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In a forthcoming memoir, Bethany Joy Lenz will detail “her decade in a cult and her quest to break free,” which overlapped with her time on One Tree Hill, according to a book description from publisher Simon & Schuster.
In that memoir, Dinner for Vampires — due to be released on October 22 — Lenz recalls falling in with a Bible study group with other Hollywood creatives, a group that “soon morphed into something more sinister — a slowly woven web of manipulation, abuse, and fear under the guise of a church covenant called The Big House Family,” Simon & Schuster says.
“Piece by piece, Lenz began to give away her autonomy, ultimately relocating to the Family’s Pacific Northwest compound, overseen by a domineering minister who would convince Lenz to marry one of his sons and steadily drained millions of her TV income without her knowledge,” the publisher adds.
The actor’s time with The Big House Family also involved “minders” from the organization following her on set, plus “Maoist struggle session”-inspired meetings in the basement of a filthy house, Simon & Schuster’s book description says. Lenz ultimately left The Big House Family after she became a mother — and with the help of a One Tree Hill superfan, according to the publisher.
Lenz previously discussed spending 10 years in a cult in a 2023 interview with Variety, saying that her One Tree Hill costars tried to help her during that time. “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,” she said. “But I was very stubborn. I was really committed to what I believed were the best choices I could make.”
After the 2012 end of that CW series, Lenz recurred on Dexter, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., American Gothic, Colony, and Grey’s Anatomy, and had a supporting role on the Suits spinoff Pearson. Last year, she starred in the Hallmark Channel movie A Biltmore Christmas.
