
Elizabeth Lyn Vargas’ admission that she grew up in a cult shook the ladies of the OC.
And viewers, too. The newest addition to “The Real Housewives of Orange County” captivated audiences this season when she revealed what her troubled childhood was like.
Here is everything the “RHOC” star, 45, has said about the Missouri cult she was raised in.
She suffered abuse at the Faith Bible Tabernacle in Missouri
Vargas named the cult during an interview with Page Six and told us that it wasn’t named on the show “just because it wasn’t.”
“We pulled up the articles and I gave it to the producers,” she explained. “You have to prove yourself. You can’t just be like this — this show is about being real and who you are and really kind of growing and people watch you grow, so you can’t really make up anything. Well, you’re not supposed to, right?”
She added, “I showed the articles and the actual newspaper clippings back in the day. It was hard for me to see it and I chose to bring it out because there were other family members and other people involved in that cult that really probably are hurting right now as much as I am.”
Her family started the church
Vargas revealed that her grandmother was the founder of the cult and her father was a pastor during part two of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” reunion.
She said that the cult was based around money and greed. She also shared that when her brother returned to Missouri in hopes of getting closure, he realized how brainwashed they were by being taught to “obey.”
She had a strict lifestyle in the cult
Vargas said on the show, “We couldn’t wear anything else but this uniform. We couldn’t eat anything but what they made us or what they shot. We couldn’t leave the ranch — we were stuck on a commune. We couldn’t even go to a hospital, they knew how to control every single person on that property.”
The cult was shut down by the FBI
Vargas revealed on an episode of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” that the church was shut down by the FBI after she confided in neighbors about the abuse she was enduring.
She hopes sharing her journey will help others
Vargas told Page Six that she has heard from other past members of the cult since coming forward with her story, calling it “an odd blessing.”
“So I have not even mentally grasped this yet, the ecosystem that is affected by me spilling the beans, so I’m going to be living that truth for the next, I’m sure, a while and people have been reaching out to me nonstop and I’m going to hold my ground and I know who I am and I’m fine with it,” she added.
ncG1vNJzZmiokZyytLXXZ5qopV9nfXN9jmloaGpoZL%2Bpu8Jmqq2ZomKyrbXZmpmerJhiubq6jK%2BYq5%2BRqHqnu9GmnKtlk6q5tXnWoZitZaeaeqy6zrBm