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India Oxenberg is making an attempt to stay a traditional life after leaving what some have referred to as a “sex cult.”
In 2018, the 32-year-old escaped NXIVM with the assistance of her mom, former “Dynasty” actress Catherine Oxenberg.
The so-called self-help group subjected Oxenberg to bodily and psychological abuse, together with branding, compelled sex and hunger, People journal reported.
India Oxenberg hopes her story will give different trauma survivors hope. (Avalon Lennon)
Oxenberg has since created a brand new life for herself in Key West, Florida. And she’s decided to assist others in comparable circumstances. She’s the host of a podcast, “Still Learning,” and interviews different survivors and trauma consultants. She’s additionally taking part in talks Jan. 21 at Barnes & Noble: The Grove in Los Angele, and Jan. 27 at Books and Books Key West.
She beforehand wrote a memoir, “Still Learning.”
Oxenberg advised Fox News Digital her story is “a cautionary tale.”
“One of the hardest things when you’re coming [out of] a traumatic event is feeling isolated and feeling like you are completely alone,” Oxenberg defined. “Being able to connect with other survivors … it’s really inspiring. … It reminds you of human resilience and how much stronger we are than we might think in a moment of feeling weak.”
India Oxenberg is taking part in two talks this month about surviving trauma. (Courtesy of India Oxenberg)
“I wanted that for a long time,” Oxenberg shared. “Now I feel like I really have that in my life.”
Oxenberg grew to become concerned with NXIVM, which hailed itself as a self-improvement group, at age 19. As she took what had been presupposed to be private improvement courses, she was subjected to sexual and psychological abuse by the hands of NXIVM founder Keith Raniere and chief Allison Mack, a former actress from “Smallville,” People journal reported.
After Oxenberg left the group, she and her mom assisted the FBI in taking down NXIVM. It was revealed that Raniere, who glided by “Vanguard,” used his group to draw millionaires and different prosperous folks amongst its adherents.
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India Oxenberg, left, escaped NXIVM with the assistance of her mom, “Dynasty” actress Catherine Oxenberg, proper. (Roxanne McCann)
To honor Raniere, the group fashioned a secret sorority comprised of feminine “slaves” who had been branded together with his initials and ordered to have sex with him, stated prosecutors. Women had been additionally pressured into giving up embarrassing details about themselves that may very well be used towards them in the event that they left the group.
Raniere, 63, was sentenced to 120 years in jail after his conviction in 2019 for sex trafficking, conspiracy and racketeering.
The NXIVM Executive Success Programs signal exterior the workplace in Albany, N.Y. Keith Raniere, founding father of NXIVM, was arrested by the FBI in Mexico in March 2018. (Amy Luke)
“I wasn’t really mentally free for a while,” Oxenberg admitted. “I escaped Albany … and then I moved to New York City. I started trying to get a normal job, trying to interact with people outside the group, trying to also juggle a bunch of complicated legal things that were going on in my life that I really didn’t know how to handle. It took me a lot of time to start to rebuild that trust with people who were good, and my family and friends from the past and new friends who [were] emerging in my life.”
India Oxenberg has a podcast, “Still Learning,” and speaks with trauma consultants and survivors. (Avalon Lennon)
“It wasn’t like a week later my eyes were completely open and I could see things clearly,” she famous. “It takes years. That’s kind of a misconception. You think, ‘I’m out, so now I’m free.’ But, really, there can be a lot of psychological interference that doesn’t really make you feel free.”
Oxenberg had the assist of her household to rebuild her life. However, extra assets had been wanted to deal with her trauma. A mixture of conventional remedy, psychedelics and ketamine remedies have been a part of her restoration, together with sharing her story overtly. Cannabis has additionally helped enhance her urge for food after scuffling with an consuming dysfunction and physique dysmorphia.
Catherine Oxenberg (left) and India Oxenberg attend the thirty second Annual Colleagues Spring Luncheon at Beverly Wilshire April 19, 2022, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Phillip Faraone)
“I think I’ve had to build that strength inside of me,” she stated on going through days when she felt hopeless. “There were times when I’ve suffered a lot of … mental troubles. And those dark days … I’ve had many of them. I used to think that when that would happen, [then] that meant I wasn’t supposed to be here anymore, or that maybe I didn’t need to live or didn’t need to try.
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In 2020, India Oxenberg appeared in the documentary “Seduced: Inside The NXIVM Cult.” (© Lionsgate/Entertainment Pictures/ALAMY)
“I really feel like I’ve needed to construct numerous inside energy to only know that my life is effective, I’m beneficial,” she continued. “That folks love me, that I’m secure, that I’m not the place I used to be earlier than. I [had] to present myself that constructive reinforcement to remind myself that these unfavorable pathways that I’m used to happening will not be my solely choices. I feel it’s about constructing a brand new constructive narrative inside that helps life and residing and being appreciative of my life.”
Oxenberg additionally discovered love. In 2018, she met chef and restaurateur Patrick D’Ignazio. They married in 2020. With his assist, Oxenberg has realized to like meals once more.
“I feel I used to be actually scared to open myself as much as love,” said Oxenberg. “I feel I used to be additionally actually guarded as a result of as a lot as I wished to get near someone who was my pal at the moment, I had simply been burned by so many individuals that I assumed had been my buddies they usually weren’t. I feel lots of people can relate to that of simply going via issues, shutting down after which having to reopen your self again.”
India Oxenberg married chef Patrick D’Ignazio in 2020. (Courtesy of India Oxenberg)
“I wanted a very good pal, and I discovered that in my husband,” she shared. “I discovered someone who was not judgmental, someone who simply handled me like an everyday one who had made some weird selections that led to some actually extreme penalties that I may by no means have anticipated.”
Today, Oxenberg is excited about life and what the future has in store for her. But she’s also eager to help others look out for warning signs that lead to grooming.
India Oxenberg relies on a combination of therapies as part of her recovery and rebuilding a new life. (Avalon Lennon)
“When someone’s making an attempt to make you of their picture and doesn’t can help you simply be you — that, to me, is a crimson flag,” she said. “Why does someone want you to be like them? That defeats the entire goal of being a person. I see numerous that on social media and the way women really feel like they need to look or be a sure option to be beloved and admired.
“To me, that could go in a direction where you could be more vulnerable to somebody who wants to take advantage of you. There’s an inner strength that’s powerful when you say, ‘This is who I am. I don’t need anyone’s approval.’ That’s important to preserve.
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NXIVM was an organization marketed as a self-help group. (© Lionsgate/Entertainment Pictures/ALAMY)
“Another grooming crimson flag is when folks use disgrace and guilt,” she noted. “To me, that’s a manipulative technique that may get you to change your conduct, not to your profit.”
And anyone can easily find themselves in a similar situation if they don’t look out for the telltale signs, she warned.
“I used to be solely 19 years previous. There are numerous 19-year-olds on the market who’re going via massive life adjustments, who’re going to varsity, who’re beginning their first jobs away from residence … away from their assist system,” she reflected. “You’re susceptible. … I feel numerous what I assumed and numerous what drove me was this must show myself … to show that I used to be price one thing. That drove me within the mistaken route.”
India Oxenberg has created a new life for herself in Key West. (Courtesy of India Oxenberg)
But there is always hope for survivors starting a new chapter, she said.
“Bad issues occur to all of us, and also you don’t need to be a sufferer of that eternally,” said Oxenberg. “You can truly select to rise above your story. … You can say, ‘That doesn’t outline me. That’s simply one thing that occurred.’”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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