Bethany Joy Lenz starred in One Tree Hill. She also spent 10 years in a cult.

In 2023, Bethany Joy Lenz made a candid admission and shared that she was previously in a cult for a decade.

During an episode of her Drama Queens podcast with former co-stars Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton, the One Tree Hill actor gave a small but surprising glimpse into her past.

"I was in a cult for 10 years," Lenz said. "That would be a really valuable experience to write about, and the recovery – 10 years of recovery after that. So there's a lot to tell."

Now, she has finally put pen to paper in her new book, 'Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also in an Actual Cult)'. In the new memoir, Lenz writes about the intense experience of being a part of a cult, which she calls "Big House Family". What started as her innocently attending a Bible study soon turned into 10 years of having her finances, career and life controlled by the group.

Lenz details that once the cult's minister — a man she refers to as "Les" in the book took over — the group moved into a commune-style living in Idaho.

And that was far from the end of the nightmare for Lenz.

Watch Bethany Joy Lenz speak about why she stayed in the cult. Article continues after video.

In 2005, Lenz married Les' son, who she claims was very controlling. Over the years, she was taken advantage of and had more than $2 million taken from her by the cult. She also recalls turning down various job opportunities at the instruction of Les, including a production of Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, which was a dream role for her. Les called the role a "tactic of the enemy" to drive her further away from God.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Lenz explained the constant state of fear she was in while filming One Tree Hill in North Carolina, knowing that she was always being observed by the group.

"I did feel the tug of war on a constant basis. There was always a threshold. There was always a ceiling. I'd be real and dropped in and connected, I didn't become a robot. I was the real person, and I'm still me, but I had become a much more tense, terrified, guarded version of myself," she explained.

When it comes to One Tree Hill, the book also details the support Lenz received throughout the years while on the show, and how certain members of the cast tried to help her.

"They weren't making fun of me, and they weren't scared of me," she writes. "They sensed I was being taken advantage of and might even be in danger. They were trying to figure out how they could help me."

The cast of One Tree Hill. Image: Getty

In the book, Lenz recalls the intense control she experienced, even over her body, with Les instructing her to "schedule sex as a duty" for her husband. Aside from the psychological and financial control that Lenz experienced, she has also alluded to an element of physical abuse in her past relationship.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, when asked about whether her ex-husband was physically abusive, Lenz admitted that the question was something that she was still grappling with, but admitted that he did indeed throw things while she was in the room.

"Someone throwing things in the room while they're standing next to you, or breaking things in front of you, or stopping you from leaving a room physically with their body, even though they may not touch you… They're not touching you — but physical intimidation," she said.

After 10 years in the cult, Lenz finally decided to leave. And she says it was all because of her daughter, Rosie.

"I left because of my daughter," she told Good Morning America, "I left because it was time. I remember having this thought, I said, 'I don't know what's wrong with me and why I will allow myself to be treated this way, but there's no way in hell I'm going to allow this to happen to her. We gotta get out.'"

Prior to the most recent admissions in her book, Lenz has previously spoken out against cult-like groups including Mosaic Church. Sharing an image of a Los Angeles' Mosaic Church billboard in 2021, Lenz claimed the organisation's structure was like "textbook 101 of cults".

"I went to Mosaic on and off for two years. The level of control displayed, particularly by [lead pastor Erwin] McManus, was deeply characteristic to me of a high-demand group and was disturbing to me and to many other people who have left Mosaic for that very reason," she wrote on Instagram.

"I don't call people in my community out publicly, EVER, but this billboard made me sick and angry that so many people are being misled in the name of a God I love and cherish, I feel I have a responsibility to speak up for anyone willing to hear it. The hierarchy in this 'church', the level of abuse that I've consistently heard goes on behind the scenes and how everything centres around the Leader is textbook 101 of cults."

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Since then, more and more details have continued to trickle out about Lenz' traumatic past and her recent book is an attempt to connect with others who may have gone through a similar experience.

"I think I've got a powerful cautionary tale. I think it's relatable, and I think I can help so many more people telling this story than I can by acting," Lenz said to The Hollywood Reporter.

Feature image: Getty / One Tree Hill Wiki Fandom.