Escaping Twin Flames (2023) User Reviews

Wow.

[cutie7 · 7/10 · 13 November 2023]

If you're in the mood for a documentary that'll leave your jaw on the floor, "Escaping Twin Flames" on Netflix is an absolute rollercoaster. This three-part series takes us deep into the bizarre world of an online community, Twin Flames Universe, that claims to lead people to their soulmates through online classes. The Emmy-nominated team behind "Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult" skillfully explores the dark side of this controversial group.

Meet Jeff and Shaleia, the faces behind Twin Flames Universe, who promise harmonious unions but, as the documentary reveals, may be preying on those seeking love. The series provides exclusive access to former members, shedding light on shocking stories of coercion and exploitation within the community. From encouraging stalking behavior to manipulating gender identities, the revelations are both disturbing and eye-opening. Drawing parallels to their previous work on the NXIVM cult, the filmmakers skillfully expose the intricate web of Twin Flames Universe. It's a compelling exploration of love gone awry, showcasing not only the manipulative tactics employed by the leaders but also the active efforts of desperate family members trying to rescue their loved ones from the clutches of Jeff and Shaleia. In a nutshell, "Escaping Twin Flames" is a must-watch for anyone intrigued by the darker side of online communities, offering a chilling glimpse into a world where promises of love may come at a much higher cost than expected.

What I don't get is...

[duygueksi · 8/10 · 11 November 2023]

I can understand the vulnurable people who joins a cult without realizing that it is a cult.. But I've never seen a man and a woman as 'leaders' who are so unlikable, uncarismatic and screams 'I am fake' just with their faces,words and attitude.. That's why I am kind of surprised.. Really weird.. Wake up people, you don't need anybody to be better, to find your soulmate or whatever.. You just need yourself and that's it.. These organizations must shut down without the necessary evidence required by law. It is obvious what they are.. Torturing people and their families by using their goodness, good intentions, vulnurability, etc.. Just shut it down, protect the new born and everyone in it!

THIS IS WHERE INSECURE PEOPLE GO TO DIE

[rjccmb · 6/10 · 12 November 2023]

You watch this and understand how one literally loses their self, their soul, their existence, their sexuality, and their future based on listening to two people who are such narcissistic individuals that they feel they are the gods connecting people to God. Yes, it's a cult. Yes, it makes me wonder how sick this world has become. It's so self-evident. What I don't understand is how these people are not held accountable. Where is law enforcement? Where are the people protecting those who need to be shielded from individuals like this? How is it that we have a society so in tune with the Internet and social media, yet we've never been further from living a life of hell, as it's evident to me now, very sad on so many levels.

This is nothing but people taking advantage of others. It's not even humans taking advantage of people; it's people taking advantage of humans. It's truly sad. I can't emphasize this enough. The show, to me, was very disturbing, but it's sad but true. When does this end? That's all I want to know. And these poor children who have been removed from their parents, who have lost their identity because of their vulnerability falling into this. How terribly sad.

Spiritual Penis...?

[chrismitchell-20822 · 7/10 · 11 November 2023]

It must of been really difficult for the crew members to not just start laughing at some of these stories that were told. First off, the two con artists that run the Twin Flame thing are what, 25 years old? What would they possibly know about, anything? This was a good documentary, but how this Twin Flame thing could even get off the ground is beyond me. All of the people that bought into this cult had one thing in common. They were vulnerable.

All of the same tropes that you see being used in all of the other cults are well documented in this film. People who left were sued by the founders, people were made to do idiot things like date woman even though they weren't a lesbian. Weird, idiotic things that makes you wonder if the founders of this group are just seeing what they can get away with.

