The Prophecy: Part 1

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dating Detectives – "The Prophecy: Part 1"

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Episode Overview

Title: The Prophecy: Part 1
Host/Author: Dear Media
Release Date: November 25, 2024
Description: In this gripping first part of a two-part series, "The Dating Detectives" delves into the harrowing story of Jubilee, a young woman entangled in a religious cult and a manipulative relationship that spirals into abuse. Hosted by professional Private Investigator Mackenzie Fultz and Comedian Hanna Anderson, the episode unveils the intricate web of deceit, manipulation, and red flags that often go unnoticed in the high-pressure environment of religiously driven relationships.

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1. Introduction to Jubilee’s Story

The episode opens with a warm welcome from Mackenzie and Hannah, who introduce their guest, Jubilee. They provide a brief overview of the upcoming narrative, emphasizing its emotional depth and the presence of trigger warnings related to religious abuse and domestic violence.

Notable Quote:

• Hannah (02:34): "It’s a lot. Some trigger warnings. There’s some religious abuse, for sure, and also domestic violence."

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2. Jubilee’s Entry into the Cult

Jubilee recounts her initial involvement with the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry in Redding, California. At 18, she was seeking healing for her PTSD and found solace in a sermon that promised divine healing, leading her to immerse herself fully into the religious community.

Notable Quotes:

• Jubilee (05:00): "I just felt like God is healing PTSD tonight."
• Mackenzie (12:29): "So I move out to the school and my very first task was to write a prophetic Word for every single student after just looking at their name on a piece of paper."

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3. Moving to Pennsylvania and Meeting Ted

During her third-year internship in Pennsylvania, Jubilee meets Ted, a janitor at the church who becomes her romantic interest. Ted’s seemingly perfect persona—marked by generosity and romantic gestures—draws Jubilee deeper into the relationship.

Notable Quotes:

• Jubilee (17:34): "He was always volunteering to stay late. He just seemed like the most dependable person at this."
• Hannah (17:30): "I would melt."

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4. The Prophetic Sign and Quick Engagement

A prophetic event at a church conference convinces Jubilee that her relationship with Ted is divinely ordained. A prophet’s announcement linking Jubilee to Ted as a sign from God accelerates their relationship, culminating in a swift engagement within months.

Notable Quotes:

• Jubilee (30:15): "There was a church conference that was happening... that day was my wedding day to Ted."
• Jubilee (33:03): "So Ted says, well, that’s my girlfriend’s name... God is giving you this girl."

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5. Emergence of Red Flags

Despite the whirlwind romance, Jubilee begins to notice disturbing behaviors from Ted. His romanticism masks deeper issues, including lies about personal struggles and erratic behavior. Ted’s grandiose dreams and manipulative tactics start to reveal a darker side.

Notable Quotes:

• Jubilee (38:54): "He said, well, I just have a very vivid imagination."
• Jubilee (41:21): "He wanted to be a very famous director in Hollywood... he said I am never going to die."

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6. Escalation to Abuse

Jubilee describes the rapid escalation from emotional manipulation to physical abuse. Incidents such as Ted lunging at her and verbal assaults reveal the toxic dynamics of their relationship. Despite these red flags, religious pressure and fear of societal judgment keep Jubilee trapped.

Notable Quotes:

• Jubilee (53:05): "It was so scary. We were at the apartment… he charged at me."
• Jubilee (55:26): "He became very verbally abusive, and he ended up calling me a whore."

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7. Struggles with Leaving and External Pressures

Jubilee faces immense challenges in considering separation or divorce due to the cult's stigmatization of such actions. Pressure from religious leaders and the fear of being labeled as "damaged goods" complicate her ability to seek help or exit the abusive relationship.

Notable Quotes:

• Jubilee (62:31): "They were like... 'Don't be too hard on yourselves, things aren't perfect.'"
• Jubilee (66:01): "His friends… said that he would be happier if we were not around my family."

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8. Conclusion and Cliffhanger for Part 2

As Jubilee attempts to build a semblance of normalcy by relocating to Atlanta and pursuing background work in film, the abusive pattern continues with sporadic but intense outbursts. The episode concludes with Jubilee on the brink of realizing the full extent of her predicament, setting the stage for the dramatic revelations in the second part.

Notable Quotes:

• Jubilee (67:10): "I looked young at the time, I was able to do a lot of the high school college scenes."
• Mackenzie (68:35): "We're gonna definitely save the dogfish debrief for after the next episode because I think we want you guys to hear the whole."

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Key Takeaways and Insights

• Red Flags in Relationships: The episode highlights how initial charm and generosity can mask underlying control and abuse, especially within high-pressure religious environments.

• Impact of Religious Cults: Jubilee’s story underscores the profound psychological manipulation employed by cults, making it difficult for individuals to recognize and escape abusive situations.

• Importance of Support Systems: The lack of immediate support and external validation exacerbates Jubilee’s struggle, emphasizing the need for accessible resources and understanding for those in similar circumstances.

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Final Thoughts

"The Prophecy: Part 1" serves as a compelling exploration of how desperation for healing and belonging can lead individuals into manipulative relationships. Jubilee’s narrative is a poignant reminder of the subtlety of abuse and the complex interplay between personal faith and vulnerability.

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Engage with the Podcast

Listeners are encouraged to share their thoughts and stories related to religious trauma or manipulative relationships through the podcast’s social channels, Patreon, or email at investigatingdetectivespodcast.com. Stay tuned for Part 2, where the full extent of Jubilee’s ordeal is unveiled.

Transcript

[Hannah]

The following program contains names, places and events that have been anonymized or fictionalized for the purposes of protection and safety. The following program is provided for entertainment purposes only, and any commentary from the hosts are strictly conjecture and should not be held as making any definitive statements about the truth or identity of any particular individuals or circumstances. If you or a loved one are involved in an abusive relationship, please call the National Domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for support.

[Mackenzie]

Happy Monday. Happy Monday. Happy Monday.

[Hannah]

Hello, everybody. We have a guest today.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah, I'm really excited for her. I want to. Also, I want to apologize. I got some comments from you guys and I guess a couple of the ads that we recorded on our last episode. Somebody said you can hear all the banging from the roof. I was having. Having my. The hurt the two hurricanes. Hurricane Helene and then Hurricane Milton ripped my roof off. And so the only time they could come and fix it was the one day and I had podcasts and I recorded my home. And so they were fixing it. So I'm really, really sorry. We try to do the best we can to bring you the best, like the highest quality. So I'm sorry that you heard that. It was just a bit. It was. They were here all day and I'm sorry. So if you hear stuff like that, we have normal lives too, so it's just like life stuff. So thank you for understanding.

[Hannah]

Yeah, thank you. And also you have a good excuse and I'm just glad that your house is okay.

[Mackenzie]

And yeah, my best friend's husband was like, all you hear is nail guns. And I was like, no way.

[Hannah]

I didn't hear that as bad. I guess some people have better speakers.

[Mackenzie]

And stuff, but we, we do our best. Listen, this is not like a professional recording studio. This is my home office. I'm doing my freaking best.

[Hannah]

We do love kind feedback. Like if you're respectful and nice like you can. I love when people who are therapists or experts in whatever field we're talking about sometimes write in with like information or ways to say something or language that's been updated and yeah, yeah, that stuff is so helpful and. Or if it's just like, hey, I am an audio engineer and you're just.

