- Bethany Joy Lenz said that a cult took $2 million from her checking account, leaving $220,000.
- Lenz wrote about her experience in the Big House Family cult in her memoir released Tuesday.
- Lenz told People magazine that it was “incredibly difficult” figuring out how to bounce back financially.
“One Tree Hill” star Bethany Joy Lenz said that the cult she was part of for 10 years took $2 million from her checking account, leaving her with $220,000 and struggling to make ends meet.
Lenz wrote about her experience in the organization, which she refers to as the Big House Family, in her memoir “Dinner For Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also in an Actual Cult!),” released Tuesday.
The actor is best known for playing Haley James Scott on all nine seasons of “One Tree Hill,” which aired on The CW from 2003 to 2012. The drama centered on half-brothers Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan Scott (James Lafferty) navigating high school and relationships in the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina. “OTH” is widely regarded as one of the most iconic, quintessential TV shows of the early 2000s.
At the same time that Lenz starred in “OTH,” she was also part of the Big House Family organization. Throughout her memoir, she referred to the organization as a cult. In the author’s note, Lenz said that she changed identifying details of her experience “for clarity, brevity, or privacy,” including the names of individuals.
Lenz first became acquainted with the group when she attended a Bible study as a young actor in Los Angeles. Through the cult, she met Michael Galeotti Jr., whom she married from 2005 to 2012. In the memoir, Lenz referred to him as “Quiet Boy” or “QB.” Galeotti is the son of Michael Galeotti Sr., a pastor who founded Wild Branch Christian Ministries and is referred to as “Les” in Lenz’s book.
Lenz and her now ex-husband welcomed a daughter named Rosie in 2011. The following year, when Rosie was 11 months old, Lenz decided to leave the cult and divorce Galeotti.
While starring in “OTH,” Lenz said that she constantly traveled back and forth between LA, Wilmington, where the show was filmed, and Idaho, where “Les” moved the group to a large house.
In her memoir, Lenz said that the millions she earned from “OTH” supported her husband and daughter, plus “the extended Family’s various endeavors, including a motel, a restaurant, and, most importantly, a ministry.”
Lenz said that while she was “on the outs” with the remaining members of the Family post-divorce, she was informed of “shady” business dealings involving the restaurant.
When she reviewed her balance at the bank, she was astounded to see that her checking account was drastically lower than expected.
“It couldn’t be right,” Lenz wrote. “I had been making around a million dollars a year for several seasons.”
Even with government taxes, paying her team, yearly expenses, and $200,000 going toward the restaurant, Lenz estimated that she should have had $2.4 million in her account. Instead, there was $220,000 remaining.
“I knew $200,000 was more than many people would see in their whole lives,” Lenz said. “But I’d spent 20 years building a career.”
The actor said she was filled with feelings of self-loathing after building up her acting career, only for her earnings to then be depleted by the cult.
“It was really horrifying,” she told People magazine.
“Not knowing how I was going to make rent because all the money was gone, it was legitimately incredibly difficult,” she said.
Additionally, Lenz said that the cult controlled her career and Les deterred her from accepting an offer to play Belle on Broadway, which was her “biggest theatre dream for years.”
Lenz said that Les convinced her that pursuing her Broadway dream would be “at the expense” of her soul. She ended up turning down the offer.
“It felt shallow to even consider,” Lenz wrote. “The answer had to be Family.”
Since leaving the cult, Lenz landed roles on shows like “Dexter” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” as well as a variety of holiday movies for Lifetime and Hallmark. She’s also the co-host of the podcast “Drama Queens” with “OTH” costars Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton.
Galeotti Sr., Lenz’s former father-in-law, reacted to the allegations in Lenz’s book in an interview with DailyMail.com, published on Tuesday.
“Everybody sees things a little differently and she’s going to cling to the fame,” he said. “Good for her. She’s going to make a name for herself. But it’s not the way it went down.”
Lenz’s ex-husband also spoke to the publication and said that he was unsure “what to make of this memoir after all this time.”
“I have a daughter who’s really important to me,” Galeotti Jr. said. “I don’t want it to affect her. It’s too much. I don’t really want to cause any problems for her.”
Lenz, Galeotti Sr., and Wild Branch didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
