“One Tree Hill”'s Bethany Joy Lenz Reveals Fallout with Hilarie Burton Was Caused by 'Bizarre Misunderstandings'
Rumors of their feud first surfaced in March when eagle-eyed fans noticed that neither of the actresses followed each other on Instagram
After months of speculation that the two may be on the outs, it's been confirmed that Bethany Joy Lenz and Hilarie Burton Morgan are not in a good place.
During an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast on Wednesday, Oct. 16, the One Tree Hill alum, 43, opened up about the rift she's felt with her former costar.
“I love Hilarie, I have always and will always, and I don’t have any problem with her,” Lenz admitted. “There have been some bizarre misunderstandings that I really hope we can figure out one day, but I love that girl.”
PEOPLE has reached out to Burton's rep for comment.
Related: Hilarie Burton Recalls 'Awkward' Last Day on Set of One Tree Hill: 'Felt Like a Funeral'
Rumors of their feud first surfaced in March when eagle-eyed fans noticed that neither of the actresses followed each other on Instagram. Other internet sleuths have theorized that the rift began when Lenz announced the release of her memoir, Dinner for Vampires, which looked similar to the cover of Burton Morgan's 2023 memoir, Grimoire Girl.
In late February, Burton Morgan seemingly referenced the similarities in their books when she posted a meme on her Instagram Stories that read, "I don’t think imitation is the highest form of flattery, I think it’s annoying."
Eventually, Burton Morgan announced she was stepping back from the One Tree Hill rewatch podcast, Drama Queens, which she hosted alongside Lenz and Sophia Bush. The actress, who starred as Peyton Sawyer for six seasons, revealed she would be relinquishing her co-hosting duties after the trio made its way through the end of season 6 in late June.
“We have reached the end of my behind-the-scenes experience on the show, and so I really started to question what I brought to this, but also how we keep that storytelling alive and important,” Burton Morgan told her costars during a July episode. “And so, as we head into seasons 7 through 9, it was important that we introduced a new queen who could take over for me.”
While she said she’s “still gonna pop in here and there,” they wanted to find a new host “who represented the same things that I've brought to this show.”
Related: Sophia Bush Celebrates 'Sister' Hilarie Burton's 42nd Birthday: 'No One Who Does It Like You'
The trio landed on Robert Buckley, who joined One Tree Hill in season 7 right as Peyton departed. He played Clay Evans, the cocky sports agent to Nathan (James Lafferty) who ultimately marries Lenz’s character’s sister Quinn (Shantel VanSanten).
At the time of her announcement, Burton Morgan confessed that she's had a sense of peace now that she didn't have to nervously wait share new things every episode.
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"It felt like I could finally take a deep breath," she said. "Because every single week, it was, Oh my God, I gotta tell that story. Oh, my god. We have to relive that. And there's, obviously, like, so much good stuff that was in it. But it – I would have to kinda psych myself up every week."
She continued, "And this was the first week in years at this point that I've been like, I don't have to – I don't have to divulge s--- today."
One Tree Hill is streaming in full on Max, and Lenz's Dinner for Vampires book will be available to purchase on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
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