Jul 8, 2026 · 40 min · 11 segments
For most of Bek Condello's life, she had everything decided for her, and controlled by someone else. Growing up in a closed-off doomsday Pentecostal church, she experienced abuse and coercive control…
Bec CondelloGuestJess RoweHost
And then I just had this moment where I stopped and I, I thought, "But, like, what if the life that I kind of always imagined for myself is out there?" You know? What, what if I just try and give it a chance? Like, what if I, I try and figure this out?
[upbeat music] Hi, I'm Jess Rowe, and this is the Jess Rowe Big Talk Show, a podcast that goes big and deep to show you a different side to our guests in conversations about the things that truly matter.
What is it like to grow up and then escape from a cult? You're about to hear from a remarkable woman, Bec Condello, who did just that.
Bec was born into the Geelong Revival Center, a Doomsday Pentecostal cult that controls every aspect of its members' lives, including relationships, marriages, medical decisions, and contact with the outside world.
Bec survived cruelty and abuse, and found the courage to escape and then build a beautiful life for herself, a life that she details in her incredible book, Can You Handle a Girl Like Me? Now, a gentle warning: this conversation does touch on suicide and sexual abuse.
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And then I just had this moment where I stopped and I, I thought, "But, like, what if the life that I kind of always imagined for myself is out there?" You know? What, what if I just try and give it a chance? Like, what if I, I try and figure this out?
[upbeat music] Hi, I'm Jess Rowe, and this is the Jess Rowe Big Talk Show, a podcast that goes big and deep to show you a different side to our guests in conversations about the things that truly matter.
What is it like to grow up and then escape from a cult? You're about to hear from a remarkable woman, Bec Condello, who did just that.
Bec was born into the Geelong Revival Center, a Doomsday Pentecostal cult that controls every aspect of its members' lives, including relationships, marriages, medical decisions, and contact with the outside world.
Bec survived cruelty and abuse, and found the courage to escape and then build a beautiful life for herself, a life that she details in her incredible book, Can You Handle a Girl Like Me? Now, a gentle warning: this conversation does touch on suicide and sexual abuse.
