Ex JWs Los Angeles: My Experience on the Leah Remini "Aftermath" Special on Jehovah's Witnesses

I was very happy about being asked to be on Leah Remini’s “Aftermath” special on Jehovah’s Witnesses. For months, I had heard that Leah Remini was going to do a special on the JWs, but I didn't know any details. Last year I had been on the Dr. Phil Show, but when it came time for me to finally speak, it was maybe all of 15 to 30 seconds.

I had no idea when Leah Remini was going to do this show. Then I got a call from someone else who had been asked to be on the show but she declined (she was getting married that weekend) and she asked if I was interested. So I said "yes" and we were off to the races. I was interviewed by a couple of their producers and they decided I was a good fit for the program. They wanted the "women's issues" perspective on the program.

They gave us the royal treatment to appear on the show. Although I live in the Los Angeles area, they offered me a nice hotel, but I declined. I was picked up by professional driver in an SUV (not Uber or Lyft) it was a really nice limo type service. They did my hair and makeup there and gave us breakfast and a nice buffet lunch as well. I got to sit next to Mike Rinder and across from Leah when we had lunch.

The panel was interesting as how they decided to set us all up. What you saw in the show was just a small percentage of the stories that were covered. Everyone had a very heart wrenching story and everyone had been through the wringer and back. The story of the family with the two suicides was extremely tragic and sad and made me cry. I hear these kinds of stories quite frequently because of the support group I run here in Los Angeles. I cannot ever get used to hearing such sadness and tragedy and all those stories as they are so heartbreaking. There was the lady who gave up her daughter for adoption to another JW couple that really shook me up. (the daughter ended up being sexually abused by the adoptive father.) I had no idea that anyone could be made to feel that they were so worthless that she could not even raise her own daughter because she thought she would die in Armageddon. But this is what cults and the effect of cult mind control does to people.

These tragic stories made mine pale in comparison. Although I lived through two years of a very bad marriage and regular physical abuse, I was always looking for a way out. I hated my JW ex husband when he hit me and dragged me around by the hair. I hated him for all the pain and bruises he inflicted on me. Every time something went wrong, he blamed me and then slapped me around and worse. I never dreamed that life with this young man would be so bad. I also felt resentful of the elders in the Kingdom Hall for not having the sense to do anything about his behavior. I am so glad that he was caught smoking and this gave me my way out of this relationship. The elders did not care if I left him because he was difellowshipped, but they just told me I could not remarry. I left this organization anyway and could care less what these self appointed elders wanted.

What did not get shown on the program was the rest of my story and how I left the abusive situation. I moved in with my parents and a year later, started going to school to improve my situation. A couple years later I disassociated myself. And then two years later, I became a Christian. Because I feel so strongly about helping those who have suffered tragedy and sadness leaving the Watchtower, I have been reaching out to those who leave and need support. I have run a support group in Los Angeles since 2002.

The show did not seem cover any happy endings and I wish it could have focused on how well the other panel members have done since leaving the Watchtower, showing that there IS LIFE (and a good one too) after leaving the Watchtower organization. My Christianity and love for ex JWs is what drives me to keep teaching and keep supporting those who need the love and support.

Besides the ex JW support group, I am also involved with another nonprofit Christian group called "Women in Apologetics". We are a group of women who seek to teach Christians and others the reasons for faith in God, how to differentiate truth from false teaching, and how to engage our current culture with truth. If I had been familiar with anything like this, I would never have joined the JWs with my mother. In an upcoming Women in Apologetics conference I'll be speaking at a break out session on the subject of "Unlocking the Minds of Jehovah's Witnesses". I wish that I could have met someone at the door who would have cared about me enough to help get me out and help me to think. The method I try to tell other Christians about is to build a relationship with the JWs that you might meet and ask a lot of questions to get them to think logically about what they believe.

It was a pleasure to be on the show with Leah Remini and also a pleasure to meet Mike Rinder. They are both remarkable people and I will always be grateful to have had this opportunity to speak out on how women are mistreated in the Watchtower. This was another one of those things that just fell into my lap and became a "God Incidence."