Every single one of us grew up with some concept of what a “soul mate” was, thanks to Disney. Many of us lived our lives, hoped for the best, and eventually found our person, but others weren’t so lucky. Netflix’s new docu-series, Escaping Twin Flames, looks into the dark side of searching for “the one,” and the twisted people who use finding love as a way to make a fortune.
Loneliness can drive a person to madness, but while many of us had a friend, relative, or even a kindly internet stranger to tell us, “Hey, stalking really isn’t a good look” – others were suckered in by the worst kinds of people.
What is a Twin Flame?
A “Twin Flame” is a spiritual soulmate, romantic or otherwise, who can completely change the course of one’s life and act as a catalyst for spiritual and personal growth. These harmonious partners are said to complement each other and have incredibly deep connections and are tantamount to finding the perfect partner. It’s a beautiful dream to aspire to, especially when the person saying it has already found their Twin Flame.
What is the Twin Flames group?
That/s exactly how Jeff and Shaleia Divine (formerly Ayan), young YouTubers with a penchant for spiritual guidance and relationship advice, built such a stable empire. Using their own seemingly perfect union as proof of the theory, Shaleia’s love for spirituality and Jeff’s knack for business, the Divines built an entire “universe” around the idea of the perfect match. The couple’s “deeper level of oneness” not only made them a perfect fit for dispensing dating advice, but they claim to have something more powerful on their side – a direct pipeline to God himself, through which they receive divine guidance.
Escaping Twin Flames aims to show the dangerous realities of Jeff and Shaleia’s cult. Filmmakers Cecillia Peck and Inbal Lessner, the same team behind HBO’s Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult, aim to pull back the veil on the predatory online community. After the success of their first docuseries, the filmmakers were flooded with messages from people who had escaped similar situations. The most concerning of these came from former subscribers of the Twin Flames Universe.
Established in the digital age, the courses were largely online, meaning the Divines’ / Ayans’ reach was vast. Despite the dangerous coercion members went through, sky-high subscription fees (the complete experience is $4,444, and the cheapest class $111), and manipulation tactics for new members, the Twin Flame Universe grew in popularity. Long before COVID-19 popularized online meetups, the Twin Flames cult was preying on desperate people around the country. The far reach combined with pyramid-scheme-like recruiting processes (coaches were required to buy thousands of dollars worth of material before coming on) led to rapid growth.
The documentary took three years to finish, and deep-dives into the recruitment and indoctrination techniques used by the Divines and their group leaders. The doc not the first investigation of its kind; Vanity Fair did a deep dive into the company back in 2020. Since the exposé, the Twin Flame Universe has almost quadrupled in size.
Whether or not Netflix’s take on the controversial group has more impact is yet to be seen but the filmmakers had this to say: “We are grateful to those who courageously entrusted us with their firsthand accounts and evidence. We made this series for them and for everyone who has been manipulated or coerced without knowing it.”
Escaping Twin Flames premieres Nov. 8 on Netflix.
