Bethany Joy Lenz, 42, was in a cult for ten years. The actress revealed this on the July 10 episode of her Drama Queens podcast that she hosts with her former One Tree Hill co-stars Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton. Bethany explained that she “for sure” wants to tell her story in a book one day, but acknowledged that having ADHD “has made it really difficult” for her to do so. “I have lots of essays and lots of chapters and things,” Bethany said. “But to really commit to putting it all together, I would love to write about my experience.”
Bethany further explained her motivation for wanting to share her story from when she was in a cult. “It would be a really valuable experience to write about, and the recovery — 10 years of recovery after that. So there’s a lot to tell,” she said. “But yeah the pressure of getting it right and everything having to be exactly real and all the people that are involved.”
“Also, I don’t know how much I can say because there are still people and legal things in place that make it more complicated for the timing of that,” Bethany added. “But I do write. I write all the time.”
While it may take a while for Bethany to create a book with her stories, she did confirm on her podcast that she’s written music that subtly talks about some of her life experiences. Bethany has released a number of singles, EPs, and albums since she began her career in the 1990s.
Bethany is most famous for playing Haley James Scott in all nine seasons of One Tree Hill. Bethany, Sophia, and Hilarie have all been looking back on their time on the hit teen drama show with their Drama Queens podcast, where they recap one OTH episode a week. In 2021, Sophia told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that her love for the show is “the reason” the trio do the podcast together. “It’s so much fun for us to have an excuse to hang out for 3 hours a week and also to reclaim our show,” she explained. “I think we have such nostalgia and love and loyalty for our characters.”