One Tree Hill's Bethany Joy Lenz claims about 'Big House Family cult' dismissed by husband Michael Galeotti's father as fiction

She has branded them warped cult members who controlled her each determination and swindled her multimillion-dollar TV earnings.

But the erstwhile in-laws of histrion Bethany Joy Lenz person breached their soundlessness to cull her lurid allegations of maltreatment and brainwashing arsenic a cynical effort to merchantability copies of her upcoming memoir.

Lenz, 43, charmed audiences with her portrayal of girl-next-door Haley James Scott connected fashionable teen drama, One Tree Hill from 2003 to 2012.

But successful caller interviews, the Hallmark prima has revealed her wholesome on-screen persona masked a painful, decade-long entanglement successful a parasitic Christian sect that allegedly seized power of her career and finances.

By the clip Lenz broke escaped of the cult's grip truthful overmuch wealth had been drained from her accounts that she had virtually thing to amusement for her nine-seasons connected the deed CW show, she claims.

Lenz has not identified the alleged fanatics, preferring to support backmost immoderate of the juicier details until her caller book, Dinner For Vampires, hits shelves aboriginal this week.

But DailyMail.com tin uncover that she's referring to Wild Branch Ministries, a tiny covenant religion whose devotees lived 'commune-style' successful a million-dollar mansion successful Battle Ground, Washington known arsenic The Big House.

Its laminitis – a 'domineering' curate Lenz has described arsenic a sociopath akin to Keith Raniere of the NXIVM enactment cult – is 'Papa' Mike Galeotti, her erstwhile father-in-law.

Approached for his broadside of the story, Galeotti, 62, whose eldest lad Michael was joined to Lenz for six years, described her accusations arsenic 'heartbreaking.'

'Everybody sees things a small otherwise and she's going to cling to the fame,' helium told DailyMail.com successful an exclusive interview.

'Good for her. She's going to marque a sanction for herself. But it's not the mode it went down.'

Galeotti's son, Michael Jr. assistance helium preferred not to dredge up his years-long divorce. 

'I don't cognize what to marque of this memoir aft each this time,' helium said.

'I person a girl who's truly important to me. I don't privation it to impact her. It's excessively much. I don't truly privation to origin immoderate problems for her.'

The sleeve of Lenz's tell-all tome promises to laic bare 'her beingness connected a cult TV show… portion besides successful an existent cult'.

But DailyMail.com tin uncover it's not the archetypal clip she's levelled claims of affectional and spiritual maltreatment astatine 'Papa' Galeotti, his woman Sheila, 62, and their devout followers.

During her 2012 divorce, the actress-turned-podcaster begged a justice successful Washington's Clark County to support her 'controlling' in-laws distant from her past one-year-old girl Maria, according to tribunal papers.

She depicted beingness successful the Big House arsenic squalid and filthy, insisting it was not a harmless spot for Michael, 40 – a erstwhile indie stone instrumentalist – to big their small girl.

'The information of the spot wherever helium is surviving is unsanitary, having caused maine trouble breathing from the vomit, feces, urine, and mold and the resulting foul odors,' Lenz wrote successful a scathing declaration obtained by DailyMail.com.

'I americium acrophobic Maria volition walk clip with the petitioner successful what is champion described arsenic a misogynistic exclusive 'community' environment, lorded implicit by the petitioner's father.'

Lenz had shared the sprawling ceramic assemblage with an assortment of disciples that concisely included a antheral with 'a past of drugging and raping young women', she claimed successful the documents.

Residents were urged to sever ties with their relatives and to alternatively give themselves to the 'chosen family'. It was considered 'illegal' for a pistillate to question her spouse.

Anyone who decided to permission the insular radical of respective twelve Wild Branch worshippers was allegedly shunned and slandered.

'Mike Sr and Michael some person said often that 'We are similar the Mafia without violence'. A much existent connection could not beryllium made,' Lenz declared.

Her travel into alleged subjugation began erstwhile she moved to LA successful her aboriginal 20s and joined a book survey radical hosted by Jeanine Jackson, a salient Battle Ground matriarch who was staying successful California to assistance her sons Richard and Jonathan motorboat showbiz careers.

Jackson, 68, invited adjacent pal Galeotti to present sermons to the tight-knit ellipse of aspiring actors and artists. Imbibing his connection was similar uncovering 'water successful a desert', Lenz would aboriginal recall.

Galeotti's power grew to the grade that respective worshippers agreed to relocate to Battle Ground, conscionable crossed the Washington borderline from Portland, Oregon, that is named aft an 1855 standoff betwixt members of the Klickitat Native American people and a US Army outpost.

'It inactive looked mean and past it conscionable morphed,' Lenz, the lone kid of evangelical Christian parents, said successful a caller interrogation with People magazine.

'But by the clip it started morphing, I was excessively acold into the relationships to notice. Plus, I was truthful young.' 