[Mackenzie]

Let me tell you how I can help you. I just really appreciate you guys.

[Hannah]

Our guest.

[Mackenzie]

Our guest today is amazing.

[Hannah]

Well, we had to stop. We stopped for like, you know, a potty break here and there, getting someone to drink. This was a. This is going to be a two parter. It's a definite longer story. Our guest's name is Jubilee, which is.

[Jubilee]

Such a good thing.

[Mackenzie]

I love her name.

[Hannah]

I love. So fun, and she is so fun. So it really fits. And it's a. It's a lot. Some trigger warnings. There's some religious abuse, for sure, and also domestic violence. You know, physical and verbal abuse. It's.

[Mackenzie]

It's hard to hear some of it.

[Hannah]

Also, if you listen to us a lot, you probably hear my quick voice at the beginning of every episode talking about the National Domestic Violence Hotline. And that might sound like routine for you, but we wanted to talk about it because it might not come into part one, but it does part come into the story. And we want to double emphasize that. That that number is there. And it's incredible.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah, I. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is accessible to anyone. And I think there's a. I think there's a big misconception. A lot of people think, well, was I abused? Like, is. Is. Am I worthy of calling this line? If you think or if that is a question in your mind, please give them a call. The number is 8007-9972-3380-0799-7233. The National Domestic Violence Hotline. So that you have resources and you have support. So we wanted to throw that in there.

[Hannah]

It's just someone to listen to you. If that's all you need, that's what's there.

[Mackenzie]

And when you get to that part, when we get to that part of the story, which I think is. Is going to be part two, when we get to that part of the story, you're going to appreciate it, too. And I just, I. We were really. We were really grateful.

[Hannah]

And it also really. I don't know how to say this exactly, because all of the stories have elements of this, but there's a lot of textbook behaviors, I feel. Yes, that will be that. It's. It's unfortunately one of those stories that's like a good depiction of domestic violence. And she's safe and strong and we're very.

[Mackenzie]

I'm just glad that she's okay.

[Jubilee]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

Safe and here to tell her story. And she was actually on another podcast. Something Was Wrong. If you've heard of the Something Was Wrong podcast, that's a really good one. But she's here to share with us with some additional information that she's found out.

[Jubilee]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

That she found out since. So I'm gonna need you guys to hold on to the seat of your puns, and thank you so much for everybody who has been writing into the podcast to share your story. We really appreciate it. Let's meet our guest. Let's. Let's do it.

[Hannah]

Let's get Jubilee here.

[Mackenzie]

Okay, we're ready to hear Jubilee story. Take us away, girlfriend.

[Jubilee]

Okay. So When I was 18, I got involved in this kind of religious cult out in Redding, California.

[Hannah]

Oh.

[Jubilee]

So, yeah, it's a strong start. It's always California. No, but, yeah. So essentially, I had been going through a really difficult time when I was in high school. I was struggling with a lot of PTSD and stuff like that, so I ended up going to this conference, and while I was there, this lady was on stage and she was giving the sermon, and she said, I just feel like God is healing PTSD tonight. So in my mind, I'm like 17 or 18 at the time, thinking this word is specifically for me. I was meant to be here. So I end up getting prayer from this lady, and I go down to the front, and I am fully convinced that I am healed of PTSD and all of what I had been struggling with for so many years. So after that happened, I just really jumped headfirst into this cult. I ended up finding a documentary about what they believe in, and I found out that they had a ministry school out in California, and I decided to join this church. And I didn't realize how culty it was at the time. You know, I just very much thought it was like, I'm gonna go be a missionary.

[Hannah]

Yeah. You were like, I'm joining this church. Sure, yeah.

[Jubilee]

And, I mean, I did end up finding out that some people called it a cult, and it was kind of a running jo because it was a supernatural school of ministry. So people used to say it was like Hogwarts. So it was a running joke between the students because this church really believed in signs, wonders, healing. They believed that people could be raised from the dead. Like, it was all of those sorts of things.

[Hannah]

Can you tell us what it was called?

[Jubilee]

Yeah, it was called Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. Oh, okay. Yes. So it was this very interesting sector of Christianity where they just believe that they should take the New Testament seriously. So where all of these miracles were going on, they believe that we have access to everything Jesus could do. So on paper, I think I'm just joining a Christian church. There were definitely layers of, like, delusion in this cult. Some people were a bit more moderate, and others were totally off the rails. So they really just teach you about healing. And then another thing that they believed in very heavily was prophecy. So they believe that God could speak to any of us at all times and give us a word from him for other people. So it was very common for these prophets to come to the school and they would call out people in the crowd and they would say, does anybody in the room have the last four digits of their home address? 3702. And somebody would stand up and say, oh my gosh, that's me. And you know, it was very psychic, you know, but they're saying that it is because of Jesus. So they think that they can get away with some of these like very new agey psychic type beliefs.

[Hannah]

Yeah, well, as mackenzie knows, you can find anybody's address.

[Jubilee]

Yes, that comes into play.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah, that feels like, oh, blessed.

[Jubilee]

But I was like drinking the Kool Aid. I thought that this was so real because, you know, you would just have people. Yeah, I was such a baby. Looking back on it now, I just ate it all up. And my parents were just happy that I was a Christian and that I was happier. So I went out, I joined this cult, and I did two years of the school out there, and then I ended up doing my third year internship that is affiliated with that school. So essentially a lot of these schools run in the same circles. They have a lot of the same speakers that travel to different churches. And for my third year, it was an internship. So I had the opportunity to move out to Pennsylvania to be an intern for their school for my third year. And that is where a lot of the craziness ensued.

[Hannah]

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[Jubilee]

So I move out to the school and my very first task was to write a prophetic Word for every single student after just looking at their name on a piece of paper. Which was traumatic because.

[Hannah]

Wait, yeah, yeah.

[Jubilee]

I mean, I would say that this school was a little even more off the rocker than Bethel was. They were all very affiliated, but they knew that I was coming from Bethel, and they thought, well, Bethel is just so anointed. She must be very, very prophetic. So they gave me a list of all the students. And this school was a lot smaller than Bethel. Bethel had about 1200 first year students when I went out. And this school only had maybe 60 to 80 students for all three years. So it was a lot smaller of a school.

[Hannah]

So you have to write, like a prophecy for each student with.

[Jubilee]

Yes.

[Hannah]

So pressure. I imagine you're like, I could change their life right now.

[Jubilee]

Yes. And, I mean, I have a lot of religious trauma from this sector of my life, because one thing that Bethel really believed was that God is always talking. So if you don't hear anything that's on you, it's not because God isn't saying anything. God is always saying something. So if you don't hear anything, you're just not listening good enough. So at this point, I wrote some really probably horrible, bad, fake prophetic words like, I see a building block, and I just think that God is going to build you into who you're going to be, you know, and I'm 20 years old, just way over my head.

[Hannah]

Hey, a murky horoscope is less harmful than what you could have written.

[Jubilee]

So, yeah, yeah, I tried to keep it very general. And I think this is when I started to realize that this. This place was a little strange. And the school in California, they were all very hipster. So you could kind of convince yourself that this was cool, you know, it was.

[Hannah]

I was gonna ask you if they were hot. If they were hot.

[Jubilee]

There was a running joke.

[Hannah]

I feel like that's a thing.

