Phil Cooper: Where is Neville Cooper’s Son Now?

June 2, 2026: | TheCinemaholic| Shivangi Sinha | Phil Cooper had known his father, Neville Cooper, as the leader of a religious commune in New Zealand. The childhood he experienced was far from ordinary, and as the years passed, Phil began to question many of the beliefs, teachings, and ways of life that…

Howard Temple: Where is Neville Cooper’s Successor Now?

June 2, 2026: | TheCinemaholic |  Shivangi Sinha | In 2018, when Neville Cooper, also known as Hopeful Christian, passed away, the position of “overseeing shepherd” within the Gloriavale community became vacant. It was then that Howard Temple, one of the group’s senior leaders who had been associated with the community since the…

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

June 2, 2026: | Cinemaholic | Shivangi Sinha | Stephen Standfast was no stranger to life within the Gloriavale community. Having grown up there, he was familiar with its way of life. In 2023, he was appointed interim overseeing shepherd, a leadership position responsible for handling many of the community’s executive and administrative…

Gloriavale documentary series returns for second season

November 25, 2025: | 1News | A second season of the award-winning documentary series Escaping Utopia – which sheds light on the inner workings of Christian sect Gloriavale – has been confirmed. It follows the success of the first season, which revealed the careful planning involved for leavers of the sect and showed the unravelling of…

Co-founder of ‘Real Handmaid’s Tale’ cult reveals disgusting reason he decided to quit the community

February 18, 2025: | Lad Bible | Michael Slavin | The new BBC documentary Escaping Utopia has detailed what it was like inside the Gloriavale cult Warning: The following article contains discussion of child sex abuse that some readers may find disturbing The co-founder of a cult described as the ‘real Handmaid’s Tale’ has…

Forget The Handmaid’s Tale, this real-life Kiwi cult is even creepier

February 17, 2025: | Daily Mail | Christopher Stevens | Liz Gregory likes to call herself ‘the Devil’. A committed Christian, she has devoted her life to helping refugees from a cult, whose leaders regard her as the embodiment of Satan. With an infectious laugh, Liz holds up her fingers to her forehead…

‘Real Handmaid’s tale’ community that forced young girls to watch their parents have sex

February 17, 2025: | Lad Bible | Michael Slavin | The community has been exposed in a new documentary called Escaping Utopia Warning: The following article contains discussion of child sex abuse that some readers may find disturbing A cult community which horrifically forced young girls to watch their parents having sex has…

Hell on Earth

February 16, 2025: | The Irish Sun | Jim Mahoney | We were made to watch our parents have sex & abused from 7 in cult run by ‘shepherds’ who performed sick marriage ‘prep’ Far from being a promised Utopia, Gloriavale was set up by a sex offender who systematically abused the children.…

Escaping Utopia, review: a refreshingly old-fashioned documentary about a disturbing cult

February 16, 2025: | The Telegraph | Anita Singh | Netflix transformed the documentary genre so profoundly that it feels unusual to come across something made in the old style. Escaping Utopia (BBC Two) doesn’t have glossy cinematography or a dramatic soundtrack or people talking directly into the camera. It is not edited in the…