Chad Michael Murray had a few rocky hills to traverse in his personal life before he reached the mountaintop.

But once he crested the highest peak and found Sarah Roemer at the top, he settled in to enjoy the view and has been nesting ever since.

"I've had so much growth over the last 20-something years," the 42-year-old told Parade in October, his noted timespan dating back to the beginning of his six-season run as Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill in 2003 and including his five-month marriage to costar Sophia Bush in 2005. (Which, as he recently said, occurred when he was "a baby" who "didn't know up, down, left, right.")

Since then, he'd become "a family man," he added. "I've got my amazing wife and three beautiful babies and that's my pack."

But while the Buffalo, N.Y., native is obviously light-years away from his earliest days in Hollywood, you could say the growing-up process accelerated once he met Roemer in 2013 on the set of the Crackle series Chosen.

The comely costars, both of whom started out in show business as models, quickly chose each other: The first report that they were dating surfaced in August 2014—barely a month before they tied the knot, as respective anniversary tributes years later would reveal.

On Jan. 20, 2015, Murray revealed to E! News that he and the Disturbia actress were married and his rep subsequently confirmed they were expecting their first child together.

"I'm a romantic," said the Freaky Friday star. "I'm a family guy. I want that core. I tend to keep everything quiet. I love my life. That's the part that I keep for myself."

Murray and Roemer's son was born several months later, the actor giving his regrets for missing a charity event with his beloved Buffalo Bills.

"My fav event 2 attend," he tweeted May 31, 2015, "but we've been blessed with a son. Gods greatest gift."

He continued, "Sarah & I couldn’t b happier & intend 2 spend many a day having family adventures & watching @buffalobills football! & also @Chargers now."

As for what the devoted teammates named their baby boy, Murray and Roemer have never shared as much. Nor have they revealed the monikers of their now 7-year-old and 10-month-old daughters, or posted readily identifiable pictures of their brood.

The couple do share photos of the kids on Instagram, but either cover their faces—pics of Mickey, etc.,. were apropos for a snap from their Father's Day trip to Disneyland—or go with shots of their little ones mainly facing away from the camera.

Though, in a real heart-burster Roemer posted April 30, a bit of their 9-year-old son's face could be seen amid a "cuddle puddle" with his sisters.

Neither spouse, however, has qualms about showing off just how much they dig each other.

"The world has been lighter & brighter since the day you entered it," Murray wrote in a 2022 Mother's Day tribute on Instagram. "You've extended that light through our little pack."

Growing up with a single dad for much of his life, Murray continued, "I never truly knew the importance of a mother until I had the honor of watching you carry this family on your back from that moment our son was born...Your heart lights our world. Our babies know just how lucky they are to have you as their Mama. I love you dearly."

Wishing Murray a happy ninth anniversary last September, Roemer called him her "favorite human."

Captioning a pic of the two of them asleep that was surreptitiously snapped by their son while the family was on a cross-country trip, she continued, "I love growing, learning, juggling, & loving in this beautiful life with you. I'm so happy we get to do it together."

So it hasn't just been Murray who's experienced so much growth over the past two decades, but he was the one who had the more glaring spotlight trained on him for the duration.

"I feel grateful to just be at peace in a moment now, where I wasn't before," he told Parade. "I was always looking forward instead of just enjoying what was right in front of me."

And though he dubbed himself a romantic years beforehand, Murray admitted that his definition of what that meant had changed significantly since becoming a husband and father.

"I think when I was younger, romance was an idea to me, but now I think romance is in the little things that you never thought were romantic before," the actor explained. "Let's say I work 14 hours, and I come home and I'm exhausted and usually you just want to take your clothes off and just go to bed, right? But let's say my wife's under the weather or I can tell she's just run down from being with the kids all day. [I] clock in and go, 'I got this.'"

Wait, reader, it gets even better.

"I run over and do the dishes and pick up and put the kids to bed and be like, 'Go, go, go, go rest. I got this. We're fine,'" he continued. "That's romantic to me in a different way than it ever would have been when I was, say, 20."

Um, we're not swooning, you're swooning.

Murray has also evolved in the professional arena, telling Numéro in May that being a dad does affect what sort of roles he accepts.

"I don't want my kids going to school, being freshman in high school, and dad's butt posted all over their locker," he cracked. "That's not fair to them, so making decisions for that has been great."

And once the job is booked, just the act of going to work is more inspiring to Murray these days, knowing he's also got an audience at home.

"I have a different appreciation every day getting up and getting to go to work, which I try to bestow on my children," he said. "When they see me go to work, I say, 'All right, guys, I get to go to work today.' And I try to let them know that that's a gift."