Familiar yet unique evil

[atleverton · 6/10 · 28 November 2023]

I just finished watching this and am a bit surprised and shocked by how modern and yet how timeless this story is. I grew up in a very religiously charged atmosphere, and that caused me to be interested in many different areas of spirituality - including more destructive groups. Twinflames shares the destructiveness and manipulation of groups like the Branch Davidians, the people's Temple and others, but it also adds its own unique and horrifying take on it. There is an epidemic of loneliness and our society, and they lure their victims in with the promise that they have correctly magical formula for love and happiness. Of course, it doesn't work, it's all a charade to line the pockets of the cult leaders. I think it's an interesting example of how a group that just started off as a con, become perverted into a dangerous religious movement. It's a modern take on a destructive group because it has forced its members to transition from male into female identities and vice versa, is probably the first time a group like this has ever done so. It's a unique kind of horror. The last thing I've left with thinking about this is that the problem is that the groups founders don't have any idea about sexuality. They don't understand how it basically works. It's not like you can have a divine revelation that someone is a masculine spirit and that someone is a feminine spirit and their inhabiting bodies of males and females so they need to change their bodies to reflect their spiritual natures. It's a ridiculous and terrifying outcome but one that unfortunately probably makes sense in their minds.

Episode 3 is bonkers!

[nathan-p-hart · 7/10 · 19 November 2023]

I would have given this a 9 if it wasn't multiple episodes. Typical of Netflix to drag things out too long. I almost didn't keep watching after the first episode. Wasn't seeing anything exceptional or interesting. I stuck it out, and whoa... Twin Flames found a way to take a sensitive subject of current day, manipulate it and use it as a way to control people. Twin Flames is setting a dangerous precedent that will fuel the anti-trans movement.

Also to note, the chefs plate so called curated recipes all looked like food you would feed a child. Haha. I found that to be a laughable aspect of the cult. These people must have been in deep to not see the deliberate scam there.

A Cult run by Uncharismatic Dum Dums

[DVK1234 · 7/10 · 17 November 2023]

I'm interested in cults and religious groups that control their followers. Twin Flames Universe is a cult, no question. What's interesting is that the two leaders, Shaleia and Jeff, could not be more uninteresting or sophomoric. I wondered, as I watched this expose, how people felt led to continue in their nonsense. I truly feel sorry for all of their victims, because that's what they are: victims. The parents of the victims especially made me feel awful, because here is this snot-nosed leader, suing one of the parent's of a victim, for defamation.

I guess it's hard to shut down these criminals because it's hard to prove that they are dispensing psychological advice, but they are. They are also promoting unverified high carb diets. The worst thing is how they control their followers into pursuing their twin flame, at all cost. Now, because they have more female followers than male followers, they force them into same sex relationships.

I agree with another post: why did they have to include a stat on transsexuals at the end of the doc? Who cares? That's Netflix for you, and it's annoying. There's always an agenda.

Twin Flames a sick cult one of the worst I have seen

[moviemom23 · 7/10 · 13 November 2023]

This was addicting and I binged all three episodes all at once. The descent into madness was palpable. The "leaders" are the typical power and money-hungry couple.

The part that bothered me is the trans "specialist" inserted in to educate us plebans in trans facts. How about a comment on the weird phenomena of the huge percentage of trans women-to-men? Clearly, this cult forced/coerced women to do all sorts of things including transitioning. It was obvious the cult leader dictated this BECAUSE THERE WEREN'T ENOUGH MALE PARTNERS to be the other half of the "twin" flame. How sick is that!? But instead of letting THAT sink in, here comes this guy to make sure we all know trans is perfectly normal, we have to believe they really wanted to transition, yada yada yada.. And then the epilog has to further lecture to tell us out of 7k transitioners only 1% "regret " it, I mean wtf? A cult is a cult- its Bad! No one was targeting trans people, but single women were surely being coerced and forced to become men. That is so alarming in itself but I felt the poltically correct had to insert their agenda of course to confuse the issue and dilute the impact of what this sicko was doing to victimize these women. Had there been enough "men" in Twin Flames to partner up, there would have been no woman told they were "masculine divine". These women were brainwashed!

And these people are not in jail? Crazy.

Wow

[sarah_wisbey · 10/10 · 9 November 2023]

It's absolutely wild that these two con artists are still on Instagram and YouTube and still running their scam. I hope the FBI get involved and child services. I especially feel sorry for their child who they apparently say will never allowed to have sex or a relationship because she is the third in their twin flame union. They are praying on the vulnerable and desperate.