[Jubilee]

It is. There was a running joke that all the Bethel students were good looking. Everybody was really hipster. This was peak plaid beards, hipster hats time. This was 2012. So, yeah. When I moved out to Pennsylvania, I realized that the school was super different. The small school was a lot of older people, so a lot of the students were in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and everybody was just a little quirkier. It wasn't as shiny as it was at Bethel. And I think I started to really look at these beliefs and realized that I sounded like a wacko at the time. So when I ended up going out there, a girl reached out to me Named Sarah. And she had said, let's go get coffee. I know that you're new to town, and I was the only Bethel intern at Bethel. I had a lot of friends. And when I was over here, it was just a totally different ball game. And, you know, this girl had reached out to me. She asked if I wanted to go get some coffee, and we met up, but nothing really happened after that. I did see her at school, but we didn't really hit it off or anything like that. So as the year went on, I ended up meeting this guy named Ted, and he worked for the church that hosted the school. So the school used to meet inside of this really big mega church out there in Pennsylvania. And he was a janitor for the church. So I think he was only working 15 to 20 hours a week at the church. And he was 10 years older than me, so I was 20 and he was 30. And I did not think of him in a romantic way at all, which was saying something, because, to be honest, in these ministry schools, everybody is just looking for their spouse. Everybody is ring by spring kind of vibes.

[Hannah]

Okay?

[Jubilee]

So, I mean, I was actively praying that I was going to meet somebody. And I had it in my mind that whenever I met the person that I was going to be with, that I would just know immediately, and there would be something in my gut that knew that it was who I was supposed to be with. So I had met Ted, and I'd only ever heard good things about him. He had apparently been voted the best student of the year the year previously. So it was his second year. He was loved. People adored him. Everybody thought he was so sweet. And I had even heard this one story about how there was a student the year previously, and she had gone through a horrible divorce and was in a domestic violence situation. And when he found out about that for Valentine's Day, he ended up taking her out to eat and said, I want to treat you like a princess, like, as a friend, just to make you feel so loved on this day. So she agreed. He got her all dressed up, and then while they were out to eat, he invited everybody from the school to come and bring her roses throughout the dinner.

[Hannah]

Oh, gosh, I would melt.

[Mackenzie]

I would be, like, over.

[Hannah]

I would be overwhelmed. That's very sweet.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Jubilee]

And I was like, wow, he's such a good person. You know, he's just genuinely very thoughtful, trying to care for everybody. And during the fall, so still the beginning of the year, we used to all go out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings after School. So we went out and there was one time where he left early and when we tried to pay, there were like 30 of us. When we tried to pay, he had paid for everybody, like everybody's dinners, everybody's drinks.

[Hannah]

Father Ted, he's not. He's not quite.

[Jubilee]

I was like, wow, he's so kind and so thoughtful and he was always volunteering to stay late. He just seemed like the most dependable person at this. So that's just all I really knew about him at that point. But I did later find out that him and Sarah, the girl who had invited me out at the beginning of the year, had dated the year previously. So I had heard through the grapevine that they dated the year before, but that they had broken up sometime around the summer, or at least that's the story that I got. So that's all I knew about his dating history. So while I'm out there in Pennsylvania, I was having a very rough go of it. My first housing fell through, so I ended up moving into a ministry house with a bunch of other students who went to another supernatural school down the road. And I lived with three guys and a married couple. And that was horrible. It was very weird because this married couple thought that they were like our spiritual parents. It was very culty. They said, you know, we are the spiritual parents of this house and we want this to be a ministry house. And they had some weird rules while we were living there. So it was just overall not going good. But the big problem with that was that the heat also didn't work in this house. So we were living down here in Pennsylvania, downtown Harrisburg, and it was snowing outside and I was working the night shift from like 10pm to 6 in the morning at some diner. So I was just really roughing it at the time. I was super broke and I had an air mattress in this house and I was sleeping on the air mattress and I had like multiple sweaters on at night and so many socks because I was just freezing myself to sleep every night. Oh my gosh, it was horrible. And the landlord would not fix the freaking heat. So we were just freezing ourselves to sleep. And I have my little space heater and essentially I came back from Christmas, so I had gone home to my family and the whole internship just felt like a disappointment at this point. It was honestly not that much work. It was a two day a week school. And I had gone out there thinking that it was going to be a full time school like Bethel was. So I just had a lot of time on my hands. And it just wasn't what I bargained for. So I ended up getting back from Christmas and my roommates told me that they were all going to move out and that I needed to be out by the end of the week. Oh, great. They said, you know, we're freezing. We can't fix the heat. He won't fix it. Our bill is so high, so you need to move out by the end of the week. So I was at the church and I was in the lobby and I was on the phone with my mom, you know, 20 years old and crying to her, saying, I think I'm going to have to come back home to Texas. I'm not going to be able to finish my internship. And just feeling so defeated that this had not gone how I wanted it to. And when I got off the phone, Ted ended up coming up to me and he said, hey, I hope this doesn't upset you. I overheard your conversation and I took it upon myself to call some family friends. They have a house and their daughter is a missionary, so they have an extra bedroom because she's away right now. And I called them and asked if you could live there for free for the. The rest of the year. And they said yes. So if you want, you can get in my car right now and we can go drive and meet this family and you can move in as soon as tomorrow. So I just too, too good to be true. I just started crying. And I thought that this guy was my absolute savior. I'm like, I cannot believe this. He's such a good person.

[Hannah]

He's a sign. It's a sign. It's a.

[Jubilee]

It's a sign.

[Hannah]

Yeah, I get it.

[Jubilee]

Which this was like such a big thing at the time is everything was a sign. It was so common to over spiritualize everything in these circles. So to me, I'm like, what are the odds that this falls into my lap? And I just thought that he was the best guy. So we ended up hanging out more and more that next week because he was always over at the house because he was their family friends, so he was always over at the house. And then there was one night where there was a snowstorm and we were watching Netflix together, like, virtually. We were on the phone and pressing play at the same time. And I was starting to catch feelings for him, and I told him that I was hungry. And he ended up coming at one in the morning with fries in the middle of a snowstorm and knocked on the door and said, I knew you were hungry. So I Came to bring you fries. And I just thought that he was so romantic. He was very big about these big, grand gestures. And that night, he ended up asking me out on a date. So that is where the beginning of our relationship started. So our first date was out of a fairy tale. He ended up taking me to this very fancy restaurant because I'm a vegan. So we ended up going to a fancy vegan restaurant. And as we were talking at dinner, I was telling him how much I valued vulnerability, because that's a big core belief of mine. And I just told him how much I loved when people were honest about their feelings. So on the drive home, he said, I have somewhere that I want to take you. So he drives me to the capital of Harrisburg, and he tells me that he had a very emotional moment with a friend there when he was going through a hard time. And his friend had took him there and really encouraged him. And it was all kind of vague, but essentially he was trying to say, this place means a lot to me. And because you value vulnerability, I just wanted to bear my soul to you. That way, you really know who I am. And, yeah, he ended up kissing me. And on our very first date, he told me he was in love with me.

[Mackenzie]

Oh.

[Hannah]

And how did you feel about that?