And Murray has made sure that his children do actually get to see him leave for the set.

His motto being never to leave home without his family, Roemer and the kids were with him in Nova Scotia—"We live out of a suitcase pretty much primarily," he told Parade—while he filmed the CW series Sullivan's Crossing.

"My boy started playing football, my daughter joined dance class and then they both decided amongst themselves like, 'Hey, you know what? We want to try going to school," he said, describing how quickly they felt at home. "Because we were homeschooling forever. We're like, 'Okay, great.' So we just dialed ourselves into this community so much and we love it here."

And even more important than showing his kids the uplifting power of work is getting to go home to them—and Roemer—after he's done for the day.

"I come home, say hello, hugs, kisses all aroud," Murray told Numéro. "We sit down, we play, we watch something together, put them to bed and then get back to the text, get back to the focus. And we do that for everything."

Overall, he simply doesn't believe in "breaking up the pack," even if for only a couple of days, and wouldn't have it any other way.

"I wouldn't trade this for anything," he said, "no matter the amount of success, it doesn't matter."

Besides, he's already succeeded at impressing his most important demographic: Not long ago, Murray returned home from work one day to find Roemer and his 7-year-old watching him charm Hilary Duff in 2004's A Cinderella Story.

"I said, 'What you watching?'" he shared the full-circle moment with E! News in May. "Right away I knew, she loved it."

But while a cinematic fairy tale is good for the occasional rewatch, what Murray and Roemer have built is the kind of romance that sustains a couple year in and year out.

"Don't wait for the rain," Murray said, offering the secret to his own enduring partnership. "Love big, give your whole heart. My wife's right there and she's everything. She's my rock."

And being a father, he told E! News in December, "You learn a lot about yourself and selflessness and just loving and giving. It's been, not even close, the best chapter of my life so far."

So while Murray doesn't want to be anything other than what he's trying to be lately, make the most of this moment to see where more of the stars of One Tree Hill are now:

Since the OTH finale in 2012, Lafferty has continued to work in both TV and film, appearing in shows like Crisis and Underground, and even directing episodes of E!'s The Royals, where he met star Alexandra Park. The two announced their engagement in September 2020 and tied the knot in May 2022.

Lafferty fellow One Tree Hill costar Stephen Colletti created and star in the 2021 Hulu comedy series Everyone Is Doing Great. 

Burton left One Tree Hill after the sixth season and went on to star in several TV movies and guest star in episodes of Castle, Grey's Anatomy, Hostages, Forever, and Lethal Weapon. She also had a recurring role on USA's White Collar. In 2009, Burton started dating The Walking Dead actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who also guest starred on Grey's Anatomy). They were marred in 2014 and have a son and a daughter. She is playing his character Negan's wife on The Walking Dead season 10.

Burton also appeared in quasi-One Tree Hill reunion TV movie The Christmas Contract in 2018. She remains friends with a few other OTH co-stars, and in 2018, they launched the Cape Fearless Challenge to support Wilmington, North Carolina, where the show was filmed, after it was affected by Hurricane Florence. 

After a turn on the short-lived comedy Partners, Bush joined NBC's One Chicago world as Erin Lindsay. She starred on Chicago P.D., but also made appearances on Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago Justice, and Law & Order: SVU. She left Chicago P.D. in 2017. Bush also voiced a character in The Incredibles 2. Then, in 2020, she starred in the series Love, Victor. 

In her personal life, Bush made her red carpet debut with soccer star Ashlyn Harris in April 2024.

Murray has had a varied career since he left One Tree Hill after season six. He appeared in both A Madea Christmas and the acclaimed Fruitvale Station, and had roles in TV shows like Chosen, Texas Rising, and Sun Records. He played Chad Radwell's brother on Scream Queens, and starred in the beloved but short-lived Agent Carter on ABC. In 2018, he starred in the Hallmark movie Road to Christmas. In 2019, he appeared on Riverdale.

After a short marriage and divorce from costar Sophia Bush and a seven year engagement to Kenzie Dalton, Murray married his Chosen costar Sarah Roemer in 2015, and they have a son, born that year, and a daughter, born in 2017. They welcomed their third child, a baby girl, in August 2023.

Currently, the actress and musician is set to star in the Suits spinoff, Second City. But since One Tree Hill ended in 2012, she has also appeared in several TV movies, a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Colony, American Gothic, CSI, and Dexter. 

Lenz got a divorce from husband Michael Galeoti in 2012 and now lives in LA with her daughter, who was born in 2011. She has also signed on to the Cape Fearless Challenge in support of Wilmington, North Carolina. 

