Woman who grew up in polyamarous cult with 44 siblings explains specific rules she had to follow
A woman who grew up in a polygamous 'cult' with a whopping 44 siblings and four mothers has explained the rules she had to follow during her childhood.
Janet Z, born in 1994, grew up in a breakaway group of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which was lead by convicted sex offender Warren Jeffs.
She grew up in a 13-bedroom, 15-bathroom home alongside her many mothers, siblings and one father, where women were treated like 'second-class citizens'.
As well as being taught to wear 'modest clothing', Janet was also informed it was a 'privilege' to marry a man.
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The now 32-year-old, from the US, said: "My whole life, I was raised that it was a privilege to marry a man as one of his wives.
"As a woman, you are treated like a second-class citizen.
"Some men are amazing, but some do not consider their wives' emotions or how hard it is to raise their family with so many kids.
"The way the cult was set up is that your dad is your leader, and when you marry, your husband becomes your leader."
All 44 siblings had to follow strict rules on a daily basis, which involved waking up at 8am every day and going over religious scripture for an hour.
The school day, which was all done at home, would include English, maths, and history, before studying concluded at 3.30pm.
Janet added: "We had a very strict schedule with homeschooling; my biological mother would lead the lessons, and my sister would help out, too.
"In 2010, all of my younger siblings went to school because homeschooling was becoming too overwhelming with so many kids.
"I stayed home to help run the household and graduated from online school."
As she entered adulthood, Janet realized the lifestyle she had been sold was not the reality, and decided to leave to pursue a new life in Salt Lake City at the age of 20.
"A lot of my sisters had already married, so I was doing a lot of cooking, cleaning and helping raise my siblings," Janet added.
"My dad was worried for me, he said he thought I was going to waste my life, and he didn't know what was going to happen to me."
Janet described her new life outside of the 'cult' as 'freeing', adding that her biological mother had managed to leave.
However, her father, who Janet stayed in touch with, died in 2024.
Janet continued: "My mum still lives in the family home. She is living her life separately from the rest of the family, but still lives there.
"She realized she didn't want to be told what to do all the time by men and decided to leave."
Callum Jones