Country singer Rory Feek refutes claims 10-year-old daughter is 'being neglected,' denies ‘cult’ ties
Country star Rory Feek wrote that "Indiana has never been more loved or better cared for than she is right now. She’s ten years old now, and for the first time in her life, she has a mother."
Country singer Rory Feek is speaking out following his older daughters' concerns over their 10-year-old sister Indiana's well-being.
On Aug. 31, Feek shared a lengthy blog post titled "love, dad" and wrote that his youngest daughter "has never been more loved or better cared for than she is right now." He also noted that his eldest daughters' claims have "broken my heart."
"I never in a million dreams would have imagined that my older girls would be doing what they’re doing now, and I would be sitting here writing this blog post," Feek wrote.
"But here we are, and here I sit, trying to make sense of all the texts and pictures, the online articles and accusations that people have been sending me, and even more than that, the things my oldest daughter, Heidi, has been saying and doing—all in the name of what I’m sure she thinks is for the good of her little sister."
RORY FEEK STILL BELIEVES GOD HAS A PLAN FOR EVERYTHING
Feek wrote that "Indiana has never been more loved or better cared for than she is right now. She’s ten years old now, and for the first time in her life, she has a mother. She’s, of course, always known that she has a real one—Indy’s seen all the pictures and videos and heard all the songs—but it’s different when she can wake up in the morning and climb on Rebecca’s lap and say, ‘Good morning, Mama.’"
Feek married Rebecca on July 14 in Greycliff, Montana according to a previous blog post. The wedding took place eight years after he lost his wife Joey to cervical cancer.
"When Joey passed away, Indiana had just turned two, and so she doesn’t really remember her," he wrote. "Since then, she has desperately wanted and needed a mother in her life, and it has finally come to be. It is a beautiful, beautiful thing to see happen for her and for all of us."
On Aug. 29, Feek's oldest daughter Heidi posted about a Taste of Country article where she and her sister Hopie were asked "about growing up in our father's care." In her Instagram post, she claimed "Rory often left Hopie with people who took advantage of us."
She also alleged, "Recently Indy was left in the care of a group with a well documented history of physical and sexual abuse of children. Indiana, who has special needs, deserves to be in a safe and stable environment where her well-being is the top priority."
Heidi previously posted on her Instagram story that she and Hopie are pursuing legal action against Feek regarding their younger sister, per Taste of Country.
Feek addressed allegations that Indiana was left with members of an alleged "cult" when he and Rebecca went on their honeymoon.
"Now, if you’re asking if Homestead Heritage or Greycliff is a cult, the answer is no," the singer wrote in his blog post Saturday. "Those folks are just living in a way that other people don’t like or understand, and it’s a whole lot easier to call something a cult and dismiss it than it is to look deeper into and actually find out what it is they are doing and why they’re doing it."
Feek wrote that while he and Rebecca were on their honeymoon, Indiana "stayed with two families, both of who have little ones that Indy is very close to."
He also noted that "if you visit Homestead Heritage in Texas or Greycliff in Montana… what you’re going to find is a bunch of people who have learned how to truly love each other in community. To die to themselves and to put God first, and the fruit of it is everywhere you look. It’s especially visible in everyone you meet. Exactly the opposite of what some of these silly, salacious online reports are saying."
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When addressing the allegations he left her "with child molesters," Feek wrote, "I am not a perfect father, but I’m also not an idiot."
The "Gentleman" singer also responded to claims Indiana is not allowed to speak with or see her sisters. Feek wrote that the siblings were previously allowed to speak, "even through this past spring when the sheriff showed up at my door with a summons saying that I was being sued by Heidi and Hopie, and I had to hire a lawyer to defend myself and my little one."
However, Feek wrote "when Child Protective Services called me out of nowhere, saying that it had been reported that Indiana was being neglected, along with other accusations, Heidi and Hopie forfeited their right to speak to their little sister."
Feek also noted in his blog post that "this is not how it should be done. Instagram and Facebook are not the places where we should, as people and families, be settling our disputes or differences."
He added that "too often, these platforms are used to air our dirty laundry, to say things about, or to, people that we don’t have the courage to say in person. I know it makes for a heck of a show online because people gravitate towards train wrecks, but in the end, it just hurts everyone."
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On Sunday, Heidi shared multiple posts on her Instagram account commenting on portions of her dad's blog post.
The first post began, "Hi, dad. This is Heidi and Hopie. As sad as it is to say, we’re just happy to hear from you."
The following slide noted that they agreed the internet "isn’t the place to settle this," adding that they'd been reaching out to Feek, but had not gotten a response. The next slide was alleged texts that were sent to their dad.
"Love is action, not words. We forgive you for your unkind words. You called us cowardly in your blog post for not facing you. We forgive you. The last time we sat down to have this conversation, without a mediator as you requested, you told us you were done being our father. We forgive you."
The final slide had a photo of Heidi and Hopie and read, "We have found peace in our own lives and have taken the long journey of healing. We have come out stronger on the other side of our childhoods."
In a separate post, Heidi wrote, "This is just Heidi now. When you said ‘Indiana has never been more cared for than she is right now,’ I felt heart broken…I was worried you would try to erase Joey from the story like you erased our mom. You say Indy has a new ‘mama,’ but several people close to you have reached out to me concerned about the way she treats Indiana. Hopie and I aren’t the only people speaking up"
The post continued, "Some of the people speaking up grew up at Homestead Heritage. You called the *numerous* convicted pedophiles within Homestead ‘a few bad apples,’ but the saying goes ‘a few bad apples spoil the barrel.’"
"Over a decade ago, our church pastors reported four individuals to local authorities for sexual assault, and all were rightly convicted and sent to prison," Dan Lancaster, a Homestead Heritage spokesperson, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Only one of these was a member of our church when the crime was committed. Unfortunately, one of our parishioner’s estranged daughters is trying to rewrite history to gain leverage in a family custodial dispute that has nothing to do with our church."
The statement continued, "Like any church, having even one parishioner that commits such a heinous crime is one too many, but it is also heartbreaking to see our 1000-plus local parishioners and our church’s 51-year history smeared in the press for the crimes of others that we proactively reported to authorities."
Fox News Digital reached out to Feek for comment.
On Heidi's Instagram Story on Monday, she shared a video she previously posted in 2022 that shows her with Hopie and Indiana drinking out of mugs. The caption read, "I [heart emoji] my little sisters so much."
Feek shared in his blog post that he loves his daughters "with all my heart. And I do not want to hurt them, even if their desire is to hurt me deeply."
He ended the post by asking fans to "Pray for us. Pray that we will put our selfishness aside and choose to love each other. Pray that we will put our devices and our accusations down, swallow our pride, and get in the same room, without legal counsel or mediators, and begin talking and listening to each other, even if it’s hard and uncomfortable."
