New ‘Seeking Sister Wife’ Cast Members Linked to Notorious Cult
A new Seeking Sister Wife family might have ties to an infamous cult.
Becky and Justin Ryan have joined the season 5 cast of the TLC show, which follows families who are pursuing a polygamous lifestyle.
In interviews for the show, Becky explains that she’s open to the idea of a man having more than one wife because she was raised in a community that embraced polygamy. While Becky didn’t share specific details about her upbringing, according to reports, her stepfather was Tony Alamo, the head of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries.
The ‘Seeking Sister Wife’ cast member was raised to see polygamy as normal
Becky and Justin, who grew up together, have six children and have been married since they were teens. She was 16 and he was 19 when they tied the knot. Getting married young wasn’t unusual in their community.
“Being in high school and being married was actually kind of normal where I was … Our church believed in polygamy as an option,” Becky explained in the March 18 episode of Seeking Sister Wife. “My dad was the pastor of the church. And he studied the Bible a lot. He got other wives as he was finding all the scriptures that prove that it is OK to do.”
“Growing up in a polygamous household, to me, was never a negative,” she added. “I guess sometimes I might have felt like, ‘Oh, my dad doesn’t have as much time for me now.’ But then I also got other people to talk to.”
For Justin, having another wife is something he’s thought about for a while.
“I believe polygamy is more than extra sex partners,” he said. Instead, he sees it as a way to grow their family and “make us stronger in all ways.”
Who was Tony Alamo?
What polygamy-friendly community was Becky a part of growing up? According to Starcasm, her stepfather may have been a man who led a controversial church and was eventually convicted of child rape.
Tony Alamo and his then-wife Susan Alamo founded Alamo Christian Ministries in Los Angeles in 1969. In the 1970s, they relocated to Arkansas and started a successful business selling embellished denim jackets that were popular with celebrities. After Susan died in 1982, Alamo married Sharon Kroopf. He also embraced the idea of polygamy and advocated taking child brides.
Starcasm dug into Becky and Justin’s social media posts and reviewed news reports about Alamo Christian Ministries. The publication concluded that Becky was likely Sharon’s daughter from her previous marriage, making her Alamo’s stepdaughter.
In the 1990s, Alamo served time in prison on tax evasion charges. In 2007, federal agents who were investigating allegations of child abuse and child pornography raided his group’s compound in Arkansas. Alamo was later arrested and in 2009 was found guilty of bringing children across state lines for sex. He died in prison in 2017.
A documentary about Alamo, Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo is streaming on AMC+ and Sundance Now.
Seeking Sister Wife airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on TLC. Episodes also stream on Max.
Source: Encyclopedia of Arkansas
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