A good, interesting and well made documentary by Netflix. Exposing this cult via real footage and multiple interviews with ex- members who've escaped and the parents of current members that are still involved.

Recommended.

Amazing People Fall For This Nonsense

[ajfalco19 · 7/10 · 16 November 2023]

It is disgusting that these two people can profit off of others spewing complete nonsense. On the other hand, it is baffling that so many confused weak minded people can fall for something like this. I believe if I joined a group like this, I would know within the first ten minutes that it is nonsense, but somehow they are all able to pull in all these delusional people to believe this crap. That's what made the show interesting to me and that's why I gave the rating that I did. With that being said, I'd like to see Jeff and Shaleia lose all their money and rot in prison where they belong. Total scam.

Their business is manipulating and abusing people

[hannahdarling-89493 · 8/10 · 13 November 2023]

I recently found this on Netflix and I binged it on a Sunday. I also found another docuseries about this called, 'Desperately Seeking Soulmates: Escaping Twin Flames Universe' Both the docuseries are very good, you get a lot of needed information. They need to be exposed and charged with encouraging and being accomplices to crimes (stalking, physical and sexual abuse) and is there a law or something for coercing/brainwashing someone to change their gender/sexuality?

Jeff and Sheleia prey on the vulnerable and lonely people. First, they provide them with an online community of "friendly", like-minded people and promise them that they'll find something better than fairytale true love and wealth. Then, they start controlling them - for people who don't know, it is HARD to get out of such abusive and controlling relationships. Save people from joining this group by letting more and more people see who and what this cult truly is.

I can't rate this

[johnnyc-1 · 24 November 2023]

It's hard to watch people who are vulnerable get sucked in like this. I'll just say this:

Cults make people do things they don't want to do or wouldn't normally do. I'll repeat: CULTS MAKE PEOPLE DO THINGS THEY DON'T WANT TO DO. If you say you don't want to do what they tell you to do, they'll coerce, shame, blame, and threaten you if you don't want to do what you're told to do. The leaders will do it themselves, but they'll also use other cult members to apply the required pressure to make you submit.

When you're in a cult, you don't know you're in one until something terrible happens that brings on the questions, because if you're not asking questions, you'll never get out. And cult leaders and their devoted followers hate when you ask questions, because questions will usually lead to you walking out of the physical or virtual doors.

What's difficult about this particular cult is they're a "virtual cult" - they mostly didn't live anywhere near each other. It was all happening over the Internet. Unlike the other cults we've heard of, this cult existed almost entirely in the virtual world, so entirely in the minds of its members. No one was physically prevented from leaving, but in their minds they were trapped. Asking questions is how all former cult members manage to escape.

It's a tough watch. I can't recommend watching, but if you have an interest in cults, or think you have been subjected to a person or group of people who have made you do things you didn't want to do, then watch and ask questions of the world around you. You might be in one and not even know it.

How did these completely uncharismatic people take people in?

[staceyebox-690-214018 · 2/10 · 24 November 2023]

I went into this expecting to feel sorry for people who were taken in by a cult. But these two are so repulsive and so obviously just doing anything to take money from people that I can't even feel bad for the folks who got taken. They're barely even trying. How stupid do you have to be to be fooled by this pair of idiots? I'm not even sure they can be prosecuted. They're not clever enough to actually commit fraud competently. They literally went on social media and bragged about taking money and people continued to give them more?? Anyone who gave this pair money deserved to lose it. Dumbest cult ever.

a bunch of losers brainwashing other losers .. hilarious

[MariaCastonucci90 · 7/10 · 13 November 2023]

Oh man. The headline basically says it all. Sometimes I just wonder what I am doing, sitting here drinking my hot chocolate, when I could make money off of stupid people. Who are these guys anyway. That chick looks like a balloon. Just look at that first couple presented. Two losers being put together and moving in together and sitting there as if they understand the universe. Like wtf. These people know shrimp about nothing. Getting Keith Raniere vibes here. It is so sad you have to be careful here about what you say. I like watching disturbing true crime stuff and cult stories, but this is kinda boring. Like I literally couldn't take these people serous for a minute. Just look up their social media man. How can these people talk about love when they take 2002 design choices. This is a joke. Harmonious union.. how about eating an onion instead.

