Rebekah Vardy broke down in tears as she described telling her mom she was sexually abused aged 12 – however her mum did not consider her – declaring: ‘No one valued me sufficient to guard me’.
The 41-year-old has spoken for the primary time about her experiences of rising up as a Jehovah’s Witness, and revealed that she tried to take her personal life on the age of 14 earlier than being shunned by her household.
She alleges in a Channel 4 documentary that the faith did not help her by sexual abuse as a toddler.
Mrs Vardy stated: ‘I informed my mum in regards to the abuse that I used to be experiencing. She cried, however did not consider me. From the age of round 12 years outdated I used to be being abused and as an alternative of being supported I used to be blamed, manipulated into believing it wasn’t the most effective factor to take it to the police.’
She then cried as she spoke about the necessity to shield her personal 5 youngsters – and provides them the childhood she had misplaced to abuse, discovering herself homeless aged 15.
Chatting with Good Morning Britain right this moment she stated that she has no contact together with her mom. She stated: ‘The breakdown in our relationship was the abuse and never being believed’.
Rebekah Vardy right this moment stated that she tried to kill herself aged 14
Rebekah wipes away tears as she describes her childhood and the necessity to shield her personal youngsters from hurt
Rebekah Vardy has revealed she was sexually abused as a toddler however was shunned and disbelieved, and even inspired to not go to the police
Mrs Vardy, pictured together with her husband Jamie, has described her sad teenage years as a Jehovah’s Witness in Norwich
Rebekah as a youngster. She stated she did some ‘loopy’ issues in her teenage years however with hindsight understands that it was no shock given the abuse and trauma she suffered
Rebekah together with her father. Mrs Vardy says she and her household have been shunned by the neighborhood following her mother and father’ divorce
Rebekah, pictured as a toddler, stated her childhood was misplaced to abuse and the management of the Jehovah’s Witness church
The spouse of Leicester and England footballer Jamie Vardy was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness in Norwich, Norfolk, however left on the age of 15, after she was ‘shamed’ for the sexual abuse and she or he and her household have been shunned by the neighborhood following her mother and father’ divorce.
Mom-of-five Mrs Vardy stated she was sexually abused by a person in the neighborhood between the ages of 11 to fifteen, which she says was coated up by ‘elders’ – senior male spiritual leaders.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Christian denomination with about 8.5million followers worldwide, who consider the destruction of the world is imminent.
They impose a strict ethical code on members, together with instructing that homosexuality is a sin, and punish those that deviate from their beliefs by ‘disfellowshipping’ them – ostracising them from the neighborhood.
Talking right this moment she stated that she was ‘fearful of the results’ of talking about sexual abuse because of ‘the concern of bringing disgrace onto the household’.
Vardy stated: ‘I believe I realised that I’ve most likely solely simply scratched the floor, I believe my story is not distinctive and there is going to be loads of others, as have already come out, that can proceed to come back out.
‘I discovered this a part of my life a little bit of an impediment however I needed to make use of this impediment to create a chance to assist different folks which were in comparable conditions and simply hopefully present that there is mild on the finish of the tunnel.’
Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Christian denomination with about 8.5 million followers worldwide and which believes the destruction of the world is imminent.
They impose a strict ethical code on members, together with that homosexuality is a sin, and punishes those that deviate from their beliefs by ‘disfellowshipping’ them, ostracising them from the neighborhood.
Vardy additionally says throughout the documentary that when she was rising up in Norwich, Norfolk, she was shunned by the neighborhood, alongside relations following her mother and father’ divorce.
She claims she informed her mom, her household and the Jehovah’s Witness neighborhood in regards to the abuse and a gathering was referred to as when she was a youngster.
Vardy informed GMB that speaking to her mom in regards to the abuse was the ‘most harrowing expertise’ and led to her turning into a ‘little bit of a loopy rebellious teenager’ and a ‘breakdown’ of their relationship.
When requested in regards to the long-term psychological results, the mother-of-five additionally stated: ‘I’ve created a part of myself that’s actually robust now. I’ve a variety of obstacles. I am fairly unemotional. I am not a really emotional particular person.
‘I believe a variety of that has to do with what I went by in my previous … It was an impediment in my life and I need to use my experiences to assist different folks.’