[Jubilee]

Yeah, I was 20, and I felt like I loved him, too, because I just thought he brought me fries. He seemed like such a good person, and everybody was vouching for him. Everybody was about him. They thought he was amazing. And I was worried about the age gap because I was 20 and he was 30, but I just shoved it away. I was like, it's fine if it's God's will. It is what it is. So as we started dating, I had gone over to his apartment, and I noticed that there was a lot of boxes in his living room. So I asked him, like, what are all these boxes? And he said, this is actually Sarah's stuff, the ex girlfriend from the year previously. He said, this is Sarah's stuff, and it's here because she has nowhere to put it. And she asked if I could store it for her. And because I'm such a good person, I said that she could keep it at my house because she's on the verge of being homeless right now. Okay, that's nice, you know, And I was seeing Sarah. Like, I saw her twice a week at school. So in my mind, I'm just like, well, everybody knows that we're dating. And, I mean, I guess he's just a nice person, you know?

[Hannah]

Did she say anything to you about you dating him?

[Jubilee]

No, she was just like, she never spoke to me about anything. So, I mean, I had no reason to doubt him. Everybody was just vouching for him at the time. So things started to heat up very quickly. He was already talking about marriage. He was saying how he had waited his whole life and he had confided in me that he was a virgin and that he had saved himself for marriage. And I had a lot of religious trauma. I had a lot of stuff that had happened at Bethel where I was made to feel like I was a bad person because I did not save myself for marriage. So the fact that there's this 30 year old guy, he's so pure, he doesn't see me as a bad person and he loves me for who I am. When I was in these circles, I really felt like I was a whore or just a bad person. So when I was around him and he just seemed to not care about my past at all, like that did feel very attractive to me that this clean slate is being given to me. So that was driving a lot of my internal dialogue at the time. I was just very wrapped up in this must be God's will. This is God's goodness over my life. So I was all about the marriage talks. To be honest, even though it was very, very early.

[Mackenzie]

You guys, I talk about Miracle made all the time because you know by now that my husband sleeps so hot, like sweaty. And I am a cold sleeper. And yes, we live in Florida and I still, I have to sleep with a heated blanket because I'm freezing, but then he wakes up sweating. Anyways, your nighttime bedroom temperature has a huge impact on your sleep quality. So if you wake up too hot or too cold like me and my husband, I highly recommend you check out Miracle Maid's bed sheets. They are inspired by NASA and they use silver infused fabrics that are temperature regulating so you can sleep at the perfect temperature all night long. So maybe you can get some better sleep. And I would like to add, you guys know that I'm a beauty and skincare girl. Traditional bed sheets can harbor more bacteria than a toilet seat. Yuck. It can lead to acne, allergies, stuffy noses. It's just gross. And Miracle Maid offers a whole line of self cleaning antibacterial bedding like sheets, pillowcases, comforters, and they actually Prevent up to 99.7% of bacteria growth and require up to three times less laundry. You're welcome. And I would like to add Miracle made she are luxuriously comfortable without the high price tag of other luxury brands. They feel really nice like the like the five star hotels. And they come in different colors too. Go to try Miracle.com TDD to try Miracle Made sheets today and whether you're buying them for yourself or as a gift for a loved one or your husband who slept sleeps really sweaty. If you order today you can save over 40% and if you use our promo TDD at checkout you'll get three free towels and save an extra 20%. Miracle is so confident in their product it's backed with a 30 day money back guar so if you aren't 100 satisfied you'll get a full refund. Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made, go to try Miracle.com TDD and use the code TDD to claim your free three piece towel set and save over 40% off. Again, that's try Miracle.com TDD to treat yourself thank you Miracle Maid for sponsoring this episode Attention all true crime fanatics. Have you ever stopped to wonder just how close you've come to danger without even realizing it? Every single day we encounter countless people on the street, in the grocery store, at the G, truly knowing who they are or what they're capable of. But what if one of those seemingly ordinary people was hiding a dark secret? What if they had done something unthinkable? Or were planning to? The Minds of Madness is a weekly true crime podcast that dives deep into the criminal psyche, covering the most shocking and disturbing cases you've ever heard of from all over the world. We're talking about ordinary people who do the most unthinkable things, like a feral Goldilocks style intruder who left a disgusting calling card before embarking on a reign of terror leading to a nationwide manhunt. Or a seductive ex who used voodoo and manipulation to always get what she wanted. The Minds of Madness examines the psychology of the perpetrators, trying to understand what makes them tick, while interviewing experts in forensic psychology and criminology as well as survivors who fought for justice. Whether you're listening on your morning commute or during your evening jog, the Minds of Madness will completely immerse you in the world of true crime. With gripping stories, insightful analysis, and unforgettable survivors accounts, the Minds of Madness has everything you need to satisfy your darkest cravings. The Minds of Madness is available wherever you get your podcast or visit mindsofmadnesspodcast.com for more information.

[Jubilee]

So this leads us to the infamous prophecy that completely changed my life. There was a church conference that was happening I think it was only a month and a half, probably into us dating. And this prophet, quote, unquote, came. And he was one of those that would call people out from the crowd. He was always giving these words of knowledge. That's what they call them, where it's a specific piece of information that confirms that this is from God. So he might say, does anybody have a sister whose middle name is Julia? You know, and then that person would stand up and he'd say, God has a word for you. So essentially, Ted's friend the day before had been called out by this prophet, but his friend wasn't there. So what Ted did was run up and gave his phone to the prophet. He called his friend and gave the phone to the prophet. And he had prophesied over his friend on the phone. So the next day of the conference, this prophet gets on stage and he says, I want the guy who brought me the phone yesterday to stand up. God has a word for you. So, oh, it's a big deal to be called out. I mean, you have to imagine there's hundreds of people in this auditorium and everybody's praying that it's them who is going to be called out. And I was not there. So Ted stands up and he says, you know, I was praying, and I saw the number 50, and 50 means Jubilee. And I just heard God say that he was giving you jubilee. Does that mean anything to you? Oh, wow. So Ted says, well, that's my girlfriend's name. And the prophet starts laughing, and he's like, well, God is giving you this girl. And everybody in the auditorium's, like, laughing. They're clapping. They think that this is a huge sign from God. And he goes on to say, yeah, and I've been eating breakfast at this place called Tomato Pie Cafe before our sessions, and it's the best place. And I was just wondering, does jubilee have anything to do with Tomato Pie Cafe? And I worked at Tomato Pie Cafe, and I was actually at Tomato Pie Cafe while this was happening because I was working.

[Hannah]

Oh, my gosh.

[Mackenzie]

What?

[Jubilee]

Yeah. He said, well, yeah, she works there. And everybody's laughing. There is a video of it on the Internet.

[D]

God is. When you handed me the phone last night, I saw 50. But I know that 50 is Jubilee year. And there's something about God's giving you a jubilee. What does that mean to you? Oh, your girlfriend's name is Jubilee.

[Jubilee]

That's awesome.

[D]

Well, God's giving you this girl. And when we ordered the food this morning, they the, by the way, this is a Huge, huge advertisement in the midst of prophesying. And it's a prophetic advertisement that that Tomato Pie Cafe place is, like, level 10 awesome. And we've been eating there for the mornings, and it's like they've been bringing us food kindly enough, and they're amazing. But does she have something to do with the Tomato Pie Cafe? Does she. She works there.

[Hannah]

Okay.

[D]

Jubilee from Tomato Pie Cafe.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, my God.

[Jubilee]

So while I'm at Tomato Pie Cafe, my phone starts blowing up, and people are saying, ted just got called out by the prophet, and he said that you guys are going to get married and that you guys are supposed to be together. And I ended up having people call Tomato Pie Cafe, like, the work phone, and say, is Jubilee there? Who is with Ted? Is she there? And it was like we were famous for God. It was crazy. People were so invested in our love story. And I felt like that prayer that I had prayed my entire life that I would know when I was supposed to be with someone was. This was it. I. It was so confirmed that I was supposed to be with him. So within, let's see, I think a month, he ended up proposing. So we started dating the end of January, and he ended up proposing on April 10th.

