What Hallmark's Bethany Joy Lenz Blames For Her Fallout With Former Co-Star Hilarie Burton

Bethany Joy Lenz and Hilarie Burton went from playing on-screen BFFs on "One Tree Hill" to IRL besties. Although the pair only got to share the screen for about six years, they remained close and joined their fellow co-star Sophia Bush in creating the "Drama Queens" podcast in 2021 to reminisce about their time on the show. Everything was going fine until February 2024, when Lenz unveiled the cover for her memoir "Dinner for Vampires." 

It seems like Burton wasn't too pleased with the revelation, as her friend's cover bore a resemblance to the artwork for her 2023 memoir "Grimoire Girl." Shortly after the reveal, Burton took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share a shady quote that read, "I don't think imitation is the highest form of flattery, I think it's annoying." The existence of their feud seemed even more plausible after fans learned that the two actors weren't following each other on Instagram. Additionally, Burton skipped out on appearing in a March 2024 Instagram Reel promoting an upcoming episode of their podcast while the other two hosts were present.

While Burton remained tight-lipped about the feud, Lenz addressed it during an appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast in October, asserting, "I love Hilarie. I have always and will always. And I don't have any problem with her." Still, she conceded, "There have been some bizarre misunderstandings that I really hope we can figure out one day, but I love that girl." By then, Burton had already announced that she was stepping down as a co-host to their podcast. 

During a July 2024 episode of "Drama Queens," Hilarie Burton announced that her time on the podcast had come to an end. While it may seem like Burton's feud with Lenz triggered the decision, she insisted that she couldn't continue because she only worked on "One Tree Hill" for six seasons, and they had covered all the episodes she appeared in. The "White Collar" star candidly confessed that the end brought a silver lining, saying, "It felt like I could finally take a deep breath." 

She continued, "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, so much good stuff that was in it. But I would have to kind of psych myself up every week." The actors announced that their co-star Robert Buckley, who joined the teen drama after Burton's exit, would be taking her place. Needless to say, fans weren't convinced that Burton and Lenz's rumored feud had not factored into her exit.

It's also worth noting that celebrity gossip website DeuxMoi reported that in addition to Burton, Sophia Bush also had issues with Lenz because she had shared her wildly differing views about the LGBTQIA+ community and vaccinations on her private Instagram account. Given all this, it certainly seems like the "One Tree Hill" stars who became Hallmark stars have a lot of drama to work through.