One Tree Hill’s Bethany Joy Lenz Shares Her Cult Experience

In an interview with Variety, Bethany opened up concerning the “painful” time when she was in a cult whereas filming the favored CW present.

It all began with becoming a member of a Bible research group in Los Angeles. “I moved to a new state, moved to a new city, and I went to another Wednesday night Bible study, and that’s all it was to me,” she mentioned. Since Bethany had grown up in a “Christian home,” this sort of fellowship was acquainted. But, “the friendships seemed deeper, more vulnerable somehow.”

But then, the one who was introduced in to a management place was “sociopathic,” she mentioned. Bethany in contrast the chief to Keith Raniere, the disgraced chief of NXIVM, who was sentenced to “120 years in prison.”

When requested if the solid and crew knew, Bethany answered, “Oh, yeah. It was open with them — it was the whisper behind the scenes, like ‘You know, she’s in a cult.'” Bethany added, “For a while, they were all trying to save me and rescue me, which is lovely and so amazing to be cared about in that way. But I was very stubborn.”

At the time, Bethany defined, she felt actually “committed” to what she believed in. “I don’t think anybody could have said anything. I wanted to do what I wanted to do,” Bethany mentioned.

Bethany defined how the cult created a way of “isolation” and “distrust” of everybody round her. “It built a deep wedge of distrust between me and my cast and crew,” she shared.

“I mean, it was like a secret life. I’m on this TV show. I’m living this glamorous, celebrity life — as people see it — and I have a total secret life going on. It was so painful,” she mentioned.

Bethany says that “motherhood” ultimately led Bethany out of the cult, regardless of the “fear of leaving and not knowing what will happen.” She left shortly after One Tree Hill wrapped in 2012.

Bethany added that filming “nine months out of the year” in North Carolina additionally made a distinction, and presumably “saved [her] life.” Bethany mentioned, “I think that spatial separation made a big difference when it was time for me to wake up.”

“It’s been a very hard lesson, and it put me in a place where I really stopped trusting a lot of people,” Bethany mentioned of her expertise. “I’m sure it affected my work. I’m sure I had strange tendencies. I have overreactions to not trusting people in scenarios that are trivial.”

Today, Bethany is specializing in dwelling as “authentically” as doable whereas she finds new which means together with her religion. “It took 10 years so far of unwinding and following the guideposts that I see and studying, researching, being thoughtful,” she mentioned. “I feel so much more free now, so much happier, so much more authentic in my life.”