[Hannah]

Oh, my gosh. Was everyone, like, out of their minds excited?

[Jubilee]

They were so excited. The entire school was all about it. They even threw us an engagement party. Like the leadership. They helped throw an engagement party for us. And you guys are gonna love this. The proposal was so cringy in hindsight, but I thought it was. I thought it was so romantic. I'm 20 years old, so I'm like, e this up. I'm like, I am living in a romcom, you know? Basically, he had taken me to the. The Harrisburg Bridge. There's, like, this very scenic, pretty bridge. And as we walked up to this bridge, he had people from the ministry school and our friends stationed throughout the bridge in a zigzag line. So we went to one person, and they handed me a rose, and then they told me a Disney quote because I was a Disney adult. Like, full steam ahead, right? So they would tell us a Disney quote, and then we'd go to the next person, and they would hand me a rose and tell me a Disney quote. And we just went back and forth throughout the entire length of the bridge. And then at the end, he had gotten somebody to play thinking out loud from Ed Sheeran Classic. And he gets down on one knee, and he said, you've taught me that dreams don't have to end. At midnight. Will you try on this glass ring? Which. Okay, yeah, but I. Yeah, okay, I get it.

[Hannah]

It's a stretch. It's a stretch, but I'll take it.

[Jubilee]

I'm like, I see what you were trying to do there.

[Hannah]

No.

[Jubilee]

And okay, we'll allow it.

[Hannah]

Yeah, sure.

[Mackenzie]

This last ring.

[Jubilee]

So the second that I say yes, he stands up, we kiss. And the second that we kiss, fireworks go off.

[Mackenzie]

Oh.

[Jubilee]

Oh, my God.

[Hannah]

Wow.

[Jubilee]

To my knowledge, he did not plan this. This was from a baseball stadium that had a game ending and they do fireworks at the end of the game. So it was timed so perfectly. So you have to imagine in my 20 year old brain, I'm like, I am living a rom com that is so ordained by God. Like I am. I would have been eating it up.

[Hannah]

If I was in the school. Oh, I would have been one of the people that's like checking in every day. I love. I love a romance.

[Jubilee]

I know. And he just seemed so romantic. So, I mean, he continued to just completely love bomb me. Like he would stop people and say, like, I love this girl. Like people on the street. It was very extreme.

[Hannah]

Like Tom Cruise when he went on Oprah.

[Jubilee]

Literally. It's that energy.

[Hannah]

Do you know what I'm talking about? Mackenzie? She's nodding. She's like, oh, I do.

[Mackenzie]

I'm so in love. I'm so in love. And he's like jumping on the fucking couch. Yeah.

[Jubilee]

Ye.

[Hannah]

Like, all right, cool.

[Jubilee]

That's exactly what it was like.

[Mackenzie]

Now they're divorced, it's fine.

[Jubilee]

And he even one time we were at Buffalo Wild Wings, and he literally stood up in the middle of Buffalo Wild Wings and made everybody be quiet and said that he was in love with me, which I did find cringy at the time. And I was embarrassed. But I was also like, you know, he means well. It's so sweet. And at this point, I didn't have very many red flags. It just seemed like a very happy whirlwind romance. But during our engagement, that's when things really started to start to come out where I realized that I was not getting the full story. So one thing, and this was actually before the proposal. So the day before the proposal, I had asked him if he watched porn because I was just curious. Obviously this is a topic at these schools. And he said no. And I asked him again because I could see a look in his eye. It didn't look quite right.

[Hannah]

Yeah, we know.

[Jubilee]

And he said no. And then after a few times he said, okay, actually, yes. And I'm addicted to it. And, yes, I'm in therapy for specifically my addiction to it. So that was like, the day before the proposal. So I was still grappling with that new information and the fact that he was lying to me about that.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Jubilee]

But I also felt like I was getting all of these signs that we were supposed to be together, so.

[Hannah]

And he said he was in therapy.

[Jubilee]

Yeah, and he said he was in therapy, which I never got any details to know if that was true, but that is what he told me at the time. So towards the end of the year, we are engaged. So I started the beginning of the year single. End of the year, I am engaged. And I was going to go back to Texas to go and start our life. So I was gonna go get us an apartment and get things set up there. And then we were going to get married in November. So before I left, I was over at his apartment and I was laying on his bed, and he was in the shower. And all of a sudden I started hearing these crazy noises coming from the bathroom. So I'm laying in bed, and I hear these noises that almost sound like video game noises coming from the bathroom. And they're loud, like. Like, I. I don't even know how to describe it.

[Hannah]

What kind of porn is he watching?

[Jubilee]

No. And immediately my heart just sunk because I did not know what he was doing or what those sounds were. And I think that was the moment then I realized, what if I, like, don't actually know this guy? Or what if I don't know him as well as I think I do? Because obviously we were not. L. We were not having sex before marriage. So when I asked him about it, he said, well, I just have a very vivid imagination. And I was imagining myself in a movie, and, you know, I was just imagining.

[Mackenzie]

I'm sorry, what?

[Jubilee]

He said he was imagining himself in a movie, and I was like, oh, okay. And that was the beginning. A movie of his own, which I found this out later. You guys are gonna love this, because during the engagement, this is where all the crazier beliefs came out. I did not know what he believed really at the time. And I quickly found out he was on the crazier end of the cult spectrum. So he wanted to be a very famous director in Hollywood. He said, I have a very vivid imagination. I'm gonna make movies someday. I'm gonna change the world. And he ended up telling me that he was 100% going to own the entire company of Disney someday.

[Mackenzie]

That's not really, like, a thing.

[Jubilee]

No, it's not. No, that's not a thing. And I was like, you mean the CEO? And he was like, no, the entire company.

[Mackenzie]

You can't own Disney. That's not the.

[Jubilee]

You know, but we love a dreamer. Like, that's.

[Hannah]

Good job. You're like, that's nice, baby.

[Jubilee]

You know, and in these religious circles, it was very much like, dream big. Anything's possible. So I don't want to sit here and crush this dude's spirit. Sure, sure.

[Hannah]

You're like, maybe apply to a business school. Just get some one on one going on.

[Mackenzie]

Just learn a little bit how that stuff works.

[Jubilee]

I was like, how is that going to happen, though? Like, what steps are we taking to ensure that this happens? And. And when it came to the talking to himself thing, because that ended up being a big part of the relationship. So it wasn't just the sounds. During our engagement, I started to see that he was talking to himself all the time. When we were in public, he would be like murmuring under his breath and I would just hear him talking to himself and he would look angry while he did it. So he would like swing his arms and get like a scowl on his face. And I would ask him what that was and he would just tell me, well, I was just imagining that I was wrestling. Like I was imagining I was in a fight. And I would tell him, you know, like, maybe not while we're in public. Like, I don't even know what I was thinking at the time. And then he would come down on me pretty hard and say, I am a creative genius and you just don't understand me. He was saying, I am essentially made for another world and you do not respect who I am as a person. So this was an ongoing thing that we had going on. And I also found out that Ted believed that he was never, ever going to die, ever, ever, ever, literally. And I will say there are some outliers at this cult that believed that we never have to die. Because, you know, in the New Testament it says, raise people from the dead, heal the sick. So if we are always healing the sick and if we always believe it is God's will to heal, which is what this cult believed, then why would anyone ever die if there is no sickness? So Ted would tell me that he was going to live forever. And I told him, well, probably not, because no one ever has. And he would say, well, I'm going to be the first because no one else had the faith and I do, so I am never going to die.

