'The Vow' Episode 1: Sarah Edmondson, Mark Vicente and Bonnie Piesse reveal how they got involved with NXIVM
HBO's much-awaited docuseries on NXIVM (pronounced Nex-e-um) cult premieres on August 23, Sunday. The six-episode docuseries dives deep into the inner workings and history of the group which has since been called a sex cult after it was revealed that many in the inner circle of founder Keith Raniere, including 'Smallville' actress Allison Mack, would recruit young and vulnerable women to become Raniere's "sex slaves". In 2019, Raniere was convicted of multiple federal crimes such as sex trafficking of children, conspiracy and conspiracy to commit forced labor, all related to DOS, a secret society within NXIVM.
NXIVM was founded by Raniere and Nancy Salzman, a former registered nurse and trained practitioner of hypnotism and neuro-linguistic programming. While Raniere took on the title of Vanguard, Salzman took on the title of Prefect. Together they organized self-help workshops known as Executive Success Programs, where recruits paid at least $7,500 for 12-hour intensive sessions that featured religious ideologies and hypnosis techniques.
The first episode of 'The Vow' features former NXIVM members Sarah Edmondson, Mark Vicente and Bonnie Piesse speaking about their experiences getting into the group. Vicente, a filmmaker, was the first of the group to join and had even become a board member. Edmondson, an actress best known for her roles in 'Geronimo Stilton' and 'Psych', became a member after meeting Vicente.
Both Edmondson and Piesse describe how they first started attending NXIVM's Executive Success Programs at a period when they both felt they needed to make more of their careers. The group also had something known as the Stripe Path, where recruits would aim for growth within the group and move from student to coach to proctor to senior proctor, with each ranking carrying a designated colored sash, in colors like yellow, green, blue and gold. They also speak about a NXIVM session called "Exploration of Meaning" where one-on-one conversations between two people are aimed to combat the fears of one person and achieve catharsis by relating past trauma.
While speaking in 'The Vow', Edmondson describes how she was motivated to rise within the ranks, and doing so gave her some sort of meaning. Meanwhile, Piesse speaks about how attending the Executive Success Program helped her complete her music album, which she had felt was missing something earlier.
The first episode also delves into the kind of person Raniere was portrayed to be. When people were first recruited into NXIVM, they did not meet him until completing many training sessions, all of which would end with the attendees chanting in gratitude to the Vanguard aka Raniere himself. Raniere was presented as a "bouncy" enchanting person, who was able to charm those who started following him.
It was Bonnie Piesse, who is married to Mark Vicente, who first started noticing that things were not entirely right. While Piesse voiced her concerns to Vicente, the latter took much longer to be convinced of Piesse's concerns. Vicente also talks about how Raniere had suggested writing Piesse's and Vicente's vows when they wanted to get married. At one point, Vicente tears up recollecting that he and Piesse never got to go on their honeymoon.
The next episode of 'The Vow' will air on August 30 at 10/9c on HBO.