LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Bethany Joy Lenz is mentally preparing herself to spill the beans related to her time in a cult in which she was a part for 10 years. On Monday’s, July 10, episode of the Drama Queens podcast, the 42-year-old actress revealed to her former co-stars that she had penned a book to provide an insight into her experience in the cult, which consumed a significant part of her life.
“I was in a cult for 10 years,” she told Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton Morgan according to US Magazine. “That 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 added.
Lenz secretly writes about her ordeal in the cult
The 'One Tree Hill' alum said she writes about her ordeal privately, even though she did not share any more details on the cult at this time. Lenz, who aspires to become an author, said that she feels, “the pressure of getting it right and everything having to be exactly real and all the people that are involved.” She added, "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. But I do write. I write all the time.” Burton Morgan, 41, the show's co-host, noted that Lenz can write about her experiences in the form of a song, to which she confirmed, "And I have."
Lenz has previously shed light on her personal experiences to help other people in similar situations. She previously portrayed a memorable 'Grey’s Anatomy' character who was abused by her partner. It is reported that the actress was specifically asked to play the role because of her past. “I got a call from Krista Vernoff, who’s the showrunner of 'Grey’s Anatomy'. … She knew a bit about my personal history. I’ve been in an abusive relationship before,” Lenz said on Steve Harvey‘s 'Steve Show' in 2018. “I wasn’t physically abused, but it was very emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually abusive in a lot of ways," she said.
What is the cult Bethany Joy Lenz was in?
Although Lenz never openly identified the cult she was a part of, she is vocal about other organizations that she considers problematic. She called out the Mosaic Church on her Instagram in 2021 for alleged negative behaviors. “The hierarchy in this “church”, the level of abuse that I’ve consistently heard goes on behind the scenes and how everything centers around the Leader is textbook 101 of cults,” she wrote in an Instagram caption. “And usually, unless you’re in the inner circle, it’s much harder to spot.” The actress claimed she was only an attendee at the church “on and off for two years.”
