Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary series living up to its title in every way conceivable, Netflix’s ‘How to Become a Cult Leader’ can honestly only be described as equal parts baffling, intriguing, and haunting. That’s because it carefully comprises not just animated re-creations and archival footage but also exclusive interviews with key figures to really underscore the actuality of six atrocious men. Amongst those to thus feature here for alleged predator/Buddhafield founder Jaime Gomez were some of his former loyal followers — so now, let’s simply find out more about them, shall we?
Vera Chieffo is Re-Building Her Life Today
While there was once a time Vera would’ve given up her life for Jaime owing to how much she loved him as well as believed in his new-age ideology, the mere thought of it now grosses her out. Moreover, although she’s thankful for it, the worst part for her is arguably that it took a cult-wide e-mail from a former high-ranking member in 2006 for her (along with all others) to realize his truth. This e-mail actually accused the leader of being a fraudster who emotionally manipulated everyone around him, evaded taxes, and preyed upon several vulnerable young men in a sexual manner.
Hence, it took Vera some time to not only walk away from everything she once believed to be good and true but also deal with it in the real world with the help of natural, intense therapy sessions. This currently self-employed, seemingly New York-based Fashion Institute of Technology graduate has since even revealed she tried many different experiences to uncover a way of starting afresh.
“I moved 32 times in five states in eight years [2008-2016],” Vera once said. “I was just trying to find who am I, what I want, what I like. He made every decision for me. I didn’t pick a color of lipstick without him. That’s how bad it was. To start over… I was in a fetal position on the floor. My whole belief system was gone, all my friends were gone. And now I’m finally getting my feet on the ground.”
Will Allen is Focusing on His Career Today
Despite the fact the aforementioned e-mail was ostensibly the catalyst for Will to leave behind Jaime and Buddhafield, too, he already knew the kind of man his leader was due to their own sexual involvement. “He’d planned sex with me years before he had it,” the cult’s once-documentarian, who stepped out following a total of 22 years in 2007, said in the original production. “He told me later.”
Will continued, “It was not a normal, healthy relationship. It was [Jaime] pleasing himself, and that was my service [to him as God]. I was told to promise I’d never tell… Once we [as a group] realized the depth of [his actions], I think it allowed us to talk about things we weren’t talking about before” to make a final decision regarding their standing.
It’s thus no surprise that even though Will has moved on with his life, the past remains a big part of him — this is why he directed ‘Holy Hill’ regarding his experiences in Buddhafield in 2016. Since then, from what we can tell, the 60-year-old travel enthusiast has settled down in Santa Monica, California, from where he proudly serves as a fiction/non-fiction Storyteller, Director, and Editor at WRA Productions LLC.
Radhia Gleis is a Wellness Director
According to reports, Radia joined Buddhafield in search of some enlightenment back in the early 1980s, only to gradually evolve into Jaime’s right-hand woman and the one person he trusted with his true identity. However, quite like Vera as well as Will, she decided to leave almost as soon as the e-mail came to light in 2006 — “That was my line in the sand,” she said in the docuseries. “It was about manipulating everybody around him, and I said, ‘I’m done.'”
Therefore, today, the Austin, Texas, resident is leading a good life well away from the spotlight as an artist, author, certified clinical nutritionist, educator, and medical biochemical analyst. In fact, Radhia presently serves as a Nutrition Instructor & Lecturer at Advanced Health Institute, as the President & Chief Visionary Officer (CVO) at AHI Productions, plus the Wellness Director at Martins Compounding & Wellness.
Read More: Jaime Gomez Net Worth: How Rich is Buddhafield Founder?