Mrs Vardy stated her childhood had no Christmas or birthday celebrations in like with the strict faith’s teachings
Vardy additionally recalled feeling ‘remoted and lonely’ in addition to being ‘bullied fairly badly as a toddler, as a result of we have been made to really feel completely different’.
She stated: ‘We needed to stand out from everybody else, and have actually robust (religion) however I misplaced a lot time in my childhood, due to this faith and it wasn’t nice.’
Vardy added: ‘My recommendation to myself would have been hold preventing, the reality will come out in the long run and by no means ever, ever surrender.’
Within the documentary Mrs Vardy returns to Norwich, the place a number of members of her household nonetheless stay as Jehovah’s Witnesses, and with whom she has had little contact since leaving the neighborhood.
She says: ‘I used to be introduced up in a strict and controlling spiritual organisation.
‘What occurred to me throughout my childhood nonetheless impacts me each single day.
‘I informed quite a few members of my household, Jehovah’s Witness neighborhood, they usually referred to as a gathering, I believe I used to be about 15, it was advised that I had misinterpreted the abuse for a type of affection.
‘I knew that I hadn’t, I used to be effectively conscious of what was proper and what was flawed, and it was defined that I might carry disgrace on my household, and I used to be principally manipulated into believing it wasn’t the most effective factor to do to take it any additional and take it to the police.
‘It is exhausting to see how I survived that.’
Mrs Vardy recollects a childhood with out Christmas or birthday celebrations, according to the faith’s beliefs, with bible research and visits to the Kingdom Corridor, the spiritual centre of worship for Jehovah’s Witnesses.
As a toddler Mrs Vardy stated she believed she would die at Armageddon if she was not ‘good’ and recollects ‘upsetting’ photos proven to her depicting the top of the world, which nonetheless trigger her nightmares as an grownup.
Visiting the Kingdom Corridor the place her congregation gathered, and the place her grandfather was an elder, Mrs Vardy stated: ‘You would need to do issues to maintain Jehovah completely happy, as a result of he was at all times watching.
‘Who you spoke to, the way you spoke, the way you dressed, the way you held your self, the way you carried out each a part of your complete life, and we have been informed if we did not pray sufficient, dangerous issues would occur to us.’
Mrs Vardy stated she knew her household was completely different from an early age, and their religion induced her to be bullied and picked on at college.
At dwelling her mother and father’ relationship was tough, with elders frequently referred to as to their dwelling to ‘settle down’ arguments.
Describing the ordeal, she stated: ‘I spent my childhood fearful, being informed we have been going to die in Armageddon if we did not pray sufficient’
Mrs Vardy stated when she was 11 years outdated her household have been shunned by the neighborhood after her mother and father’ divorce.
There are greater than eight million Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide and 130,000 within the UK, utilizing their shiny journal The Watchtower and on-line movies to advertise their message
Mrs Vardy stated family members and mates have been forbidden from associating together with her household, which contributed to her ‘resentment’ of faith and her mother and father.
‘I believe that is the place my actual resentment to faith began, was being made to really feel so dangerous, so completely different,’ she stated.
Within the documentary Mrs Vardy additionally meets former members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, together with a sufferer of kid abuse and the mom of a person who died by suicide after being expelled by the organisation.
Vardy described the expertise of revisiting her previous as an ’emotional rollercoaster’.
She informed reporters: ‘I had closed Pandora’s field and did not need to revisit that.
‘I went into this pondering this was going to be fairly straightforward and really, wow, it was an actual problem.
‘It was an emotional rollercoaster.
‘I’ve by no means been so open and private about my experiences but in addition to find different individuals who had been by comparable experiences, witnessed comparable issues, if not worse, and to listen to their tales, I simply assume they’re extremely courageous for being ready to talk out.’
Requested whether or not making the documentary had given her closure on what she skilled as a toddler, Vardy stated: ‘Undoubtedly. I believe this chapter has closed.
‘It already actually was, however I actually needed to do that when Channel 4 approached me, as a result of I used to be fascinated by it.
‘Understanding that I had a voice, realizing that my voice might assist and hopefully there can be extra individuals who come ahead to share their experiences.’
Rebekah Vardy: Jehovah’s Witnesses and Me, is on Channel 4 at 10pm tonight.
