Influencer who was adopted into religious cult and managed to break free at 18 speaks out
It was so 'extreme' she couldn't even speak to her own brother
Cat Baugh’s time on Below Deck was cut short. But, during her time on the Bravo show she opened up about a deeply personal and harrowing chapter of her past. The reality star revealed she was adopted into a strict religious cult as a child and spent years under its rigid control before finally breaking free. Cat went on to share her story publicly, shedding light on the emotional toll, the things she endured, and how she rebuilt her life after escaping.
Cat Baugh opens up about her childhood
Cat Baugh appeared as a stewardess on Below Deck season 11, which premiered in early 2024.
She worked aboard the St. David from episodes one to seven, leaving the series mid-season in episode seven due to personal challenges.
While appearing on the show, Cat opened up about her “traumatic” childhood. She revealed that she was adopted into a cult-like environment after both her parents passed away, per Us Weekly.
“I was in foster care. My dad passed away when I was nine from Multiple sclerosis. And then my mom passed away when I was 13 just in her sleep. It was very sudden…So me and my brother were thrown into the system and separated…” she explained.
Cat continued: “The family I lived with I don’t talk to because they were like a cult religion.”
The reality TV star shared even more heartbreaking details, continuing: “We were in the same state. But they wouldn’t even let me talk to him because he wasn’t religious,” she continued. “It was that extreme of a religion that they wouldn’t even let me speak to my own biological brother.”
She added how she grew up in Orange County, California, with a foster family in Yorba Linda.
Cat was finally able to break free at 18 years old.
She explained: “Because I wanted to continue a relationship with my biological brother, they were like, ‘No. We don’t support that.’ Once I turned 18, I decided to choose my brother and choose my life. I decided to live for myself and that’s when I became the most independent. Now me and my brother are so close. He’s like my best friend.”
Another Below Deck star left his old life behind
Cat isn’t the only Below Deck cast member to have had to break free from a life she didn’t agree with.
Season 12’s bosun, Hugo Ortega, revealed he “grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness” before deciding to opt for a different path in life.
He shared during the show’s Monday July 21 episode: “I didn’t celebrate birthdays or Christmas. But I left when I was 17… Me leaving the religion is a huge point of conversation with my parents. I know for them there is a lot of guilt and they think they didn’t instill things in me properly. It is a sore topic.”
Hugo shared how he got into yachting “getting away from the life he had before.”
The Bravo star added: “But I don’t think there is anything wasted. What would have been wasted if I had stayed in that life that I didn’t like.”
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