One born every minute

[rbrb · 7/10 · 19 November 2023]

This 3 parts Netflix documentary examines how gullible and lonely people can be ; they have mental problems and are duped into following a couple of repulsive con artists who are cruel and wicked and have no scruples in lying , cheating, stealing and exploiting their unfortunate victims.

I barely got to the end of the series as I was dumbstruck by how stupid the people were and how devious the perpetrators are who operate a cult.

Toal nonsense and psychobabble is foisted on the prey to convince them of all sorts of ludicrous rubbish.

How can people be so idiotic?

I do have sympathy for the unfortunate victims but only just....

6 and a half rounded up:

Half in and half out

[SteverB · 7/10 · 6 December 2023]

I'm of a mind regarding this documentary series that is on the one hand, feeling very sorry for the people that got suckered in and lost LOTS of money in the process, but on the other hand, also thinking that being suckered in by these two VERY uncharismatic people is all the suckers' own fault. How does someone get to such a place in their lives that something like Twin Flames resonates and makes sense? Should I feel bad for people who knew what they were doing "felt" wrong in the moment, but went ahead and did it anyway? I definitely feel sorry for the parents that were in this documentary who had lost their children to these two idiot criminals, but the participants themselves? I don't know.

There were things about the show that I didn't really like. For example, cameras in places they shouldn't be. When someone is going to another person's house for a supposedly first meeting in a long time, I really don't want to see the door being answered from INSIDE the house. It happens in a lot of documentaries, but this one was, for some reason, more noticeable. It made me question other things that happened during filming, like the mother receiving a text from her son who was still in the cult, while the cameras were rolling. It's not a good look in a doc like this.

For anyone still questioning whether this is a cult or not, it IS a cult. There is no question about that. It has elements of the Prosperity Gospel in it, seen when Jeff, the main cult leader, is showing off all the things he has, like a Porsche and a massive house, and his wife dressed in Chanel. He never once appeared to give a thought to the fact that the people he was showing off to were the ones that paid for all of his possessions with his overpriced "e-classes." The Scientology red flag kept going up for me too. Lots of things within the social structure of the group are certainly based on it, like the heavy control over the participants, the high cost of "moving to the next level," and the shunning of your family and friends who are only there to take your attention away from your "climb" to a higher level of blah, blah, blah.

I guess cults themselves are not illegal, but maybe at a certain level they should be. Bottom line is that what Jeff and Sheleia are doing is wrong. They are actively convincing people who seek them out that they will GUARANTEE a match with your twin flame, of whom there is only one on Earth, and conveniently, they're the only ones who can confirm an identification of your REAL twin flame through having coffee chats with God, but, you know, it will COST you. A lot. And if they don't have enough males available, they'll also convince a woman to believe that she's a man and transition. Yes, it's completely crazy, and despite that, Jeff and Shaleia are very, very rich.

Recommended, but only if you are interested in cults and how they operate. Otherwise, steer clear because it's a sad, infuriating story. Like the NXIVM people, Jeff and Shaleia belong in prison.

Forgot Cults Existed

[hkhdswdjz · 7/10 · 3 December 2023]

Growing up one of me fears was being recruited into a cult or having a family member become a cult member. In this day and age lots of people are in a "cult" be it for there political opinions or there sexuality thoughts. Little did I know there are still cults and they recruit people via social media.

Watching this documentary made me so sad that two pwoplw would take advantage of lonely vulnerable people. That a man has so much control over these individuals is shocking. Jeff Devine the leader of the cult is so aggressive in his videos. He is also mean. You can tell by just looking at him and Shaleia that they are bad people. To think only a few years ago people would not thought it normal to cut off parts of there body to change there sex because some guy told them too.