In 2005 – 2 years aft she landed her breakout relation successful One Tree Hill – Lenz wed Michael, who was successful the set Enation with Richard and Jonathan Jackson, the second a five-time Daytime Emmy victor who plays Lucky Spencer successful General Hospital.

According to divorcement filings, the matrimony crumbled erstwhile Michael remained 'severely bonded' to his parents, refusing to permission his basement digs astatine the Big House to determination with her to Northern Carolina, wherever the play was filmed.

The brace blamed 1 different for outbreaks of violence, Lenz accusing Michael of seeing reddish and punching holes successful their walls portion helium claimed she had hurled a vase and deed him respective times, the papers disclose.

Her filings besides included a creepy enactment that she claimed Michael dictated and made her pin to the partition erstwhile they yet moved to their ain house.

'When I consciousness wronged, tally to Jesus – inquire him to amusement maine himself successful Michael. Submit to Michael's (requests?) and humbly spot God to uncover the truth,' it read.

'Ask Jesus (pray continually) to uncover to maine the meaning of unity and submission.'

Lenz said of the handwritten missive: 'He expects maine to beryllium subservient to him connected a regular basis. He instructed maine to work this connection each day.'

Michael's friends and household presented sworn declarations of their own, insisting Wild Branch was not a cult.

The Big House had 'taken a bully beating' implicit the years from the assorted 'rambunctious preteens' and pets that had called it home.

But it was not arsenic filthy arsenic Lenz described, asserted Jackson's doc hubby Rick, 69, a two-time legislature candidate.

He and his woman built the 5,400 square-foot spot successful 1989 but fto Galeotti, his woman and their 3 sons unrecorded determination rent escaped and usage it arsenic a 'spiritual hub' for Wild Branch.

Lenz and Michael finalized their divorcement successful 2015 erstwhile a justice ruled that Maria, present 13, should unrecorded with her ma successful Los Angeles wherever Lenz said she needed to beryllium to onshore acting gigs.

But Michael was besides awarded regular parenting clip with the miss and – successful spite of her mother's protests – was permitted to big her successful Battle Ground.

'There is nary ground to restrict the child's interaction with father's household oregon friends. There is nary grounds of hazard of harm to the kid successful father's household,' Judge James Rulli determined.  

Of each the accusations leveled by Lenz, possibly the astir damaging are her claims of fiscal malfeasance.

'The tribunal should cognize that aft 10 years and 182 episodes of a palmy TV series, I americium near with astir 3 episodes worthy of wealth successful the bank,' Lenz wrote during her divorce.

She pointed the digit astatine the Q-3 absorption institution operated by Mike Galeotti, Jeanine Jackson, and a 3rd friend, Jeff Quade.

Her signature was forged and her net were spirited distant into a web of shady accounts to beryllium spent connected a drawstring of failing concern ventures, including a edifice and 'organic, upscale' restaurant, Lenz alleged.

Accountant Tiffany Couch told the tribunal that $526,000 was diverted from the actress's concern accounts to the edifice betwixt 2010 and 2011.

While Galeotti household members drew salaries, Lenz received 'no payment oregon distribution' earlier it went bust, Couch alleged.

'In summary, we are acrophobic astir the diversion of millions of dollars of Ms. Lenz's net during the couple's matrimony unbeknownst to her/and oregon nether circumstances that were not afloat disclosed to her,' she wrote.

Jackson, 68, a grief counsellor and amateur ventriloquist, denied immoderate wrongdoing erstwhile DailyMail.com called astatine her Battle Ground home.

'It's ne'er amusive to person things that are untrue retired there,' she told us, refusing to beryllium drawn further.

The Big House was sold respective years agone but Wild Branch inactive hosts bi-weekly supplication meetings astatine the Galeottis' downtown vino bar.

It's listed successful authorities records arsenic an progressive non-profit and the registered cause is Jackson's girl Candice, a 46-year-old lawyer who served successful the Trump administration.

Quade, 54 – listed online arsenic Wild Branch's organizational caput – said Lenz's mentation of events was 'ludicrous.'

'She conscionable seems to spout things that acceptable with the communicative that she has created,' helium protested.

'I don't person thing to beryllium oregon to accidental really. I mean, she seems to beryllium wanting to enactment relevant.'

DailyMail.com reached retired to Lenz to inquire whether she ever reported the alleged fraud to instrumentality enforcement oregon initiated immoderate different signifier of ineligible redress.

Neither her manager, nor the 2 lawyers progressive successful her divorce, instantly responded.

No uncertainty their feisty TV prima lawsuit volition person plentifulness much to accidental connected the taxable erstwhile her hotly anticipated publication yet hits bookstands connected Tuesday.

'I've arrived astatine the decision that the hard things are meant to beryllium shared, not hidden,' she said of its impending release.