[Hannah]

He needs to donate some of his confidence to us. I could use a little bit.

[Jubilee]

You know, I need the audacity of a white man.

[Hannah]

I would love to believe in myself the way this man does, fully through.

[Jubilee]

The power of faith. So I'm starting to realize that a lot is off. But at this point, he's still treating me well. So I'm thinking, okay, he's just kind of out there. But this is ordained by God. I am supposed to be with him. This prophet, who is essentially a celebrity in these circles, told me that I'm supposed to be with him. But I was feeling a lot of stress during the engagement because I genuinely believe that I would have called off the wedding had this prophecy not happened, because I was getting so many red flags. But I really thought that it was God's will. So during this time, I ended up developing fibromyalgia, and I had horrible chronic pain during our engagement. And that ended up lasting throughout pretty much our entire marriage. I was sick for maybe four or five years. Where I at the worst of it, I could not walk around the grocery store without having to stop every five minutes because I just could not walk long periods of time anymore. I had shooting pain in my hands and in my legs, and I was waking up several times a night and I wasn't able to sleep. And I. Now that I've educated myself and read books on this sort of thing, I know my body was just, like, under an immense amount of stress and was kicking and screaming at me to not do this, But I really just thought that this was God's will. And it also tied me more to him, honestly, because I was more dependent on him. I needed his help, and he loved to love bomb me. He would get me water, you know, he would be very caring through my illness a lot of the time. So in a lot of ways, it just made me more dependent on him.

[Hannah]

Totally. And you're exhausted, too. I'm sure you don't even have the energy to think about the red flag.

[Jubilee]

Yeah. And, you know, we ended up deciding that we were going to get married in Colorado because it was kind of a middle point between our two states. That way both of our loved ones could come out to do the wedding. And planning a wedding from another state was stressful to try to coordinate everything. And the week before the wedding, we were talking about some of the details, and we ended up getting into an argument. I do not remember what this argument was about, But I was sitting in my car, and he was standing outside of the car, and all of a sudden, it was like a flip switched in him. He hit the top of my car, and he said, f you. You have P. Yeah, like, he lost it on me. And, you know, imagine I'm there like 21 years old, thinking I am getting married next week. And this is the first time that I've ever seen this guy act mad at me. Like, he had never even raised his voice at me before. And to see him act out like this, I was, you know, just completely taken aback. Seeing that side of Ted was so scary for the first time because it was so opposite of what I had seen from him before. I really thought of him to just be this very loving figure, and that's how everybody described him. So really, when he lashed out for the first time, his eyes, like, went black. He did not seem like the same person. And it was very hard for me to reconcile the difference in these people because I. It truly felt like a flip had switched. And I ended up calling our pastor and telling him what happened. I was sobbing, and he was telling us, well, maybe you guys should postpone the wedding. And immediately I got so defensive, and I was like, no, it was both of us. Like, no, you know, it's fine. We're gonna figure it out. And the idea of canceling a wedding when we had already paid for everything, everybody had already booked their flights. I just could not fathom that. And I also felt like I had had so much confirmation that this was supposed to be, because during our engagement, I had even found this was another crazy sign, I guess. I had written a letter to God on November 25, the year previously, begging God to send me a spouse or something like that. And I ended up finding out that exactly one year later to that day was my wedding day to Ted.

[Hannah]

Wow. Oh.

[Jubilee]

And it just so happened, like, we did not pick that day because of that. It just felt like, oh, my gosh, God had answered my prayer. One year right after that is the day that we are getting married. So in my mind, it was just so confirmed that we were supposed to be together.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Jubilee]

I know. And, you know, I thought, well, maybe he's just acting out. Like, I've never seen him act this way before. And everybody had vouched for him and thought that he was such a good person. So we ended up going through with the wedding. And, I mean, it was a beautiful wedding. We had a good time, and we went to Disney, unsurprisingly, for our honeymoon. And while we were there, I was really sick. We had to stop a lot because I wasn't Able to walk very far. But while we were there, he ended up running into the grocery store to get us some groceries for the week. And I had found out that my grandpa was very sick and in the icu. And my parents didn't know if my grandpa was gonna make it.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, no.

[Jubilee]

And he ended up making it, you know, but this was all on my honeymoon. And I was not staring at my phone the entire honeymoon, but I was definitely checking in with. With my family just to see how my grandpa was doing. And when Ted ended up getting back in the car, he saw that I had talked to my mom and I started crying. And I said how worried I was about my grandpa. And he ended up exploding on me and told me that my family had no respect for our marriage, that they had no respect for our honeymoon, and how inappropriate it was that they would contact me to tell me that this was going on and that when you get married as a Christian, you are to leave your family behind and that they did not understand that.

[Hannah]

What?

[Jubilee]

Yeah. So this is on the honeymoon, and I'm being told these expectations for this marriage that I did not know that this is how he was going to be because, I mean, I'm very close with my family. So this ended up being a very big part of our marriage where he was just constantly telling me that he resented my family. So when we got back from the honeymoon, he ended up telling me that I wasn't allowed to go out to eat with my dad anymore. He said that that was inappropriate and that he's the man in my life now.

[Hannah]

Isolating.

[Jubilee]

Yeah. It was shocking on the honeymoon to hear what his expectations of marriage were. I. I obviously knew that we were going to have a conservative type marriage where I am supposed to trust him and respect him. And what that really means in these circles is obeying them. I was always taught, okay, yes, he is called to love you, but if you guys disagree and he should hear you out, you guys can both say your piece. But if you disagree, he wins, you know, and it's so common in these circles to just believe that what they say goes. So I did know that that was somewhat an expectation. But to hear how far the request would be was so shocking. I did not expect him to have any sort of problem with my dad. He had always been so respectful of my dad. He had even flown out to ask my dad permission for my hand in marriage. So for me, I had always thought that he had really respected my dad. So for him to come out with this rule and say, you can't go out to eat with your dad. It was so shocking to hear that for the first time. And in hindsight, I'm like, I don't know how I didn't see it. And I don't. I really don't know how the people in my life didn't see it in a way, too. I mean, it's not on them. It's on me or. Well, it's on Ted.

[Hannah]

Yeah, it's on Ted.

[Jubilee]

And, I mean, I wasn't really telling many people. I was only telling a couple people. People. A lot of my family didn't know that any of this was going on, but it just turned very abusive very quickly. So I think within a few months, there was a time where we were in our apartment, and he ended up lunging at me but not actually hitting me.

[Mackenzie]

And that's still so scary.

[Jubilee]

It was so scary.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, you poor thing.

