A man who was born into a strict cult has opened up about his experiences since leaving in 2019.
Calvin Wayman, 34, , was part of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and grew up in a household with five parents and 44 siblings.
Growing up in Utah in the US, with one dad, a biological mum and three other mothers, he didn't realise his family situation wasn't the norm until relocating to California after finding the religion too restrictive.
Speaking on The Truly Show's My Extraordinary Family, he explained that what makes Fundamentalist Mormonism different to regular Mormonism is the "deep belief in the practice of polygamy". The cult was also recently subject of the Netflix series Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey.
After leaving, he realised that he relished his childhood, saying: "Hands down, the best part of my life and upbringing is having 44 siblings. We grew up on a farm. We worked together, we fed the animals, milked the cow."
"But there were certain key points in my life where the religion became very detrimental to my development. [And] when you have 50 people in your family, there's a lot of different reactions."
His family, particularly his dad, didn't support his decision to leave the community he had grown up in. According to Calvin, he "tried to talk him out of it".
Calvin said: "He was really wanting to understand why and then he tried to talk me out of it. He gave me a couple of different books and said, 'Please, read these before you make the full decision.' I said, 'I will read them, but I've already decided.'"
Many people in the community judged him and accused him of being lured in by the "fame and money" of the outside world.
Despite finding the judgement from his family "challenging", he had made his mind up.
One of the driving factors in Calvin leaving the religion was that he had a deep desire to be an entrepreneur. He then quit his job and moved to southern California, which changed his whole perspective. He said he had to "deprogram" himself to adjust to live, but could finally look on it from the outside and "observe what I'd been in".
He added: "Leaving for me was hands down the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life."
The ex cult member now lives in New York and says he "likes the man he has to be" to fit into his new life. In the documentary, he says he "feels like he belongs".
He added: "I feel like I can relax into myself here."
Calvin's biological mum Christine, who has 12 children, left the religion in 2022.
Speaking about her son leaving, she said: "When Calvin left the religion I wasn't surprised. I'm proud of his journey. I've been proud of him for choosing to go to college even though it wasn't the norm for our religion."
She added that he had followed his "heart and intuition" and went through a "process of discovery".
Six of her children have since left the religion, inspiring her to leave after hearing "bits of pieces" about their new lives.
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