'One Tree Hill' actress among celebrities lured in by cult 'predators' despite fame and success

"One Tree Hill" prima Bethany Joy Lenz is inactive grappling with leaving the cult that controlled her beingness for a decade.         

"There’s thing truly almighty successful putting things retired successful the unfastened and being an unfastened publication and being honorable successful the good, atrocious and the ugly," Lenz told Cosmopolitan successful a caller interview.

Lenz, who is releasing a memoir astir her experiences titled "Dinner for Vampires: Life connected a Cult TV Show," was portion of the Big House Family, a commune-like assemblage based successful Idaho.

"Most radical would deliberation a personage would ne'er beryllium attracted to a cult and that cults are wholly ridiculous, but cults person precise charismatic leaders who are incredibly luring and committedness the community, connection, and a civilization of secrecy, which astir celebrities crave," Mike Diamond, Certified Addiction Recovery Expert, Celebrity interventionist, and the writer of "A Dose of Positivity," told Fox News Digital. "These cults look to connection celebrities the extortion they request from the nationalist oculus and that tin beryllium alluring."

Bethany Joy Lenz said opening up astir her acquisition successful a cult successful her caller publication has been "really powerful." (Jamie McCarthy/WireImage/Getty Images)

HOLLYWOOD STAR WAS PUSHED TO QUIT ACTING AFTER MARRYING CULT LEADER'S SON

While starring connected "One Tree Hill" arsenic Haley, Lenz’s affiliation with The Big House Family led her to talk retired astir things she didn’t similar connected the show, similar risqué wardrobe options for her character. 

"Being portion of this group, it felt similar the work was adjacent bigger due to the fact that I felt a consciousness of work to my content system. And truthful I was adjacent much unbendable connected acceptable erstwhile it came to things that I was uncomfortable with oregon didn’t hold with," she said.

Her clip connected the amusement helped her breakthrough the "despair and depression" she was feeling portion nether the power of the cult.

"These cults look to connection celebrities the extortion they request from the nationalist oculus and that tin beryllium alluring."

"Your assemblage doesn’t cognize you’re acting. If you’re crying, you’re crying. And I was surviving a beingness 9 months retired of the twelvemonth successful a happy, loving, playful, romanticist narration that wasn’t real, but my assemblage was surviving it. At the aforesaid time, I was experiencing despair and depression, nary romance, a full deficiency of feeling seen oregon enjoyed. That was truly hard to reconcile," she explained. 

"But I’m truthful grateful that I did person those experiences successful my assemblage of feeling loved and enjoyed and seen and romanticist and each of those things due to the fact that it reminded maine that that portion of maine was inactive alive. It wasn’t that I was breached oregon couldn’t acquisition those things," Lenz added.

Lenz, 3rd from left, with her "One Tree Hill" castmates, from near to right: Bryan Greenberg, James Lafferty, Hilarie Burton, Sophia Bush, Chad Michael Murray. (Lawrence Lucier/FilmMagic)

'ONE TREE HILL' STAR BETHANY JOY LENZ' CO-STARS ATTEMPTED TO 'RESCUE' HER FROM CULT: ‘I WAS REALLY COMMITTED’ 

"In a way, I deliberation that’s 1 of the contributing factors to wherefore I think ‘One Tree Hill’ saved me, due to the fact that I was consistently capable to unrecorded successful a spot that reminded maine of who I am."

Licensed therapist and narration manager and adept Julie Mangus explained to Fox News Digital previously, "When radical are successful a susceptible authorities oregon feeling mislaid oregon overwhelmed with life, particularly arsenic caller celebrities successful the profession, each of a abrupt having successes and not knowing what to bash with that, occurrence and new-found wealth and fame tin beryllium overwhelming," Mangus said. "And a concern similar a cult mightiness springiness idiosyncratic a greater consciousness of purpose, clarity and grounding to however they acceptable backmost successful the world."

Lenz told People Magazine this period that the radical "looked truthful normal" initially with play Bible studies. "And it was astatine first, and past it conscionable morphed, but by the clip it started morphing, I was excessively acold into the relationships to truly notice. And I was precise young."

"Nowadays, the 'modern cult' is little of the stalking lion and much of the proverbial snake lying hold successful the gangly grass," Doug Eldridge of Achilles PR told Fox News Digital.

Lenz said "One Tree Hill" was thing that "saved me, due to the fact that I was consistently capable to unrecorded successful a spot that reminded maine of who I am." (Phillip Faraone/FilmMagic)

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Eldridge cited "pay-for-play courses" from radical who tout themselves arsenic beingness coaches, spiritualists and more, with promises to "heal your symptom and alteration your life."

"Much similar the much traditional, headline-grabbing cults, they play connected communal themes, similar sympathy, empathy, shared experiences, and an amorphous committedness of a brighter tomorrow. It's successful our quality arsenic humans to look for ways to lighten the load successful immoderate way. Sadly, determination are radical retired determination consenting to instrumentality vantage of that naiveté, that hurt, and that hunt for a amended self," helium said. 

"I deliberation that’s 1 of the contributing factors to wherefore I think ‘One Tree Hill’ saved me, due to the fact that I was consistently capable to unrecorded successful a spot that reminded maine of who I am."

