An optical assembly may include a substrate, a housing carried by the substrate and having at least one adhesive-receiving recess in an upper surface thereof, and a lens carried by the housing. The optical assembly may also include a liquid crystal focus cell adjacent the lens and including cell layers and pairs of electrically conductive contacts associated therewith. The optical assembly may also include at least one electrically conductive member within the at least one adhesive-receiving recess and coupling together each pair of the electrically conductive contacts, and an adhesive body in the at least one adhesive-receiving recess covering the at least one electrically conductive member.