RIP-ish Dan Scott. Johanssson has continued working in the years since the show ended, appearing on Bones, Mad Men, Once Upon a Time, CSI, and Beauty and the Beast as well as several movies and TV movies. He currently can be seen on Syfy's Van Helsing, which returns for season three in October. 

After leaving the role of Mouth behind in 2012, Norris went on to reprise his other iconic role: Minkus from Boy Meets World. He appeared several times in Girl Meets World with his own rather similar teenage son. Norris also made an appearance in Gone Girl and was in two episodes of The Walking Dead in 2017.

Tanner will also be appearing in The Christmas Contract! His post-OTH roles include Get Shorty, Black Jesus, Rizzoli & Isles, The Carmichael Show, and Rosewood. He can also regularly be seen supporting and interacting with his former costars on Twitter. 

After his character was unceremoniously murdered by Dan in season three, Sheffer did appear in a few more episodes, but also went on to appear on Psych, Criminal Minds, CSI and Major Crimes. Just recently it was announced that Sheffer, who was already known as a soap opera star and movie star before he ever played Keith, will be starring in a horror movie called Widow's Point. 

Austin Nichols has done pretty well for himself since his last appearance on One Tree Hill in the finale. He played Spencer on The Walking Dead, and then played Sam on Bates Motel. He also had roles on Ray Donovan and The Mob Doctor, but we'll never forget his 2001 turn in the Olsen Twin classic, Holiday in the Sun. He's currently dedicating himself to saving ocean life. 

Formerly Danneel Harris before marrying Supernatural star Jensen Ackles, Ackles has appeared in a couple episodes of Supernatural, including the upcoming season 14 premiere. She's also due to appear in the OTH reunion movie, The Christmas Contract. 

Danneel left One Tree Hill in 2009 and was engaged to Jensen that same year. They were married in 2010, and now have three children, including twins who were born in 2016.

Woods hasn't acted a ton since the end of One Tree Hill, though she did appear in two episodes of The Goldbergs, playing the mother of her real-life daughter, Natalie Alyn Lind. In fact, all three of Woods' daughters are actresses. Emily Alyn Lind played young Emily on Revenge, and Alyvia Alyn Lind has been on The Young and the Restless since 2011, and played a young Dolly Parton in two TV movies. 

Since One Tree Hill, Lucas' mom hasn't done a ton of work. She appeared in several TV movies and in episodes of shows like Numb3rs and Drop Dead Diva. She could also be seen in Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces as Donna Hayward, since she replaced Lara Flynn Boyle for the prequel, Fire Walk With Me. She currently lives with her husband and two kids in Texas. 

Coach Whitey basically never stops working. Corbin was most recently on Netflix's The Ranch, with several movies in post production. He also appeared on Modern Family as a relative of Cam's, and he's in the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. He's now a great grandfather! 

Colletti joined the show in season four, a couple years after his last appearance on Laguna Beach. He later appeared in a few episodes of Hit the Floor. In 2018, he appeared in the Lifetime movie Hometown Christmas. In 2021, he and former OTH co-star James Lafferty starred together in their own Hulu comedy series, Everyone Is Doing Great.

Lil Jamie is now 17, and hasn't acted much since the end of One Tree Hill. He appears to have a girlfriend and still does fan conventions with the rest of the One Tree Hill cast. 

VanSanten joined the show in season seven and ended the show with her character happily married. In the years since, she starred in the short-lived The Messengers and had a memorable stint on The Flash as Barry Allen's love interest. Most recently, she starred in USA's Shooter. Shantel has also joined her former costars in the Cape Fearless Challenge. 

After appearing in the fifth and sixth seasons of One Tree Hill, DeVitto has been everywhere. She had significant roles on The Vampire Diaries, Army Wives, Pretty Little Liars, Chicago PD, and currently stars on Chicago Med. Recently we learned that she's dating Chicago PD star Jesse Lee Soffer. 

Buckley, who plays a major role in The Christmas Contract, joined the show in season seven and stayed until the end. He then starred in the short-lived 666 Park Avenue before moving on to star in The CW's iZombie as Major Lilywhite. iZombie is about to head into its fifth and final season. Buckley married actress Jenny Wade in May 2018.

The singer had a recurring role on the show from seasons two through four, then returned as a regular in season nine. He want on to star in CBS' Extant, and played Elvis Presley in the movie Walk the Line. Hilton is still touring and will appear for a musical performance in The Christmas Contract. 

Kramer joined the show in 2009, but by the end, she cut back on her acting to focus on her country music career. She placed fourth on Dancing with the Stars in 2016, and she is married to Washington Red Skins player Mike Caussin. In July 2018, she announced that she's pregnant with their second child.