Elizabeth Lyn Vargas’ Cult Claims

During this past season of The Real Housewives of Orange County, new Housewife Elizabeth Lyn Vargas has opened up about various aspects of her life, including her experience being raised in a religious cult when she was younger.

While the cast was on a trip to Lake Arrowhead this season, Vargas revealed to her costar Braunwyn Windham-Burke that she had dealt with a difficult upbringing, citing abuse and molestation. “I was raised in a very, very religious situation where I was told to absolutely not open my mouth or tell the truth about what was happening, and I have a very, very hard issue with stopping the compartmentalization because I grew up in this horrible situation,” Vargas revealed during the episode.

So, what Church did Vargas grow up in? Here’s what you need to know:

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The Church Was Shut Down by the FBI

During a recent appearance on Heather McDonald’s Juicy Scoop podcast, Vargas revealed that the church she belonged to as a child was called the Faith Bible Tabernacle. Vargas detailed that the church was in the Midwest and that her grandmother owned the organization.

During an episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County this season entitled “The Unmasking of Elizabeth Vargas,” Vargas explained that the church was shut down by the FBI after she told her neighbors what was happening to her. “I told the neighbors what was happening inside the church and the FBI came and shut the church down,” Vargas explained to the other women. “We all lived in the church compound. There’s a little tent in my front yard, and the neighbor was a little boy and I had a crush on him. And he came over and got into my tent. And I said, ‘Oh yeah, well these people do this.'”

Vargas continued, “He went to his family, his family went to the police, the police went to the FBI, and the next day, they shut the church down.”

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Elizabeth Lyn Vargas Had to Wear a Uniform While in the Church

Another rule of this religious cult that Vargas detailed was that she had to wear a uniform every day. On the show, Vargas alleged, “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.”

Throughout the season, Vargas’ fellow Real Housewives of Orange County stars have been helping her come to terms with her childhood, and most have been supportive of her. During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Emily Simpson said about Vargas, “My heart breaks for her. As a child, you don’t even know that there’s anything wrong with it, and that’s what you have to psychologically bring with you into adulthood. I can’t even fathom what it would be like to have to deal with something like that.”

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