Paul Valor: Where is the Former Gloriavale Community Member Now?

Paramount+’s ‘Devotion: Obedience or Betrayal’ features interviews with several former members of the Gloriavale community. Among them is Paul Valor, who grew up within the group and spent most of his life following its teachings and way of life. However, it was only when a personal crisis affected him and his family that he began questioning many of the beliefs and practices he had long accepted. Paul understood that leaving the community would not be easy and that doing so could mean losing contact with many of the people who mattered most to him. Even so, he came to realize that his future lay outside the place he had always called home.

Paul Valor Started Questioning the Group’s Conduct After Facing a Health Crisis

Paul Valor was born and raised within the Gloriavale community and spent his childhood immersed in its way of life. In the series, he mentioned that he was around 8 to 12 years old when he allegedly began contributing to the group’s commercial sphagnum moss business. He described how, during those years, he would allegedly spend time collecting wet sphagnum moss with pitchforks as part of the community’s volunteer system, in which children were expected to help out after school and on weekends. Paul also recalled that, in the early 2000s, he was supervised during this work by Vigilant Standtrue. He said that he was beaten by him on many occasions and alleged that such forms of abuse were not uncommon within the community at the time.

In 2016, Paul was featured in the series’ Gloriavale: A World Apart’ at a time when he was preparing to marry Pearl Hope. The two did not know each other particularly well before the marriage, and their story attracted public attention. As a result, Paul became one of the most recognizable faces associated with the community. Around 2018, Paul experienced a health crisis that required him and Pearl to make frequent trips to hospitals located far from Gloriavale. During those journeys, the couple began having deeper conversations about their future and the life they wanted to build together. It was also during this period that Pearl learned more about the tax benefits and financial payments received by the community’s administration. She later said that she felt disillusioned by what she discovered, as she had never felt any direct benefit from those funds.

Paul Valor is Raising His Kids in Australia Today

It was in 2018 that Paul Valor began seriously considering the possibility of leaving the Gloriavale community with his wife and children. He said that he understood it would not be an easy decision, but he wanted to give his kids a different kind of childhood from the one he had experienced growing up. During the trips for his medical treatment, Pearl Valor had access to a cellphone so she could stay in contact with community leaders. She eventually used it to reconnect with some of her siblings who had already left Gloriavale, and together they began to see a possible way out.

Paul said that after years of reflection and planning, he finally left the community with his family in 2021. Looking back, he has maintained that he does not regret the decision and believes it was the right choice for himself, his wife, and their children. In 2022, when an Employment Court case was filed against the Gloriavale community, Paul supported his wife as she was one of the plaintiffs, and in 2023, the case was settled in their favor. In January 2026, Paul also took the stand in a case against Vigilant Standtrue, where he detailed the abuse he had experienced.

Paul’s testimony contributed to the former shepherd’s conviction on multiple counts of assault. He now lives in Canterbury, Australia, with his children and is raising them alongside Pearl according to their own principles. He has said that he had to leave much of what he once knew behind, but believes he made the right decision. He also stated that he still agrees with the ethics of community living, while hoping the group will broaden its outlook and operate within a legal framework that ensures the safety of all members.

Read More: Stephen Standfast: Where is the Overseeing Shepherd of Gloriavale Now?