Bethany Joy Lenz was a household name in the early 2000s due to her starring role on the CW series One Tree Hill. At the same time, she was unknowingly a member of a cult.

In 2023, the actress shared on her podcast with former One Tree Hill cast members Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton that she had kept this secret from the public for around a decade.

“There’s a lot to tell,” she said at the time. Given the public's interest, she decided to write a book about her experiences called “Dinner for Vampires” later that month.

In a new interview ahead of publication, the now 43-year-old actress opened up about how the entire group was doing, including her former husband, the cult leader's son. urged her to quit acting.

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Bethany Joy Lenz writes about her experiences in a cult in her new book “Dinner for Vampires.” (Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic)

“I was so far along in my submission and abandonment of this group. … And the thing was, it was disguised as submission to God,” she said on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast Wednesday. “From then on, everything in my career started going through the group because I didn’t trust my own instincts to know if I was on the right path or taking the right job.”

Due to the success of her television series, Lenz was on the radar of studios and stated that she had more opportunities as an actress.

“I was cast as Belle in Beauty and the Beast and gave it up on the advice – the heavy-handed advice – of 'Les,'” whom she identifies as a cult leader in her book.

“There were a few really big films that I was shortlisted for, auditioned for and got pinned for, and then I had to call my agent and say, 'You know what, I don't actually want to do this make. I don't want to continue auditioning for this.”

Bethany Joy Lenz says she has turned down major roles because she is involved in the cult and it has control over her career choices. (Bethany Joy Lenz Instagram)

Lenz said it's all about control.

“The more I worked, the less they saw me. The more I worked, the more confidence I gained in my abilities and creativity,” remembers Lenz.

She said the reason “One Tree Hill” didn't pose a problem was because cult members knew their location when the show was filmed, mostly in Wilmington, North Carolina. They also knew the cast and crew and could influence their opinion of them. She didn't meet anyone new either.

The cast of One Tree Hill, including James Lafferty, Sophia Bush, Chad Michael Murray, Bethany Joy Lenz, Hilarie Burton and Tyler Hilton, pose for a photo. (Carley Margolis/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

“The more I worked, the less they saw me. The more I worked, the more confident I became in my abilities and creativity.”

—Bethany Joy Lenz

In the series, Lenz was one half of the beloved couple Haley and Nathan, also known as “Naley.” Her act in the series included her kissing her TV husband James Lafferty.

“No one cared about it except my husband,” she said of the Lafferty kiss. “He hated it, but he also wanted me to stop acting so I could stop making out with other boys.”

James Lafferty and Bethany Joy Lenz got married on One Tree Hill. (Carley Margolis/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

But as much as her husband wanted her to stop acting, he also relied on her income to ensure her future viability. Lenz said she lost $2 million to the cult after merging her finances with her husband.

“I just did the dutiful Christian wife thing and merged my accounts,” she explained. “It never occurred to me that I would be taken advantage of. It was more of a gut check where I thought, 'This is mine. I've worked really hard for all of this, and I do.” I'm not sure if I should just randomly add someone else's name to the account. But I'm going to marry him, so I guess it's okay.'”

Bethany Joy Lenz says her husband had “spiritual authority” over her. (Robby Klein/Getty Images for American Heart Association)

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Lenz said that when she married her husband, whom she calls “QB” in the book, their relationship was “playful and easy,” although the two didn't have much of a connection.

“We didn’t have much in common,” Lenz admitted. “There wasn’t much intellectual stimulation. … I kind of ran out of options. I couldn't date a non-Christian. “I couldn’t really date anyone outside the group, especially someone who was still alive” somewhere outside of that realm. … It’s just such an arranged situation that came about.”

During the relationship, her husband had what she called “spiritual authority,” Lenz said.

“It didn’t occur to me that I would be taken advantage of.”

—Bethany Joy Lenz

“From what I understood in the group, it was that the man basically has the final say on everything, and he has the final say. And you really shouldn't question it. You can't question your decisions. You can do that.” He needs to turn to other men for this, and he should know all the deep, intimate things about your life.

“But not with those words, otherwise I would have said, 'You're all crazy,'” she joked on the podcast.

Bethany Joy Lenz says she and her husband “weren't the right people for each other and because I was so uninterested in sex, I was then asked to basically set up a schedule.” (Emily Assiran/Getty Images for That's 4 Entertainment)

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However, Lenz said that her marriage wasn't just bad because she has a daughter from that relationship. In an interview with People magazine, she said, “The further I get away from it, the more blessing I see in it.”

“I see that more good things have happened because of this,” she added, referring to her daughter Maria.

On the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Lenz opened up about the intimacy issues with her husband that made the relationship even more difficult.

“I didn’t have that attraction. I never really had the drive. We just didn't have a connection. We weren't the right people for each other and because I was so uninterested in sex, I… “Then I was asked to basically set up a schedule,” she revealed.

Bethany Joy Lenz explained that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from scheduled sex affected her relationships after her husband's divorce. (Bethany Joy Lenz Instagram)

Lenz said the overall message was: “You just have to do it. Just do it. This is your duty, this is your job as a wife. Your feelings will be aligned when you do it. If you do it enough, then eventually you'll find a way to enjoy it. You will find a way to feel connected.

The schedule ultimately depended on her husband.

“It was a routine that I had to participate in to keep the peace in my marriage,” Lenz said.

She admitted that her “stomach dropped every time her husband arrived in town” and shared how this trauma had affected her other relationships. “I had so much post-traumatic stress disorder because I showed up at the airport to see him and knew I had to stick to this sex schedule for the next two or three weeks.”

Bethany Joy Lenz spent 10 years in the cult. (Jamie McCarthy/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Speaking to People, Lenz said she had no nefarious motives for telling her story.

“I didn't write this book to take revenge on anyone. “I just wanted to tell the honest truth about what happened,” Lenz said.

She said that with this book she will help people “who have experienced this and don't know what to do with their shame, who may be experiencing it right now and don't quite know what they're feeling.” But maybe they can recognize and recognize something in what I say,” she added. “And help people who might otherwise get into something like this and now they know what warning signs to look out for.”