Bethany Joy Lenz is opening up about how she wound up in a cult!
As Perezcious readers know, the One Tree Hill alum has revealed that she was in a cult for ten years while working on the hit teen drama. And it’s something she’s finally going to talk about at length in her upcoming memoir Dinner For Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While also in an Actual Cult!), which will be available on October 22.
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In a sit down with People out on Tuesday, the actress opened up about how she found herself in the religious organization, which co-star was quick to realize she needed help, and why it was so challenging to escape!!
For starters, Bethany — the only child of parents who got married young and split when she was 16 — told the outlet she first met the shady pastor involved after moving to LA when she was 20 to focus on her acting career. Having grown up an Evangelical Christian, she joined a Bible study because church groups, alongside her acting, had always been a great way for her to meet like-minded people. She recalled:
“I had always been looking for a place to belong.”
Oof. That is sadly so often a time when people are most vulnerable to these kinds of traps.
Interestingly, though, the Savoring Paris star said the Bible study started off completely “normal.” They’d sing, worship, and have deep philosophical chats about God and life’s meaning. Nothing out of the ordinary there. And it was like “water in a desert” to the Hallmark star, who had never had that kind of connection before. The 43-year-old shared:
“We crave that kind of intimacy. The idea that someone out there says, ‘No matter what you do or how badly you might behave or what dumb choices you make, I still love you, and I’m here for you.’”
But what started as a normal Bible study soon “morphed” into something more sinister — she met a visiting pastor who she called “Les.” He began coming to study nights and would lead conversations. It didn’t seem strange to her at first — not even when he started to convince group members to move to a “Big House” in Idaho to live in a small, commune-like community. Bethany continued:
“It still looked normal. And then it just morphed. But by the time it started morphing, I was too far into the relationships to notice. Plus, I was so young.”
All of this was happening while she was living a double life on the popular CW show — and the fact that she was in a cult wasn’t lost on her co-stars!! She recalled:
“I could see it on their faces. But I’d justify it, like, ‘I couldn’t possibly be in a cult. It’s just that I’ve got access to a relationship with God and people in a way that everybody else wants, but they don’t know how to get it.'”
Many of her colleagues tried to step in and help, including Craig Sheffer, who played Keith Scott. He called her out on being part of the group early on in Season 1, but she was too sucked into it all to hear him out. She remembered:
“I was like, ‘No, no, no. Cults are weird. Cults are people in robes chanting crazy things and drinking Kool-Aid. That’s not what we do!'”
Sadly, when she did start to question everything, she felt that she was too far deep into the cult to get out. She had married a fellow “family” member — previously revealed to be one of the pastor’s sons — and she’d welcomed her daughter Rosie. BTW, she’d also accused the group of sealing “millions” from her. They had a lot of power over her. Anyone would feel trapped!
In 2012, just one year after welcoming her daughter, she finally decided that she wanted to leave the marriage and the cult. But it was so complicated! She explained:
“The stakes were so high. They were my only friends. I was married into this group. I had built my entire life around it. If I admitted that I was wrong … everything else would come crumbling down.”
That’s one reason cults can be so difficult. The fact that she even managed to get out of this toxic environment despite all the challenges she had to overcome is so impressive.
We’re sure this book is going to be a riveting read as she breaks all this down in way more detail. Hear more (below):
Thoughts?? Let us know (below).
[Image via John Saint-Hilaire/WENN/Avalon]
