(NewsNation) — A former member of “Twin Flames Universe” says she’s “very grateful” she escaped what she believes was actually a cult.
“I was extremely fortunate to get out,” Keely Griffin told victims advocate Elizabeth Smart during a “Banfield” special report Tuesday. “Unfortunately, anyone can fall prey to coercion … It was one giant web of lies that kept getting worse and worse.”
Griffin is a former high-ranking member of Twin Flames Universe and was featured in “Escaping Twin Flames,” a Netflix documentary series that investigated the online community.
Griffin said it took her six months of “waking up” to “finally leave.” She said her mind felt “twisted” and that she had to fully rewire her brain to “think critically.”
“I think about it almost every day,” Griffin added. “That first month of being free, it felt like I had just landed on this planet.”
Cecilia Peck, Netflix’s “Escaping Twin Flames” director, told NewsNation that one of the reasons her team made the series “is to show people how positive it can seem, but how dangerous it can become.”
The Twin Flames Universe is a controversial online community founded by Jeff and Shaleia Divine in 2017. They promise to help people find their “twin flame union” through various coaching sessions.
“We believe strongly, because of scientific evidence, that every single person has a Twin Flame and can be with them in this lifetime,” the Twin Flames Universe team wrote on Facebook. “Through the groundbreaking work of Jeff and Shaleia and the simple process they lay out through the body of their work, more and more people are healing their hearts and manifesting their Harmonious Twin Flame Union. Because it is a spiritual science, it works every single time for every single person, and it will work for you too.”
Via Instagram, the Twin Flames Universe team denied allegations of abuse and cult-like behavior. They said that their members are “free to engage with (their) resources as they see fit.”