“One Tree Hill” star Bethany Joy Lenz is still struggling with leaving the cult that controlled her life for a decade.

“There’s something really powerful about getting things out in the open, being an open book and being honest about the good, the bad, and the ugly,” Lenz told Cosmopolitan in a recent interview.

Lenz, who is releasing a memoir about his experiences titled “Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show,” is a member of Big House Family, a commune-like community based in Idaho.

“Most people would think that a celebrity would never be attracted to a cult and that cults are completely ridiculous, but cults have very charismatic leaders who are extremely charismatic and promise community, connection and a secret culture, which is what most celebrities crave,” Mike Diamond, a certified addiction recovery specialist, celebrity interventionist and author of “A Positive Dose,” told Fox News Digital. “These cults are looking to provide celebrities with the protection they need from the public eye and that can be very appealing.”

 

Bethany Joy Lenz says sharing her experience with a cult in her new book was “really powerful.” (Jamie McCarthy/WireImage/Getty Images)

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While playing Haley on “One Tree Hill,” Lenz’s relationship with The Big House Family led her to speak out about things she didn’t like about the show, such as her character’s risqué wardrobe choices.

“Being a part of this group, I feel even more responsible because I feel accountable to my belief system. And so I’m even more tough on set when it comes to things that I’m not comfortable with or don’t agree with,” she said.

Her time on the show helped her overcome the “despair and depression” she was feeling under the influence of the cult.

“These cults want to give celebrities the protection they need from the public eye, and that can be very appealing.”

– Mike Diamond, Certified Addiction Recovery Specialist, Celebrity Interventionist, and Author

“Your body doesn’t know you’re acting. If you cry, you cry. And I was living a life nine months out of the year in a happy, loving, playful, romantic relationship that wasn’t real,” she explains, “but my body was living it. At the same time, I was experiencing despair and depression, no romance, a complete lack of feeling seen or enjoyed. That was really hard to reconcile.”

“But I’m so grateful that I got to have those experiences in my body, feeling loved, being enjoyed, being seen, being romantic and all of those things because it reminds me that a part of me is still alive. It’s not that I’m broken or unable to experience those things,” Lenz added.

Lenz, third from left, with his “One Tree Hill” co-stars, from left to right: Bryan Greenberg, James Lafferty, Hilarie Burton, Sophia Bush, Chad Michael Murray. (Lawrence Lucier/FilmMagic)

‘ONE TREE HILL’ STARS BETHANY JOY LENZ’ SAVED HER FROM THE CHURCH: ‘I WAS REALLY COMMITTED’

“In a way, I think that’s one of the contributing factors to why I think ‘One Tree Hill’ saved me, because I’ve always been able to live in a place that reminds me of who I am.”

“When people are in a vulnerable state or feel lost or overwhelmed with life, especially those who are new to the profession, suddenly achieving success and not knowing what to do with it, the newfound success, money, and fame can be overwhelming,” Mangus said. “And a situation like a cult can give someone a greater sense of purpose, clarity, and grounding in how they fit back into the world.”

Lenz told People magazine this month that the group initially “looked pretty normal,” with weekly Bible studies. “It started out that way, and then it morphed, but when it started morphing, I was so focused on relationships. And I was so young.”

“Today, the ‘modern cult’ is no longer the lurking lion but the proverbial snake lying in wait in the tall grass,” Doug Eldridge of Achilles PR told Fox News Digital.

Lenz says “One Tree Hill” is what “saved me, because I could always live in a place that reminded me of who I was.” (Phillip Faraone/FilmMagic)

Eldridge cites “pay-to-play courses” from people who claim to be life coaches, psychics, and more, with promises to “heal your pain and change your life.”

“Like traditional cults, which are more attention-grabbing, they play on common themes, like empathy, sympathy, shared experiences, and the vague promise of a brighter tomorrow. It’s human nature to seek to lighten the burdens of life.” In a way, it’s sad that there are people willing to exploit that naivety, that vulnerability, in search of a better self,” he said.

“I think that’s one of the contributing factors to why I think ‘One Tree Hill’ saved me, because I’ve always been able to live in a place that reminds me of who I am.”

