Bethany Joy Lenz Says 'One Tree Hill' Cast Tried to 'Save and Rescue' Her From Cult
etonline.comBethany Joy Lenz is opening up about her time in a cult. In a new interview with, the 42-year-old actress reveals that her castmates on tried to get her out of the cult she was a part of while starring in the teen drama.Lenz, who joined the unnamed cult «within a year or two» of the show's 2003 premiere, notes that she was «open» with her co-stars — who included Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton Morgan, Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty — about the group with which she was involved, a topic she first discussed on her podcast in July.«It was the whisper behind the scenes, like 'You know, she's in a cult,'» Lenz recalls. «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. I was really committed to what I believed were the best choices I could make.»The actress explained that because «the nature of a group like that is isolation,» it makes «you distrust everyone around you,» the situation «built a deep wedge of distrust» between Lenz and the show's cast and crew.«As much as I loved them and cared about them, there was a fundamental thought: If I'm in pain, if I'm suffering, I can't go to any of these people,» she says. «So you feel incredibly lonely.»Looking back, though, Lenz credits, on which she starred as Haley James Scott, with saving in her in many ways.«A lot of the people in that group lived there and were in it day after day.
So in a lot of ways, saved my life, because I was there nine months out of the year in North Carolina,» she said. «I had a lot of flying back and forth, a lot of people visiting and things like that, but my life was really built in North Carolina.
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