[Jubilee]

It was very scary. We were at the apartment, and I don't remember what we were arguing about, but. And I was in the bedroom, and he was standing in the doorway, and he ended up charging at me. And he got, like, really close to me but didn't actually hit me. And that was the first time that he had ever tried to intimidate me physically. And I was so scared. I was just completely terrified. I ended up running outside of the apartment, and I didn't have shoes on, and I ran down the stairs, and I could hear him chasing me, and I hid behind some cars, and it was, like, pitch black outside, and he was like, don't be stupid. Come back in. You know? And it. He was almost like, acting like I was being crazy, like, you're crazy for running. What are you doing? It's like, well, am I crazy for running? I don't think I'm being crazy for running because you charged at me. So I ended up telling him that I was gonna go home to see my family that night because they didn't live that far away, and I would see him the next day. So I ended up going to my family, and I was just there for maybe an hour or two, and I kind of just collected myself, and I decided to go home. Because another thing in the church that they really talk about is to not let the sun go down on your anger. And it's not good to sleep in separate places when you're married. You should try to fix things. So in my mind, I didn't want to make it a pattern where I'm running away. So I did end up going back that night. And he did seem apologetic about lunging at me, but there still was this air of, I overreacted. I overreacted by running, and I overreacted by leaving and kind of shaming me for leaving the situation. And he would say, you know, you're just young, and you don't realize that married people have to work on things. So it was kind of twisted on me that I was so immature to run away from an argument and that I should have just stuck it out and stayed with him that night. You know, I think that was the moment that I realized, oh, my gosh, I married some guy that I had known less than a year who's 10 years older than me, and he is very scary.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, my God.

[Jubilee]

It was a terrible time. He became very verbally abusive, and he ended up calling me a whore, which was horrible. He would take all of the hurts that I had had before, all of this information that I had confided in him, and he would just use all of those things against me.

[Hannah]

I'm so sorry.

[Mackenzie]

I'm so sorry.

[Jubilee]

It was atrocious. And I really just felt like I couldn't get divorced, you know, because in these religious circles, you would feel like you're damaged goods. Like nobody would ever want to be with me if I got divorced. And also, I still believed in this stupid prophetic word. Like, I really thought that this was from God, and I thought maybe he just has anger problems and we can work through these things. And he would also still love bomb me. So while all this is going on, he would still create scavenger hunts throughout the city with all of our favorite places, and he would write me a bunch of love letters, you know, So I was just in this whirlwind of he's so great and he's so horrible at the same time, and I just couldn't make sense of it.

[Mackenzie]

Yep. I think a lot of people can relate to that.

[Hannah]

Oh, absolutely. I mean, it makes. It's so manipulative.

[Mackenzie]

Yes. Yes.

[Jubilee]

Yeah. And on one hand, I was posting things on social media, making my life seem really great, you know, So I would be posting, oh, look, he wrote me 25 love letters for my birthday, you know, because that was the year I turned 25, you know, and he would write all these love letters, and I was making it seem like my life was so great and that he was so great. And people would comment and say, you're so lucky that your husband does stuff like that for you. My husband would never. And I just thought that he was so wonderful. On one hand, you know, but there was definitely, like, this darkness and one fight that we had had. And this was pretty early on when I was suffering with fibromyalgia to a very high degree. So I was very sick at this time. And I remember we ended up going to Barnes Noble. And while we were at Barnes Noble, I was in a lot of pain, and I was saying, hey, maybe we should leave. I don't feel well. And he ended up disappearing, and I didn't know where he went. And he ended up coming back, and he had brought a chair from the Barnes and Noble Cafe to the middle of Barnes and Noble and was telling me to sit down. And I told him, you know, please take the chair back. I don't want to sit down here, because I was embarrassed. We were drawing attention to ourselves, like, that's a chair from the cafe. It shouldn't be over here. And when we got in the car, he ended up calling me a selfish brat and that I was acting like a child. And at the time, I was in therapy because I was struggling a lot emotionally with having a chronic illness. And I told my therapist this story, and I had not been honest to my therapist about the things that were going on in my marriage. I had watered things down so much. So I didn't tell her that he had yelled at me and cussed at me and stuff like that. I just said, we got into this argument because he brought this chair, and I didn't want to sit down. And he told me I needed to sit down. And I was just venting to her about this, and she ended up telling me that she was concerned for me because he sounded controlling. And she was able to pick up on that dynamic without me really telling her the worst of it. And I was constantly looking for validation from other people that I wasn't crazy. So I. You know, I probably shouldn't have. But I went home and I told him, hey, this is what my therapist said, because at the time, I still viewed him as my best friend. So I was like, hey, maybe this would talk sense into you if you heard that an outside person heard this conversation. And I told him, and he ended up telling me that I wasn't allowed to go to therapy anymore. So for the rest of our marriage, I was not allowed to go to therapy. And he had told me that I wasn't allowed to go because he was afraid that the therapist would tell me to leave him. And that's, like, such another example of Ted being so honest and so self aware. You know, he Knew. He knew that he was being abusive, and he was being very forthcoming. He said, I am afraid that she is going to tell you to leave me, so I don't want you to go to therapy. So that was the last time that I went to therapy. So we were still living in Texas, and we were there about a year, and there was a situation where he ended up hitting me with a jacket. We were living with family at the time. We ended up living with family not too long, maybe six months, just to save money. And we were in our bedroom. And again, I do not remember what we were fighting about, but he took my jacket, and he ended up hitting me with this jacket a couple times on my leg. And it hurt, but it wasn't. It wasn't like, oh, I'm getting bruised. And then he ended up coming on top of me, and he ended up pinning me down and screaming in my face and spitting on me. And that was the first time that he was physical. So he didn't, like, hit me with his hand. Doesn't matter the jack I know, you know? But in hindsight, like.

[Mackenzie]

And he probably used that as an excuse.

[Jubilee]

Oh, he did. I said, you hit me, and he said, I didn't hit you. The jacket hit you. So we end up calling our friends, because I was feeling like, well, maybe we're gonna have to get divorced. Because in my religious circle, they were really against divorce, but even they believed that it was okay to get divorced if you were in a abusive relationship. So for me, the majority of our marriage, I was just doing this back and forth of, is it bad enough? Like, has it reached the level to where it's okay to leave at this point? So I was really going to these people because I felt like I was on my breaking point, and I wanted to. I feel like I wanted them to validate me, too, because I would tell him, you hit me. And he said, the jacket hit you. So in my mind, I was like, let's call. Let's call our friends, and they'll tell you that it's abusive. So that's the only reason that we ever reached out to anybody is I was hoping that somebody would talk some sense into him. And they gave us some very interesting advice. And the advice was that we should move to Atlanta because if we moved so that he could pursue his dreams.

[Hannah]

In film, right, that it would solve everything.

[Jubilee]

Everything.

[Hannah]

You're just holding him back from his.

[Jubilee]

Dream, or he has resentment because he has unfulfilled dreams. And if we just moved out to Atlanta and he could pursue his dream of owning Disney. Then everything.

[Mackenzie]

This guy gotta own Disney World.

[Hannah]

His friends you told, you did share with them that you were having problems or were you in detail about what was going on?

[Jubilee]

I did tell them about the jacket thing. You know, I didn't tell them every single thing, but they knew. Yeah, they did know, honestly.

[Hannah]

And they still were like, stay together.

