep reading to find out more…“Everyone was saying goodbye to me, but it felt like a funeral,” Hilarie recalled, adding that she was set up in a hospital bed with a prosthetic belly to film the birth of her character Peyton’s baby with Lucas, played by Chad Michael Murray (who also left after season six). “I’m literally laying there like I’m in a coffin,” Hilarie continued. “James Lafferty comes up to the side of the bed and is like, ‘Hey, uh, have a good summer.’ It was so awkward and awful. People would put their head on my hair and say, ‘Well, I’ll see you next season,’ and I kept being like, ‘No you won’t! What are you guys talking about?’” Hilarie went on to say that many of her cast mates and the crew members didn’t believe that she wouldn’t be returning for the next season. They even sent everyone home while Hilarie and Chad, 42, filmed their final scene because it didn’t seem like the end. “It was an out-of-body experience, [like] being at my own character’s funeral, knowing I wasn’t going to see a lot of you [for years],” Hilarie said as she started to tear up. She then recalled the wrap gift she received from Sophia, 41, which she kept “like a time capsule.” It was a ring with a note that called it “a 1920s piece, perfect for Paris,” referring to the trip Hilarie took to Paris after she exited the show. “You were the only person who believed that I was leaving,” Hilarie told Sophia through tears. “Having Moira [Kelly] say it was really important, and having you believe it was really important. It was a bad time and you did something really nice in that moment. I’ve moved houses 8 million times and that has always stayed in the drawer next to my bed.” Despite the “uncomfortable” situation Hilarie found herself on the set of One Tree Hill, she said that looking back on the series 15 years later has provided her with some closure. “I think I can walk away with the narrative of Lucas and Peyton and feel so good about it in a way that I wasn’t allowed to for a long time,” Hilarie said. “What it meant leaving was I could then take this knowledge and apply it in different ways.” She added, “One Tree Hill was grad school, where you just learn what not to do so every other set you work on can be pleasant.” In another recent episode of their re-watch podcast, Bethany revealed the One Tree Hill co-star she kissed off-screen!