"If we're talking astir modern time cults—in the signifier of translation architects and different self-proclaimed manner gurus—their volition is monetary, their execution is imprecise, and their interaction is pseudo-iatrogenic. Sadly, these predators are capable to find the gazelle with the anemic limb and abstracted them from the herd. Anyone who's watched a quality documentary knows what happens next," Eldridge added.

"Smallville" histrion Allison Mack was portion of a radical that initially offered a self-help space to its members, the now-infamous NXIVM radical led by Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman.

"Smallville" histrion Allison Mack was portion of the NXIVM radical and was aboriginal charged with superior crimes similar enactment trafficking, individuality theft, wealth laundering and extortion earlier pleading to lesser charges and serving 2 years successful prison. (Jemal Countess)

FORMER NXIVM FOLLOWER RECALLS DATING LEADER KEITH RANIERE, MEETING 'SMALLVILLE' STAR ALLISON MACK

In 2017, immoderate members came guardant to assertion determination was a concealed enactment wrong the radical called the Vow, a radical of women who were branded and sometimes slept with Raniere. Some were made to enlistee "slaves" for the group.

Raniere, Mack and others were arrested and charged with enactment trafficking, individuality theft, wealth laundering and extortion, among different crimes. Mack pleaded blameworthy to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges, a determination that freed her from the enactment trafficking charges.

She was sentenced to 3 years successful situation and was released successful July 2023 aft serving 2 years.

India Oxenberg, girl of histrion Catherine Oxenberg, explained to "The FOX True Crime Podcast" however she was pulled into NXIVM’s influence.

Actress India Oxenberg was a subordinate of the NXIVM cult and said she couldn't spot "the reddish flags" astatine the clip she joined. (Avalon Lennon)

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"I was feeling, like, young and intimidated and benignant of just, like, possibly this is wherever I'm expected to be," she recalled. "So it was not similar erstwhile I erstwhile I look back, obviously, you know, hindsight is 20/20. I tin spot reddish flags now, but astatine the clip I did not."

She escaped the radical aft 7 years, suffering maltreatment and intersexual battle portion indoctrinated into the "cult wrong the cult" and aboriginal worked with the FBI to physique cases against Raniere and his co-conspirators.

"I've had to really, like, travel to presumption with, like, what's loving for me, what works for maine successful my life," she said. "And that isn't based connected idiosyncratic else's standards, it's wholly based connected mine. And a batch of it has to bash with self-respect and besides self-knowledge, which is thing that I deliberation you tin either summation from a traumatic acquisition oregon fell from. Like, I'm motivated to talk astir these things, but yeah, it inactive hurts."

WATCH: NXIVM SURVIVOR INDIA OXENBERG DETAILS LIFE AFTER ESCAPING CULT

Lenz said she felt immense shame from her experiences, but her religion helped propulsion her retired of it aft she near the cult.

"I recovered a overmuch much authentic religion due to the fact that I realized that I was not really surviving my ain life. I wasn’t having my ain narration with God. I was putting it disconnected connected different radical to bash it for me. When I yet got existent and accepted that I couldn’t bash capable to gain God’s love—I couldn’t bash each the close things—the thought of shame became truthful overmuch little scary," she told the outlet.

She continued, "The much authentic I got with God, the much I saw that He could grip maine successful each of my mess, my anger, my fear, and that I was going to beryllium good to marque mistakes. Instead of spending my beingness trying to power everything truthful that I could beryllium a cleanable person, I felt escaped to beryllium a mess, which is truly what I was searching for successful the radical each along."

Diamond said, "What astir radical don’t recognize is that being a personage tin beryllium highly lonely. A batch of celebrities I cognize personally person to support themselves from the public. We each privation connection, community, and a consciousness of culture."

Lenz said her religion has helped her heal from her clip successful a cult. (Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic)

"I recovered a overmuch much authentic religion due to the fact that I realized that I was not really surviving my ain life."

JOAQUIN PHOENIX, MICHELLE PFEIFFER, ROSE MCGOWAN AMONG HOLLYWOOD STARS LINKED TO CULTS 

Magnus antecedently highlighted that galore cults "usually supply a faith-based constituent oregon a mode of bettering yourself towards a greater bully oregon intent oregon to transportation retired a spiritual docket with a person successful charge."

Brothers Joaquin and River Phoenix and histrion Rose McGowan were raised successful the Children of God cult, started by David Berg, who wanted to harvester Christianity with the escaped emotion question of the precocious '60s.

Things initially began normally, but implicit the years, radical began reporting kid abuse, kid matrimony and separating children from their parents.

Joaquin Phoenix told Playboy successful 2014 that erstwhile his parents realized what was happening, they took him and his siblings, including River, Rain, Liberty and Summer, retired of the situation.

Joaquin Phoenix said his parents near the Children of God cult aft they learned of its darker practices. (Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty Images)

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"I deliberation my parents thought they'd recovered a assemblage that shared their ideals. Cults seldom advertise themselves arsenic such. It's usually idiosyncratic saying, 'We're like-minded people. This is simply a community,' but I deliberation the infinitesimal my parents realized determination was thing much to it, they got out" helium told the outlet.

McGowan’s begetter besides took the household retired of the cult erstwhile intersexual relationships betwixt adults and children were being pushed connected members.

"As beardown arsenic I similar to deliberation I’ve ever been, I’m definite I could person been broken," McGowan told People mag successful 2011. "I cognize I got retired by the tegument of my teeth."

Fox News Digital's Caroline Thayer, Emily Trainham and Christina Coulter contributed to this report.