Sophia Bush Attends White House Correspondents' Dinner Hours After Ex's Death

Hours after finding out her ex-boyfriend and friend Dan Fredinburg died while hiking Mount Everest in the horrific avalanche caused by Nepal's devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake Saturday morning, actress Sophia Bush put on a brave face and attended the White House Correspondents' dinner.

Earlier in the day, Bush, 32, discovered her ex, along with 18 other climbers, had perished in the avalanche after Nepal experienced its worst earthquake in 80 years, which resulted in the deaths of more than 2,500 people. Sophia posted a heartbreaking and sincere message on Instagram about her friend:

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There are no adequate words. Today I find myself attempting to pick up the pieces of my heart that have broken into such tiny shards, I'll likely never find them all. Today I, and so many of my loved ones, lost an incredible friend. Dan Fredinburg was one-of-a-kind. Fearless. Funny. A dancing robot who liked to ride dinosaurs and chase the sun and envision a better future for the world. His brain knew how to build it. His heart was constantly evolving to push himself to make it so. He was one of my favorite human beings on Earth. He was one of the great loves of my life. He was one of my truest friends. He was an incredible brother, a brilliant engineer, and a damn good man. I'm devastated and simultaneously so deeply grateful to have known and loved him, and to have counted him as one of my tribe. I was so looking forward to our planned download of "all the things" when he got home. I am crushed that I will never hear that story. I am crushed knowing that there are over 1,000 people in Nepal suffering this exact feeling, knowing that they too will never hear another tale about an adventure lived from someone that they love. Disasters like this are often unquantifiable, the enormity is too much to understand. Please remember that each person who is now gone was someone's Dan. Please remember that our time on this Earth is not guaranteed. Please tell those you love that you do. Right now. This very minute. And please send a kiss to the sky for my friend Dan. His energy is so big and so bright, and it's all around us, so put some love toward him today. And then hug your loved ones again. #goodbyesweetfriend #savetheice #Nepal

A photo posted by Sophia Bush (@sophiabush) on Apr 25, 2015 at 2:07pm PDT

The One Tree Hill actress, who was married to her costar Chad Michael Murray for just five months back in 2005, dated Fredinburg, who was a Google program manager, after her divorce. I think her tribute to him was warm, sweet, and touching and I love that she made it universal enough so that anyone going through something similar—and, of course, everyone in Nepal—can relate to it.

More from The Stir: Nepal Earthquake: How to Help Families & Children Most In Need

I can't imagine the heartbreak one feels losing one of the great loves of their lives, as Sophia called Dan. Unfortunately, we're all going to go through it at some point if we're lucky enough to love. No one should judge Sophia for feeling like the right thing for her to do that night was attend an event where she would be surrounded by friends and colleagues who would offer their support.

We hope she received comfort from last night's dinner event and that everyone dealing with the tragic loss of a loved one who was hurt or killed in Nepal finds that same support and comfort.

Are your surprised Sophia attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner?

Image via Michael Loccisano/Getty Images