RHOC alum Elizabeth Vargas may film documentary on religious cult upbringing

RHOC alum Elizabeth Vargas says she's now in therapy to deal with trauma from her upbringing in a religious cult - and that she may share her story in a future documentary

Published: 05:56 BST, 21 July 2021 | Updated: 06:07 BST, 21 July 2021

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Elizabeth Lyn Vargas has revealed that she may film a documentary about her upbringing in an abusive religious cult one day.

Speaking to the Unpopular podcast, the Real Housewives of Orange alum also said that the Missouri church in the commune that she was raised in has now been bulldozed.

'The church is no longer there, in fact they just bulldozed it I believe last year,' the 45-year-old said.

Brave: Real Housewives of Orange County's Elizabeth Lyn Vargas has revealed that she may film a documentary about her upbringing in an abusive religious cult one day

'My brother had gone there and got all my school work, all of our stuff was still there in the basement of this church, it was creepy,' she continued.

'He's got pictures of everything. Even the closets that they locked us in and all the other weird s**t. I could never go back. I don't know how he did it, he's traumatised.'

The reality star was part of the Faith Bible Tabernacle church group as a child, which was run by her grandmother on her father's side.

She claimed to have suffered years of abuse in the church until she was thirteen, when her mother escaped with her and her siblings.

'The church is no longer there': Speaking to the Unpopular podcast, Elizabeth said that the Missouri church in the commune she was raised in has now been bulldozed

Elizabeth told Unpopular that having her childhood things back has helped give her closure, but she's still not ready to publicly expose more details about the cult because she's still healing.

'It should be exposed on a show one day and I think when the time is right it will be, because when I saw people on my Instagram reaching out to me in tears. I have to tell you, it was insane.

'I read every story, and I was crying for days but it was healing. I was like, "oh my god, I'm not alone." There's another people being abused like this.'

Trauma: The reality star was part of the Faith Bible Tabernacle church group as a child, which was run by her grandmother on her father's side. She claimed to have suffered years of abuse in the church until she was thirteen, when her mother escaped with her and her siblings

When asked if she'd ever film a documentary about the cult and her horrific upbringing, the star explained that she's not ready yet and is still in therapy after opening up about her past on the Real Housewives of Orange County last year.

'That was extremely difficult to know that I had never spoken about it to my peers ever, on a personal level, in person, not to mention on an international syndicated television show,' she said.

'So I was very grief-stricken when that came out and I was petrified,' she continued.

'I'm in therapy': Elizabeth said that she's still not ready to publicly expose more details about the cult because she's still healing from the pain

'I didn't realise that it was PTSD. I live my life very compartmentalised in a shell, that's why I created that bubble in Orange County.

'I've been going to this therapist ... she's an actual therapist that's been helping me work through this trauma that I actually never knew that I needed.'

Elizabeth has now channelled her trauma into positive projects, including the We Care Rescue Ranch to help animals.

Moving forward: Elizabeth has now channelled her trauma into positive projects, including the We Care Rescue Ranch to help animals and her own vodka line called Vargas Vodka

She's also launched her own premium liquor called Vargas Vodka, which donates a portion of all sales to the rescue ranch.

Elizabeth claimed that she was molested by 'many' men while growing up in a religious cult on an episode of RHOC last year.

While she was discussing her upbringing, her co-star Gina Kirschenheiter asked: 'You were molested?' Elizabeth said that she was and mentioned 'many situations,' to which Gina asked: 'By many men?' prompting Elizabeth to say yes.

'I went through a situation as a young girl': Elizabeth alleged that she was molested by 'many' men while growing up in a religious cult

Without naming the organization in question, she told her fellow Real Housewives: 'I went through a situation as a young girl that no one, no woman, should ever go through - no girl should have to go through.'

She alleged: 'We were in a church environment and all this s*** the fan, and I told my neighbor what was happening inside the church and the FBI came to shut the church,' adding that she and her family were 'kicked out of the church' as a result of her repeating the sex abuse allegation to the neighbour.

Elizabeth said that 'we misplaced everybody' when her family exited the organization.

De-escalating: In a previous scene, Elizabeth suffered a panic attack and discussed her childhood with Braunwyn Windham-Burke

'I feel like I hurt the family by talking, because I was told not to say anything - I was told by the church: "Do not repeat what's happening, or you will get kicked out,"' she stated, asserting that 'I just felt guilty.'

In a previous scene Elizabeth suffered a panic attack and discussed her childhood with Braunwyn Windham-Burke.

During her confessional she added details, saying: 'From zero to 13, I was raised in this religious environment.'

Elizabeth said: 'My grandmother was the head of the religious cult and my father was one of the main preachers as well.'

Looking back: During her confessional she added details, saying: 'From zero to 13, I was raised in this religious environment'

She alleged: 'As a young girl, I knew something was wrong with what was going on in this church. We couldn't wear anything else but this uniform.'

The reality star alleged: '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.'

Elizabeth claimed: 'We couldn’t even go to a hospital, they knew how to control every single person on that property.'

She stated: 'Religious abuse is the worst kind of abuse.'

Throwback shot: Elizabeth said: 'My grandmother was the head of the religious cult and my father was one of the main preachers as well'; her parents David and Lyn are pictured

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