Woman who spent 15 years in ‘cult’ was ‘manipulated’ by church

A woman who spent 15 years in ‘cult’ where she married a stranger in a mass ceremony with 60,000 other people says she was ‘manipulated’ by the church. 

Yolande Brener, from Windsor, 55, joined the Unification Church (UC) at the age of 25 and claims she was lied to by the organisation, who told her ‘things that were untrue’ in order to convince her to join the religious group. 

She told on This Morning today how she was only allowed three hours sleep a night, was made to fast, have cold water thrown on her back, and spend her days begging for money on the street, or attempting to coax people into joining the group. 

After marrying a stranger in a huge ceremony in South Korea, mother-of-two Yolanda spend an additional two years living in a dormitory with other brides, because the religion does not allow married couple to have sex for years after the ceremony. 

Yolande Brener (pictured bottom), from Windsor, 55, appeared on This Morning today to speak about her 15-years as a member of the Unification Church (UC)

She told she joined at the age of 25 and claims she was lied to by the organisation, who told her ‘things that were untrue’ about her family members recovering from illness 

She said: ‘I sense when I speak about this, people want me to speak out against the church. I do think I was manipulated. It was my choice ultimately I was vulnerable and looking for answers.’ 

‘I was told things that were not true. I was told my family member would recover if I dedicated my life to god, I was told the world would change in three years, I was told I would have eternal love. There were times I had to do things I didn’t feel comfortable with.’ 

In 1981, aged 17, Yolande moved to art school in London and after graduating, began working on a film ‘about the human soul’, where she met several members of the church. 

She told: ‘A close family member was suffering from mental illness and that affected me deeply. I wanted to find an answer. The man I was in love with, it wasn’t working out, I reached what I call a quarter life crisis and I wanted answers.’ 

Known for its mass weddings, the church teaches a unique Christian theology. It has generated much controversy, and its members are commonly derided as ‘Moonies.’ Pictured, one of the church’s mass weddings 

What is the Unification Church (UC)

The Unification Church is a religious movement founded in Pusan, South Korea, by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon in 1954. 

Known for its mass weddings, the church teaches a unique Christian theology. 

It has generated much controversy, and its members are commonly derided as ‘Moonies.’   

According to Moon, the world was created from God’s inner nature, which is reflected in the ‘dual’ expressions of life, (causal, masculine) and (resultant, feminine). 

The purpose of creation, Moon believes, is to experience the joy of love.

Controversy surrounding the church led to congressional hearings, and in 1982 Moon was convicted of tax evasion. 

His supporters, including many mainline church leaders, saw the trial as an example of government religious persecution. 

In 1994, on the 40th anniversary of the founding of the church, Moon announced the formation of the International Federation for World Peace, which assumed many of the functions formerly performed by the church. 

Source: Encyclopædia Britannica 

Advertisement

In July 1990, she interviewed a man called Andreas who was working at the church’s Principle Life Study Centre in London, and she soon began studying the workings of the religion. 

Yolande said she initially felt happy after finding the church, which made her give up worldly possessions such as clothes and books – but admitted there were ‘difficulties’ from the outset. 

She told: ‘Initially I felt embraced and happy. I was in an unhappy situation, many of my decisions were failing. 

‘When I gave up responsibility, I gave up my clothes, my books I was reading and I thought everything would be alright. 

‘At the beginning I was very happy, I felt I had found the answers and found something bigger.’ 

The Unification Church is a religious movement founded in Pusan, South Korea, by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon (pictured) in 1954

She added: ‘There were difficulties from the beginning, I wasn’t supposed to speak to anyone who wasn’t in the church, my friends or family.’ 

In February 1991, the church sent her to live in New York after friends and her ex-boyfriend had tried to convince her to leave the church.  

‘I had much tighter control’, she said, ‘I wasn’t supposed to sleep more than three hours a night. I had to go out either begging for money or trying to bring people into the church.’ 

She added later: ‘There were fasting conditions, there were cold shower conditions. I had to throw 120 buckets of water on my back. There were times where people hit me because they dreamed something bad against me. 

‘I don’t disagree with the church, but I agree with people being kept under such strict rules.’ 

In July 1992, she was told the church had found a match for her, a man called Gabriel, 28, from Ecuador and she was soon to be married in a mass ceremony. 

It was a very surreal experience,’ said Yolande, ‘I was excited and scared. I didn’t know my husband at the time, he seemed like a serious person, but not a bad person. 

‘I hadn’t been able to had any contact with a man for two years and we wouldn’t have been able to consummate the marriage for another two years.’  

In 2002, mother-of-two Yolande was able to break free from the church after her husband left her, and in 2006 the pair were legally divorced

 She explained to hosts Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield (both pictured) that she was able to leave the church of her own volition and was shunned by other members

She added: ‘When you hear 60,000 people say “yes” to the vows, it was exciting, it was frightening. Some people seemed happy, some tried to run off and then come back. It was a really mixed experience.’ 

Over the next two years, the married couple would see each other occasionally at religious events and exchange letters before finally being able to have sex in 1994 after being permitted by their church elders. 

In 2002, mother-of-two Yolande was able to break free from the church after her husband left her, and in 2006 the pair were legally divorced. 

She explained that while she was able to leave the church of her own volition, but was shunned by other members. Yet, she was contacted asking if her children would attend studies.  

She added: ‘I would be devastated if my children were to enter any kind of cult, because it stop people doing what they want to do.’ 

A spokesperson for the church said: ‘All allegations of mind-washing and mind control practises we are concluding as baseless. It saddens us Miss Brener is trying to profit from her own salacious accusations.’