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Bethany Joy Lenz, who played Haley James Scott in beloved 2000s drama One Tree Hill, was in a cult that controlled almost all aspects of her life while filming the series.
The star's forthcoming memoir, Dinner for Vampires Life on a Cult TV Show (While also in an Actual Cult!), out this month, details the experience for the first time ever, with Lenz revealing that the cult not only controlled her life choices, but also her bank account.
According to People, the actress moved to Los Angeles to further her acting career when she was just 20 years old, and joined a bible study to make friends.
"I had always been looking for a place to belong. 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."
Eventually, a pastor was welcomed into the group who quickly convinced members to leave California and move into a commune in Idaho. Lenz still did not think anything of the situation because of how close she was to a few of the group's members.
"I was so young. 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."
Even when OTH co-star Craig Sheffer (who played Keith Scott in the series) told Lenz that she was in a cult, the standout was not willing to believe it.
"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!'" Lenz married someone from the group in 2005 and went on to conceive their daughter, Rose, in 2011. In 2012, the Royal Matchmaker star started to see through the ruse and decided that she wanted to leave the cult, and her husband.
"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."
The memoir, featuring Lenz's cult experience in its entirety, is slated for release on October 22nd!