Glenn Close Says Growing Up In A Religious Cult Is To Blame For Her "Unsuccessful Relationships" - 8days Skip to main content

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Glenn Close Says Growing Up In A Religious Cult Is To Blame For Her "Unsuccessful Relationships"

Glenn Close opened up about the trauma she suffered after spending her childhood in a cult on Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry's Apple TV+ series, 'The Me You Can't See'.

Glenn Close Says Growing Up In A Religious Cult Is To Blame For Her "Unsuccessful Relationships"

Glenn Close says her traumatic experience of living inside a cult growing up is why she hasn't had "successful relationships".

The 74-year-old Hollywood star has opened up about the emotional distress she has suffered as a result of being part of the group Moral Re-Armament (MRA).

Appearing on Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry's new docuseries The Me You Can't See, Glenn revealed the cult "basically dictated how you're supposed to live and what you're supposed to say and how you're supposed to feel."

She continued: "Because of how we were raised, anything you thought you'd do for yourself was considered selfish.

"We never went on any vacations or had any collective memories of stuff other than what we went through, which was really awful."

The Fatal Attraction star is still triggered by her past and explained how it has impacted her ability to allow herself to be "vulnerable" in relationships.

She shared: "I think that's childhood trauma. Because of the devastation, emotional and psychological, of the cult, I have not been successful in my relationships and finding a permanent partner and I'm sorry about that.

"I think it's our natural state to be connected like that. I don't think you ever change your trigger points but at least you can be aware of them and at least you can maybe avoid situations that might make you vulnerable, especially in relationships."

Glenn previously revealed she spent 15 years in the MRA's conservative religious community in Switzerland, where she lived until she was 22.

She told The Hollywood Reporter in 2014 : "[For years], I wouldn't trust any of my instincts because [my beliefs] had all been dictated to me."

Glenn's late father, Dr William Taliaferro Close, became enamoured with the spiritual movement — now known as Initiatives of Change — and moved the family to the organisation's headquarters in the small village of Caux, overlooking Lake Geneva, when she was seven.

She added: "You basically weren't allowed to do anything, or you were made to feel guilty about any unnatural desire. If you talk to anybody who was in a group that basically dictates how you're supposed to live and what you're supposed to say and how you're supposed to feel, from the time you're seven till the time you're 22, it has a profound impact on you. It's something you have to [consciously overcome] because all of your trigger points are [wrong]."

The Me You Can't See is now streaming on Apple TV+. — BANG SHOWBIZ

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