— Bethany Joy Lenz

“If we’re talking about modern-day cults—in the form of transformational architects and other self-proclaimed lifestyle gurus—their purpose is monetary, their execution is flawed, and their impact is artificial. Sadly, these predators can do it. Find the weak-legged gazelle and separate it from the herd. Anyone who has watched a nature documentary knows what happens next,” Eldridge added.

“Smallville” actress Allison Mack was a member of a group that initially offered a self-help angle to its members, the now-infamous NXIVM group led by Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman.

“Smallville” actress Allison Mack was a member of the NXIVM group and was later charged with felony sex trafficking, identity theft, money laundering and extortion before pleading guilty to lesser charges and serving two years in prison. (Countess Jemal)

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In 2017, some members alleged that there was a secret organization within the group called Vow, a group of women who were branded and sometimes slept with Raniere. Some were made to recruit “slaves” for the group.

Raniere, Mack and others were arrested and charged with sex trafficking, identity theft, money laundering and extortion, among other crimes. Mack pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to wire fraud, a move that cleared her of sex trafficking charges.

She was sentenced to three years in prison and will be released in July 2023 after serving two years.

India Oxenberg, daughter of actress Catherine Oxenberg, explains to “The FOX True Crime Podcast” how she was drawn into the influence of NXIVM.

Actress India Oxenberg was a member of the NXIVM cult and said she couldn’t see the “red flags” at the time she joined. (Avalon Lennon)

“I felt like I was young and threatened and maybe this is where I was supposed to be,” she recalled. “So it’s not like when I look back, you know, hindsight is 20/20. I can see the red flags now, but at the time I didn’t.”

She escaped the group after seven years, being abused and sexually assaulted while being indoctrinated into the “cult within the cult,” and later worked with the FBI to build cases against Raniere and his co-defendants.

“I had to really confront what is love for me, what is good for me in life,” she said. “And it’s not based on other people’s standards, it’s based entirely on my standards. And a lot of it has to do with self-esteem and self-understanding, which is something I think you can gain from a painful experience.” Or avoidance. Like, I have the motivation to talk about these things, but yeah, it still hurts.”

WATCH: NXIVM SURVIVOR INDIA OXENBERG DETAILS LIFE AFTER LEAVING THE CHURCH

Lenz said she felt deeply ashamed of her experiences, but her faith helped her escape them after she left the cult.

“I found a much more authentic faith because I realized that I really wasn’t living my own life. I didn’t have my own relationship with God. I was dismissive of other people doing it for me. Once I finally got real and accepted that I couldn’t do enough to earn God’s love—I couldn’t do all the right things—the idea of ​​shame became a lot less scary,” she told the outlet.

“The more honest I was with God, the more I saw that He could handle all my troubles, my anger, my fears, and that it was okay to make mistakes,” she continued. “Instead of spending my whole life trying to control everything so I could be perfect, I felt comfortable being a mess, which was really what I was looking for all along in the group.”

“What most people don’t realize is that being a celebrity can be incredibly lonely,” Diamond says. “I personally know a lot of celebrities who have to shield themselves from the public eye. We all want connection, community, and a sense of culture.”

Lenz says her faith helped her heal from her time in a cult. (Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic)

“I found a much more authentic faith because I realized that I wasn’t really living my own life.”

— Bethany Joy Lenz

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Magnus has previously noted that many cults “often offer a faith-based element or a way to improve oneself toward a greater purpose or benefit or to carry out a religious agenda with a leader in charge.”

Brothers Joaquin, River Phoenix and actress Rose McGowan grew up in the Children of God cult, started by David Berg, who wanted to combine Christianity with the free love movement in the late 60s.

At first everything went smoothly, but over the years, reports of child abuse, child marriage, and separation of children from their parents began to emerge.

Joaquin Phoenix told Playboy in 2014 that when his parents realized what was happening, they took him and his siblings, including River, Rain, Liberty and Summer, away from the situation.

Joaquin Phoenix says his parents left the Children of God cult after they learned about its dark activities. (Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty Images)

“I think my parents thought they had found a community of like-minded people. Cults rarely advertise themselves like that. Usually someone says, ‘We are like-minded people. This is a community,’ but I think at that point my parents realized there was more to it, so they backed out,” he told the outlet.

McGowan’s father also removed the family from the cult when sexual relationships between adults and children were being imposed by members.

“As strong as I thought I was, I definitely could have been broken,” McGowan told People magazine in 2011.