Escaping Twin Flames release date, synopsis, and everything we know

The era of dueling docuseries is on us again! Remember when Hulu and Netflix both released docs on the disastrous Fyre Festival? Or when HBO (now “Max”) and Starz were only months apart in releasing their NXIVM docs? Well, next up we have Prime Video and Netflix with two different documentaries all about the online group known as the Twin Flames Universe, founded by Jeff and Shaleia Divine, two gurus who claim their goal is to help members find their soulmates.

Prime Video’s docuseries is based on the 2020 Vanity Fair article “’Everywhere I Went, They Went With Me, Because They Were on My Phone’: Inside the Always Online, All-Consuming World of Twin Flames Universe,” written by Alice Hines. The article makes serious allegations about the community, alleging that it’s actually cult-like and that the founders promote stalking and forced gender identities.

What is the Netflix documentary Escaping Twin Flames about?

Netflix’s documentary series is a three-parter that will premiere about one month after the Prime Video doc. The Netflix series is called Escaping Twin Flames and drops globally on November 8, 2023. The series will consist of three, 55-minute episodes and comes from the Emmy-nominated filmmaking team behind Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult.

The fact that Escaping Twin Flames is being produced by the same team behind Seduced gives me hope that it will be a well-made docuseries with a victim-first mentality. I was really impressed by Seduced, and found it to be far superior to HBO’s The Vow, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the filmmakers approach this new alleged cult by giving the reported victims a chance to tell their stories.

Filmmakers Cecilia Peck and Inbal B. Lessner have said they were “flooded with messages from people who left high-control groups after releasing our series about the NXIVM cult, and the stories of the survivors and families impacted by Twin Flames Universe emerged as the most urgent to expose.”

Their statement goes on to say that Escaping Twin Flames is the culmination of a three-year investigation into the online group’s “recruitment and indoctrination techniques.”

"“We are grateful to those who courageously entrusted us with their first-hand accounts and evidence. We made this series for them and for everyone who has been manipulated or coerced without knowing it.”"

In addition to making the series, Lessner and Peck also serve as executive producers alongside Daniel Voll, Alexandra Milchan, Jordana Hochman, and Alison Dammann. Escaping Twin Flames is produced by ITV America’s true crime and investigation-centric production company Good Caper Content.

The goal of the Twin Flames Universe

If you’re like me and you’ve never heard of the Twin Flames Universe before, let me give you a quick rundown based on the actual website and Netflix’s press release.

Founders Jeff and Shaleia aim to help their users find their “twin flames” by guiding them along through various courses and offering products like self-help books and meditation courses.

Currently, they offer a “free” introductory course billed as the “Twin Flame Ascencion journey,” a way to start your “inner purification process” to help members attract healthy relationships by healing themselves first.

The website is a little difficult to parse as it uses a lot of fluff to showcase its “spiritual” approach to matchmaking. But, in short, it’s supposedly a community where you can get help finding your “twin flame” or, if you’re not Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly and need it in layman’s terms—your soulmate.

The Netflix docuseries will include testimony from former members who reveal the truth behind Twin Flames Universe, alleging that it’s less about matchmaking and more of a cult that exploits its members by scamming them.

Per Netflix:

"With exclusive access to former members, the series reveals the horrifying stories of coercion and exploitation surrounding Twin Flames Universe – from encouraging stalking behavior to manipulating  gender identities. The series also documents the active efforts of family members to rescue their loved ones from Jeff and Shaleia’s web."

Twin Flames Universe issues statement denying allegations

The organization has discredited all of the negative allegations against them, posting a rebuttal in the form of a own media statement linked on their website (which is still very much active and recruiting), claiming that these “false narratives” stem from a group of former disgruntled students.

The opening of the media statement reads:

"In 2019, following the conclusion of recording Twin Flame Ascension School, or TFAS, a small group of disgruntled former students began to maliciously feed the media with compelling and well-timed false narratives that portrayed Twin Flames Universe as a dangerous cult that only seeks to profit off of its students."

The Elon Musk tweet embedded in there is a nice touch, since their approach to these allegations appears to be discrediting journalism as a whole, writing that journalists and media companies “hide behind the first amendment and each other, point fingers, lie, operate in gray zones, and manipulate, among other standard industry tricks in order to avoid repercussions.”

Escaping Twin Flames premieres on November 8.