Celeste Gross - Growing Up in the Children of God

Celeste Gross joins the girls to talk about her experiences growing up in the Children of God - aka the Family - along with her many siblings. She explains how her parents joined when it still just seemed like a beautiful gospel movement that helped her dad get sober, but how it changed over time once they lived on a commune in Brazil and became reliant on donations for survival. She shares how every part of life was controlled–down to how many squares of toilet paper they were allowed to use. They discuss the media ban the group imposed, and how only songs and TV shows made by the group were allowed--other than two very specific movies (which will surprise you). She shares how her family became homeless overnight after they finally left, and the extreme hardships they faced while trying to rebuild a life from nothing.

You can listen to Celeste Gross - Growing Up in the Children of God online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Celeste Gross - Growing Up in the Children of God is an episode from Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and the Abuse of Power by iHeartPodcasts.

This episode is 57:01 long.

This episode was published on Apr 1, 2026.

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