[Jubilee]

They were like, yeah. And one thing that they would say, it's hard because I. I don't hate these people. But it was such bad advice. You know, one thing that they had said was, you guys just need to view it as you're only a year old, you know, you're only a year into your marriage. You're gonna grow. Things are hard. Don't be too hard on yourselves, that things aren't perfect. So they just told us that they thought that he would also be happier if we were not around my family. Because they knew that my family was a big part of this. And they said to Ted, like, you don't realize because I'm Hispanic. They would say, hispanic families are so close. And he's an only child and he's white, and he just doesn't understand what it's like to have a close family. So you guys should move out to Atlanta. That way you don't have that pressure of her family in your life. And we decided to do it. So we. Within two months, we packed up and he decided that he was going to be an Uber driver during that time. And he. Yeah, I mean, the weird thing with Ted, too, that I didn't say before is I never really realized how irresponsible he was with money. I did not know to ask the right questions at 20 years old. In hindsight, I'm like, this guy, he's 30 years old and he was working part time at a church, you know. Yeah.

[Hannah]

And also he spent a lot of money on you up top, buying all the wings, taking you to a nice restaurant. I did have that thought. I was like, huh.

[Jubilee]

Well, I later find out that his parents were funding a lot of this. And I did find that out once we got married. I found out that his parents paid for my engagement ring.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, really?

[Jubilee]

Yes, they did. And did you like his parents? I did. And that was another hard thing. I think that that's another reason why we stayed married as long as we did, because his mom was so sweet. And he was adopted, so she had had a stillborn before that was a girl. And she had always told me, you're like the daughter that I never had. You're the daughter that I always wanted. And that's a lot.

[Mackenzie]

That's a big thing to say. Yeah, yeah.

[Jubilee]

And, you know, I adored her. And she ended up getting cancer during this time. So there was also a lot of pressure of, I cannot leave this man while his mom is going through this.

[Mackenzie]

Right.

[Hannah]

And he can use that as an excuse, too, for if he gets angry or does anything, he can be like, well, I'm going through a lot.

[Jubilee]

Going through a lot.

[Hannah]

It's so hard.

[Jubilee]

Yeah, it was very difficult, like moving out to Atlanta. I started to realize how much his parents were funding everything. So that was another point of contention between us. I would say, you know, I really want us to be financially independent. I think maybe you should work more. Because he would work part time, Ubering. He'd go and work for a few hours, and he'd be like, I made enough for the day, you know.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, oh, bare minimum. Hello.

[Jubilee]

Yes. And I was like, well, imagine how much you could make if you worked all day. So he was just accepting so much money from his parents. And whenever I would bring that up, he would get really mad and he would say, they're my parents. It's none of your business.

[Hannah]

Well, you're married. It is your business.

[Jubilee]

But in these circles, it's very. The man is in charge, you know, So I felt like I needed to respect that. And his parents were very generous. They would say, you know, don't worry about it. We don't want you to fight about this. We want to give him money. So I just felt like I couldn't say anything. So when we moved out to Atlanta, the whole goal was that he would be able to get into the film industry. And I remember he would tell me as we were packing up to move, we're going to be on the set of the new Spider man because it was going to film that summer. And I was like, how would we possibly get on that? That's a month away. But he always a dreamer, you know, and the goal was just for him to be able to get his foot in the door.

[Hannah]

So we decided Atlanta has a growing industry.

[Jubilee]

I actually think it's the number one place in America right now, above la, if I remember correctly, because they get so much tax deductions, so they film a lot of stuff in Atlanta. They film a lot of the Marvel stuff and Netflix stuff. So I know they were shooting Stranger Things while we were out there.

[Hannah]

Tyler Perry has that whole studio that's, like, massive.

[Jubilee]

We just started doing background work a lot. I was Doing it more than him. Because I looked young at the time, I was able to do a lot of the high school college scenes, and I was getting booked on a lot of those. And it was pretty good for my chronic pain, too, because a lot of those jobs, you're sitting a lot. So I was doing that more than he was. I ended up doing stand in work a little bit, which was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed doing that. So on one hand, and our marriage was getting a little bit better because I do think he was feeling more fulfilled, you know, whereas in Texas, he was being abusive maybe every day. And in Atlanta, it was more spurts. So he would be really good for a few weeks, and then there would be a big blow up, abusive incident. And when I was in Texas, the abuse was happening more often, but when I was in Atlanta, it. It was more spread out. But every abusive incident was bad.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, man. I. I don't like it. I don't. I don't like it. There's so. There's so much to unpack. First of all, Supernatural Ministry, the Bethel.

[Hannah]

School of Supernatural Ministry. You better believe I went on a rabbit hole looking stuff up.

[Mackenzie]

I just. The way this started it, I was like, oh, no, this is gonna be a mess. We're gonna definitely save the dogfish debrief for after the next episode because I think we want you guys to hear the whole. There's so much more. So we're gonna just pause it here, but can we. Can we give a shout out to Jubilee for the way that she tells this story.

[Hannah]

Yeah. And I wonder if anybody has not even just exactly this type of religious trauma, but any kind of religious trauma. I had honestly not heard the phrase. And I don't know how I haven't heard this ring by spring. And I've been thinking a lot about that, where they just are like, let's get this show on the road.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Hannah]

And I know that that's common among different communities and it can put some dangerous pressure. But also, if you have any experience with any kind of cult. Really. Religious cult.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Hannah]

Like, that's what it is. I would be curious if anyone wants to share their.

[Mackenzie]

If they relate, I would be, too, because I feel like as I think about the people that I know that, that have gotten married quickly are usually more religious. Like, they're like, hey, this is what we feel is the right thing to do. And so I. I feel that ring by spring. That was the first time I had heard of that, too.

[Hannah]

Yeah. Okay. It's not.

[Mackenzie]

But it seems. It does seem like. I don't know, like, no judgment. Like, no judgment sometimes. But I just. I guess I just feel like there's some, like you said, an unhealthy pressure or unsafe kind of pressure.

[Hannah]

One of the biggest things that we see on the show are rushed relationships, and that's not to blame anybody. It feels right. I know what that feels like. We both know what that feels like.

[Mackenzie]

Yes.

[Hannah]

And it's one of those things that you have to have another voice in your head to remind you to slow down. And I just think the pressure of if you're really religious and that pressure is there. I mean, that. Feel it. Like she said, it feels like God is telling you to do that. And I can't imagine what that feels like. That's. I would. You would do anything to make that happen.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Hannah]

Oi. Oy.

[Mackenzie]

I don't even. Thank you guys for waiting for. Till next week. For the second part, you are going to flip a table.

[Hannah]

Yep. So in the meantime, please tell us your thoughts at Dating Detectives podcast on all the socials on Patreon or email us and I can do it.

[Mackenzie]

I can do it.

[Hannah]

You got it.

[Jubilee]

You got it.

[Mackenzie]

The email address is investigatedatingdetectivespodcast.com Slay.

[Hannah]

Do people still say slay now? I don't know.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Hannah]

I don't know what the kids are saying.

[Mackenzie]

You just said it, so, yeah, we still say it. Boo.

[Jubilee]

Boo.

[Hannah]

I love that energy. But for real, send us your stories. Your responses. Leave us a review. Also, it really helps.

[Mackenzie]

I'm really struggling. I want to talk about, like, there's so many things that we want to discuss, but I kind of want to wait until the end of the next episode. Like, all the different notes that Hannah and I wrote down.

[Hannah]

Oh, my gosh.

[Mackenzie]

When she was telling her story. So we're going to go through all of that, but in the meantime, I want to hear, like, what you guys are thinking so far. We always love to hear what your thoughts are. It's just so much of this, which is great. Crazy. So thank you for listening.

[Hannah]

Freaking Ted.

[Mackenzie]

Freaking Ted. Anyways, we love you guys so much. And stay tuned for next week for the second half. And as always, trust your family.