Where is Pebbles Sarmiento now? All about the survivor from How I Escaped My Cult on Hulu
The first episode of the Freeform series, How I Escaped My Cult, explores how Pebbles Sarmiento escaped from the Tony Alamo Christian Academy. When Tony Alamo was arrested in 2009, incidents of abuse within the Tony Alamo Christian Academy began to come to light. But it was only years later that Pebbles Sarmiento shared her experiences at this institution.
In How I Escaped My Cult's first episode, titled Tony Alamo Christian Academy, Sarmiento recounts the horrors of her early years with the cult and the sufferings she faced there. She also talks about how she managed to overcome that and come out of the place. She now lives a quiet life with her son in Phoenix, Arizona.
How I Escaped My Cult is a Freeform documentary series that tellls the survival stories of ex-members who managed to escape from cults.
Who is Pebbles Sarmiento and where is she now?
les Sarmiento, who was born Pebbles Rodriguez, grew up at the Tony Alamo Christian Academy. Although she shared very little about her parents or childhood, she revealed that she was only 12 years old when she was asked to marry 62-year-old Tony Alamo.
Alamo was incarcerated for an offense, but he instructed members of his cult to prepare a bride for him to marry upon his release and Pebbles was chosen. In the docu-series, she recounted the abuse she faced at the hands of Alamo who told her all this was God’s will and that she had to serve him to be his wife.
Pebbles Sarmiento also revealed that she was physically abused by Alamo. He later claimed that he did not want to hurt her but had to for her salvation — otherwise she would not be allowed into heaven. Pebbles was not Alamo's only wife and there were others like her. Moreover, the “wives” were expected to monitor each other.
One day, Pebbles came across Desiree Kolbek’s personal diary where she had written about her doubts regarding life and faith. Fearing that Desiree was at risk of being cast out of heaven, Pebbles showed her diary to Alamo, not realizing the consequences this would have.
Pebbles Sarmiento led a very restricted life at the institution, never experiencing true happiness. It was not until Alamo was arrested in 2008 that she finally managed to begin her journey of breaking free from the shackles that Alamo had bound her in.
Pebbles spoke out for the first time about her abuse in 2018 as part of a TV series on the cult after Tony Alamo’s death in 2017. She shared her daily struggles, PTSD, and other health issues which grew as she endured years of abuse.
Where is Pebbles now?
Pebbles Sarmiento got married again in 2018, but her marriage fell apart soon. She prefers to live a very private life, not sharing personal details, and is focused on using her voice to help anyone in need. As of now, she is settled in Phoenix, Arizona, where she lives with her sons.
She has received a lot of support from cult members over the years and has built strong friendships with others who went through similar traumatic experiences. She is particularly close to Desiree Kolbek and they have been each other' support in the darkest of times.
Catch How I Escaped My Cult to know the full story of Pebbles Sarmiento on Hulu.
