Bethany Joy Lenz opens up about life after escaping cult

Bethany Joy Lenz, an American singer and actress, appeared on the Rooted Recovery Stories with Patrick Custer podcast where she opened up about her experience after leaving a cult.

The actress explained that she had a sudden realization about her life after she made the decision to leave in 2012, “There's no chance that I'll fall on my face and look stupid and feel stupid and hurt myself and hurt other people because I'm following all the rules, which is why it was such a rude awakening when I left.”

She added that she experienced “the biggest fall ever” because of her time in the ultra-religious group.

“It's like if I had been brought up in an environment where everything was laid out for me, I did everything everybody told me to do, I dressed perfectly, I showed up everywhere, I knew all the right things to say,” Lenz added, “And I found myself all of a sudden in the middle of my life going, I don't even know who I am.”

The One Tree Hill star detailed how she had to go back to the beginning, “I'll live in my car. I'm going to show up every day for myself, for the people I know. I'm going to peel off the costume, take off the makeup and just start from scratch and figure out who I am. How do I like my eggs?...What music do I listen to? How do I want to communicate with people? How do I like to be communicated with?”

Bethany Joy Lenz stated that she now hopes to rely on her instincts, which is something she has always been lacking. She concluded with her desire to have freedom while approaching things maturely.