Jul 24, 2026 · 24 min · 12 segments
How Shaman Durek went from Arsonist, to Shaman to Goop Influencer to Norwegian Royalty.Kati Rae's Substack: https://substack.com/@thehealingdelusionGet Early Access on…
Scott CarneyHost
Katie RayGuest
[ethereal music] A few weeks ago, Katie Ray, who has a criminally underread Substack called The Healing Delusion, reached out to me saying that I absolutely had to do a report on Durek.
So, uh, this story kind of took over my life for a little bit, and it's not just because it was splashed across the pages of Vanity Fair, but also because he had his own Netflix show where he married, and I cannot believe this is true, the princess of Norway.
The couple, who tied the knot in August 2024, are featured in Netflix's recent documentary Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story.
I wanted to find out how such an obvious fraudster convinced legitimately important people that he was their spiritual salvation, despite being a big bag of red flags.
The first thing you need to know about Durek Verrett is that his origin story has never been the same twice.
And he is always sure to note that just about everyone in his family is absolutely a shaman.
My great-grandmother was a medicine woman by the name of Mamal.
Uh, my great-great-great-great [laughs] grandfather and then grandmother, from generations down, they were shamans in the tribe, in the Bakumi tribe and the Yoruba tribe.
And then it was just passed down from one generation to the next until it got to me.
She has publicly said multiple times that there is not a single shaman in the family tree.
And in true shamanic form, Durek claims that the press just got to her, and then he threatened to sue his mother to keep her quiet.
What we do know is that in 1991 when he was 16, he was convicted of felony arson and trespassing, and after his release in 1993, according to several news reports, he was arrested three more times, including for domestic violence.
[ethereal music] A few weeks ago, Katie Ray, who has a criminally underread Substack called The Healing Delusion, reached out to me saying that I absolutely had to do a report on Durek.
So, uh, this story kind of took over my life for a little bit, and it's not just because it was splashed across the pages of Vanity Fair, but also because he had his own Netflix show where he married, and I cannot believe this is true, the princess of Norway.
The couple, who tied the knot in August 2024, are featured in Netflix's recent documentary Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story.
I wanted to find out how such an obvious fraudster convinced legitimately important people that he was their spiritual salvation, despite being a big bag of red flags.
The first thing you need to know about Durek Verrett is that his origin story has never been the same twice.
And he is always sure to note that just about everyone in his family is absolutely a shaman.
My great-grandmother was a medicine woman by the name of Mamal.
Uh, my great-great-great-great [laughs] grandfather and then grandmother, from generations down, they were shamans in the tribe, in the Bakumi tribe and the Yoruba tribe.
And then it was just passed down from one generation to the next until it got to me.
She has publicly said multiple times that there is not a single shaman in the family tree.
And in true shamanic form, Durek claims that the press just got to her, and then he threatened to sue his mother to keep her quiet.
What we do know is that in 1991 when he was 16, he was convicted of felony arson and trespassing, and after his release in 1993, according to several news reports, he was arrested three more times, including for domestic violence.
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