How much would you be willing to pay to find true love?
Season 1 |
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Episode 1 – 3.5/5
Episode 2 – 3.5/5
Episode 3 – 3.5/5
Not all of us are lucky in love. We spend days/weeks/months scrolling through dating apps, talking to potential partners online, and going on dates with the hopes of finding ‘the one.’
After another failed attempt at romance, it can be easy for us to give up. But with the belief that the right person for us is out there, we might look at other avenues to bring us closer to that perfect chance at love.
Unfortunately, our need for love can take us to the wrong places. We can form relationships with people that prove to be toxic. We can pursue romance with people who clearly aren’t interested in us. And we can potentially waste both time and money signing up to an organization like Twin Flames Universe (TFU), an online service that promises to match us to our ‘twin flame’ but which could lead us down the path of loneliness and financial ruin!
Escaping Twin Flames is a 3-part documentary that sheds light on the seemingly unethical practices of Jeff and Shaleia Ayan, the married couple who are the founders of Twin Flames Universe. Those who use their services are people desperate to find love but as the documentary shows, some of the group members have lost far more than they have gained.
Past Twin Flames members are interviewed. Through their personal stories, they let us know the consequences of becoming a part of TFU. Some of them were ordered to break ties with their families. Others were instructed to change their gender to become the “divine masculine/feminine” to their supposed ‘soulmate.’ And from the testimonies we hear, some were encouraged to be with people that Jeff and Shaleia called their ‘twin flames’ but who, in reality, were not compatible with them at all.
The stories we hear are shocking. One woman was convinced to pursue a relationship with a man even after he had put out a restraining order on her. Ordered by Jeff and Shaleia that she must do everything to reclaim her ‘twin flame,’ she continued to reach out to him and ended up with a prison sentence as a consequence.
We might assume that we wouldn’t fall into the same trap as those who have been interviewed but such is the control that the leaders of TFU seem to have over their participants, that perfectly normal and logical people fall under their spell.
We don’t only hear from former members of TFU. We also hear from the families of members who are still a part of the group. They reveal their heartbreak at losing their loved ones to an organization that many have branded a cult.
We also see footage of Zoom meetings between Jeff and Shaleia and the people they claim to be ‘supporting.’ It can be assumed from what we see that they don’t have the best interests of TFU members at heart as they berate the loveless for not following their orders and give advice that is potentially harmful to their participants.
So, who are Jeff and Shaleia? What was their motivation in starting this group? The answers to these questions are given from the perspective of the documentary filmmakers. From their point of view, Jeff and Shaleia are two people who are motivated by money. This seems to be especially true in the case of Jeff who we learn had already set up other businesses with the intention of helping others but who in reality wanted to make himself rich. In one such business venture, he set himself up as somebody who could heal others of their ailments, including cancer!
At one point in the documentary, via footage taken from one of the couple’s online classes, Jeff even compares himself to Jesus. He had already claimed he could cure the sick but his claim to be almost Christ-like takes his arrogance and strange self-beliefs to a whole new level. It’s little wonder that he and Shaleia decided to turn TFU into a religion, although they likely didn’t do this to put the love of God in people. They apparently did it to benefit from the tax breaks that this would allow them.
Watching this documentary, you will likely become angry. You’ll be angry at the luxurious lifestyle that Jeff and Shaleia lead at the expense of those who continue to spend exorbitant amounts of money on ‘Ascension classes’ and meetings with their ‘high and mighty’ leaders. You will probably feel a deep sense of sadness too for the people who claim their lives have been ruined as a consequence of joining TFU. In one particularly upsetting moment, we learn that one person committed suicide because of the terrible impact that TFU had on their life.
Going into this documentary, I felt I knew most of what there was to know about Twin Flames Universe. I had already seen Desperately Seeking Soulmate, a recent documentary on Amazon Prime Video that shed light on the practices of this online group. That one even took us into the home of Jeff and Shaleia via a secret camera worn by a Vanity Fair journalist.
But it turns out there was much I didn’t know. So, even if you have seen the aforementioned doc, this is still well worth a watch. It’s biased, as we don’t hear from Jeff and Shaleia themselves – they refused to be interviewed – and we don’t hear from the group members who may have found everlasting love and happiness through TFU. But you are unlikely to believe that Jeff and Shaleia do care about the people who come to them for help. As you see them sitting smugly while ‘counselling’ and sometimes publically shaming those who are in pain, you’ll be able to work out their intentions for yourself.
So, if you’re still trying to find ‘the one,’ don’t delete your dating apps just yet. Sure, it might take you a little bit of time to find the perfect partner. But at least you won’t be encouraged to ditch your parents, change your gender identity, and spend all of your life’s savings on an online course that, from this documentary’s perspective, is probably going to make you hate yourself instead of giving you that opportunity to be truly loved by another.
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Verdict - 7.5/10
7.5/10