Interesting Story of a Cult/Pyramid Scheme

[leedscelta · 6/10 · 20 February 2024]

"Escaping Twin Flames" is a mostly engrossing mini docuseries consisting of multiple first-person accounts of people who were exploited and manipulated by Jeff and Shaleia Divine.

As to the positives, the story is told in a manner that will want to make you continue watching, and it unfolds at a good pace that increases in tension as the amount of manipulation and control increases on the people who were fooled and taken advantage of. Those people interviewed who were involved in the cult and left are extremely compelling, honest, and emotional in a shocking and fascinating way.

The downsides are that the final episode of the three lacks much finalization, lacks as much tension and interest as the first two episodes, and also relies on interviews with a screwball 'Dr.' Cassius Adair. This person is some sort of so-called advocate to the trans-community, and while he rightfully criticizes the Divines' manipulation of people to undergo trans surgeries, he then completely exposes his own agenda. Dr. Adair has profited and benefited entirely in his career by pushing and forcing his own beliefs on other people, in a manner not as far from the Divines as you might think: like most on the far left and the so-called trans advocate side (I say so-called because exactly zero of their policies have ever been proven to improve the trans community, and several have measurably been negative on the trans community and society at large) he has encouraged aggressive propaganda on confused teenagers to pressure them into life-altering surgeries, participated in bullying the American Psychological Association into accepting laughably unscientific views on gender, denied basic biology (every single cell in a human body has either an XX or XY chromosome), denied sexual dimorphism and attempted to destroy women's sports, and has ignored all of human evolution and history in regards to gender/sex (yes, they are the same thing). It has become an unfortunate trend to give these kind of junk scientists platforms on the incorrect claim of compassionate understanding, but it has gone past the point of being a joke into the realm of legitimate danger.

Such an interesting story.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 26 November 2023]

The extraordinary story of Twin Flames, an organisation set up by Jeff and Shaleia Divine, it's purpose to coach people into finding their one true love, their twin flame, a one and only love, regardless of the consequences.

It's one of those shocking documentaries, you will get to the end of it, want to scratch your head, and say to yourself, is this real, did I just watch real life events.

It is a lesson in first class manipulation, what Jeff does to his 'victims' is quite shocking, I honestly found some of it hard to take in. Talk about taking advantage of vulnerable people, some of whom have very serious and clear mental health issues.

In episodes one and two I was questioning how and why people were allowing themselves to be taken advantage of, but by the third episode I could fully see the power and control Jeff was able to exert.

Jeff is definitely an interesting character, I'm still baffled at how people fell for his antics, at times he came across as utterly loathsome.

A fascinating and disturbing series.

8/10.

The Netflix Doc is better

[Mehki_Girl · 6/10 · 17 November 2023]

The Netflix documentary featured more disillusioned ex members and less talking head.

The "journalist" came across as an airhead herself and really downgraded the entire documentary.

She came across as the ideal candidate for the nonsense being sold and the one time she confronted Jeff totally collapsed under his bs gaslighting denials.

She's saying, I witnessed you telling people to change their sexual Identity and like all manipulative, gaslighting narcissists he denied the sky is blue and she simply looked completely incapable of saying, no, you're lying.

Who let this airhead investigate these cons?

I can't wait until these two pimps (because they're pimping people for power and profit), either turn on each other or are brought down by the IRS because as the Netflix doc mentioned briefly they conned free assistance with reducing their taxes.

Common, IRS! You brought down Al Capone so do your thing!

I watched this with mouth wide open because how anyone could believe that these two clowns know anything about anything is really beyond me.

I really don't want to make fun of the weak-minded, vulnerable, desperate, and lonely, but, really, people, use your commonsense.

Two numbskulls on the internet can't tell you who you really are, only you know that. Get therapy from a licensed practitioner with training. You can't force anyone to want or love you. And if they indicate clearly they don't, they don't.

Your desires and longings have nothing to do with anyone else. There's no magic to how you feel and there's no connection to you feeling how your do and how someone else should react or feel toward you.

That's magically thinking...

