'My mom married my step-grandpa,' former Scientologist details wild family arrangements

Natalie Webster, an ex-Scientologist, opened up about her wild childhood growing up studying the controversial religion in a candid interview with The Mirror US

The Mirror, UK/April 13, 2025

By Ellie Hook

A love story between a strip club worker and a paraplegic man resulted in a life following Scientology for 35 years and one hell of an awkward re-marriage.

It was a confusing time for five-year-old Natalie Webster, whose mom's relationship shaped her whole life after she married a hardcore Scientologist, only to divorce him seven years later to marry his dad, aka Natalie's step-grandpa.

Now, with a life of Scientology behind her and a family of her own, ex-Scientologist Natalie is fiercely devoted to exposing the "abuses" that she alleges exist within the controversial organization, which has raised eyebrows for years over its stance on psychiatry and the aggressive ways it has dealt with critics.

However, in a candid chat with The Mirror US, Natalie detailed her own experiences with the religion, which all started when her mom met a new partner.

Natalie, who has dedicated a YouTube channel detailing her life after Scientology, began, "So my mom married a Scientologist when I was about five years old, and she met him in a very interesting place because, for Scientologists, they're not supposed to be in these places."

"But she met my Scientology stepdad in a strip club where she was working," she added. Natalie pointed out how her mom was "very young" when she took her first steps into parenthood, and her birth dad "struggled with addiction," so as a result, Natalie's mom "tried to leave to make a better life."

On her new path, Natalie's mom ended up in a relationship with a Scientologist, who "also happened to be a paraplegic."

"He ended up getting custody of us. So then we grew up. For the next nine to 10, years, we wouldn't even see our dad. We were just with a Scientology family," she said.

A couple years down the line, Natalie recalled, "My mom ended up divorcing my stepdad, who was also a Scientologist, and marrying his father. So my step grandpa, the only grandpa I knew from the age of five," before joking, "I refer to him as grandpa dad, because it's easier!"

When asked if this was considered "normal" in the world of Scientology, Natalie insisted, "No, not normal, not even in Scientology," before delving into the beliefs, "We've all lived millions of lifetimes, so you've had wives and husbands, and it just shouldn't be a big deal.

"Yet, within Scientology, especially in the Sea Organization (a name given to the most dedicated group of Scientologists), you work 24/7; pretty much you live in dorms. You eat it's like you eat in a cafeteria. If you get married, and you're lucky if you get your own room in this organization that there is no premarital sex."

"So growing up in Scientology, you're often raised to become a Sea Org member. It's like a Catholic family having someone become a nun or a priest. So a Scientology family, they'd be proud of this. They'd be down with this," Natalie continued.

"So I would say, as far as affecting my family, that when I was conscious of it, it was probably when I was older, right after my mom married my grandpa. You know, I wasn't down with that. It was confusing," Natalie admitted.

After 35 years following Scientology, Natalie has now broken free and now has a new life.

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