“OTH” star Bethany Joy Lenz’s daughter is using Nathan and Haley’s high school marriage against her
“OTH” star Bethany Joy Lenz’s daughter is using Nathan and Haley’s high school marriage against her
Sarah HearonWed, November 11, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC
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Bethany Joy Lenz; Nathan and Haley on ‘One Tree Hill’Credit: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage; The WBKey Points -
During an interview with EW, Bethany Joy Lenz recalls a recent conversation with her daughter, Maria, about dating.
When Lenz spoke to her teen about taking the time to get to know someone, Maria pointed out that her mom’s One Tree Hill character, Haley, got married in high school.
“Damn it!” she recalls of her reaction.
Haley James Scott is a solid role model for teenage girls — unless you consider that whole getting married as a junior in high school thing.
Bethany Joy Lenz, who played Haley for nine seasons on One Tree Hill, recently revealed to Entertainment Weekly that her 15-year-old daughter, Maria, is watching the WB/CW show for the first time. And for those who may not recall, Haley and Nathan (James Lafferty) shocked their high school classmates by tying the knot at the end of season 1.
“My daughter just started watching One Tree Hill. We were talking about dating just as a topic the other day. She was poking at me on purpose,” Lenz recalls to EW. “I was saying something to the effect of, ‘You need time to get to know someone. You’ve got so many years ahead of you.’ And she goes, ‘Well, Haley got married in high school.’ And I was like, ‘Damn it!’”
The conversation with her teenager had Lenz thinking, “How many girls got married in high school because Haley got married in high school?” — which left her “horrified.”
“Honestly, as adorable as that was in TV land, I kind of wish there had been, maybe, a little more time for the two of them,” she continues. “But in fairness, I also think that our writer’s room did a really nice job of showing how difficult things got for a couple that kind of rushed into things pretty quickly at a young age. It wasn’t all sunshine and roses.”
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The popular TV couple’s first year of marriage hit a rough patch during season 2 when Haley left Nathan to tour with Chris Keller (Tyler Hilton).
“I think that’s part of the, ‘Hey, they rushed into getting married, and so now they’re having to deal with some very real adult situations,’” Lenz says. “And that was really Nathan’s journey to learn how to deal with that and be okay with his wife pursuing her dream and her. I’m kind of happy with the way it all turned out.”
She then jokes about a season 9 storyline that didn’t age quite as well. ”I could have done without the Serbian mafia kidnapping Nathan and that whole thing, but what are you going to do?” she says. “Strap on some falsies, put on an accent, try and hunt down the Serbian mafia!”
EW was speaking with Lenz about her debut novel, The Betrayal of Cora Wexford, a historical thriller that takes place in 1880s Victorian London. The book, out now, tackles the theme of emotional abuse.
‘The Betrayal of Cora Wexford’ by Bethany Joy LenzCredit: Bethany Joy Lenz / Simon & Schuster
“If a woman shows up at your house and she’s your friend, and she’s got a bruise on her face, everybody takes it extremely seriously,” Lenz began. “If she shows up at your house and says, ‘I’m confused, I feel A, B, and C,’ she starts listing all these symptoms of psychological abuse, chances are people may try and talk her out of it, [People may say], ‘We want to fight for your marriage… Relationships are messy. Let’s not talk bad about people.’ It just gets funkier, and I would love to see people take it just as seriously.”
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