Hey! Maybe I should throw together god, JeBuS, and some crystals and new age nonsense and just tell people how to deal with reality!

Anyway, am okay documentary, but watch the Netflix version. Much, much better.

Rate the documentary, not the content.

[couldbefbi · 10/10 · 29 November 2023]

The content is about two people who want to manipulate and rule others to amass great wealth while spewing the most ridiculous nonsense. Twin Flames is a cult. The end. The leaders are rather boring. They get people sucked in by promising love, true love. Who doesn't want that? Then, they morph that into a religion of sorts and change the values and self-identities of all of their followers. It's despicable. Content (bad people and victims) 0/10.

The documentary itself is great. You see several victims explain how they got sucked in and how it affected their lives in so many different ways. You see how it affected several mothers and a sister. You see professional input on the topic. I didn't know anything about Twin Flames, and this documentary was extremely informative. 10/10

When it comes to documentaries, you have to rate how they presented the information, not the subject matter itself. I was very impressed with the information, the diverse experiences, and the chronological buildup.

Only weak people join cults

[bt698nhj · 6/10 · 25 November 2023]

This was an okay documentary, not as good as some others in covering cult situations. The thing that really jumps out at you, is that only weak people fall prey to cults. That may seem obvious, but the documentary, along with others that I have seen on other cults, really brought this home for me. Have some freaking self-respect and intelligence and don't fall for a cult!

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.

Sigh

[garyprosser1 · 5/10 · 28 November 2023]

I don't know why I watch these things, I really don't. I get suckered in by what could be an interesting story, only for it to manifest into the same old story: terrible people manipulate insecure people, control them and take all their money.

What got me with this one though, as others have said, is just how completely uncharismatic and bewildering transparent the two leaders are here. They have all the appeal and charisma of some snot in a jar and yet they took people in. How?

Also, I'd be no use to a cult leader because I don't have the money they need. Time and again with these shows, people talk about losing £20k, £30k, £50k! I'd be shown the door as soon as they knew I couldn't/wouldn't stump up the first £100.

Im not heartless; I do feel for the people in this show who were taken in by the charlatans who run this cult. I just don't understand how anyone ever could be taken in by such blatantly odious characters who barely stop short of admitting that they're crooks.

PS, if you like the sound of people trying to talk while crying, this show will be manna from heaven for you.

Will shock sane people

[jackiee1970 · 8/10 · 10 November 2023]

If you want to see how easily some people can be brainwashed and sucked into doing things a normal sane person would never think of.. then watch this.

These two narcissistic grifters found their marks. And then made their marks work for them for free while boosting about their riches, and the people thought "I'm cool with that". It's insane!!

Throughout this documentary and things kept getting more and more insane I had to walk away a few times as I was yelling at my screen about how stupid people can be.

I shouldn't be so hard on the 'victims' ... but it's very difficult not to be floored at their lack of critical thinking skills.

It's wild!

Grifters looking for lonely souls...

[dixiedoggg · 10/10 · 12 November 2023]

Without the internet, there would probably be no story to tell.

If you try to solve your social problems, your financial problems, your personality problems by trusting the scammers on the internet, you will most probably find your problems getting worse.

It amazes me that these people, intelligent people, did not do the necessary due diligence of examing exactly who they were entrusting their information and lives with. Scams are all over the internet today, it is becoming more and more inviting to just walk away from your computer and even to make the iPhone do its primary purpose and use it as a phone, and ignore all the senseless chatter of the ever increasing social apps and websites that generally promise everything, and usually deliver very little except headaches and grief.

Within the first ten minutes of this program a sane person can recognize major red flags popping up all over about the Twin Flames concept. If you look at the Jim Jones, the David Koreshes, the Charly Mansons, the Warren Jeffs of this world, it is easy to see how the fringe members of society can be sucked into a group who take all their cues from one or two lunatics who enrich themselves at your expense. What is shocking is that even the people who fit the mainstream can also be duped so easily...

Excellent documentary on the pseudo-self help/ religious scam that haunts the web even today...