Prophet or Predator: How He Tricked Her and Trafficked Her Mother

Prophet or Predator: How He Tricked Her and Trafficked Her Mother

From The Hidden Third by Mariana van Zeller

May 20, 2026 · 1h 7m

About this episode

Lola Blanc shares her harrowing story of being manipulated and trafficked under the guise of religious prophecy.

Join The Hidden Third Patreon today! patreon.com/thehiddenthirdLola Blanc was 12 when a man at an LDS (Mormon) singles dance told her mother he was a prophet receiving direct revelation from God. No compound, no mass following — just a one-on-one system of control that separated Lola from her mom and escalated into coercion and trafficking, all framed as God's will. Lola's mother, Christine Marie, just starred in Netflix's Trust Me: The False Prophet — but this story never made the headlines, and the man was never fully stopped. Today Lola is a cult survivor, musician, filmmaker, actor (American Horror Story, Under the Silver Lake), and co-host of the Trust Me podcast, where she and Meagan Elizabeth dismantle the mechanics of coercion. In this episode, she tells Mariana van Zeller the full story. Limited Time Offer – You Need Fiber. Yes you! Boost your fiber with Huel today using my exclusive offer of 15% OFF online with my code MARIANA at https://www.huel.com/MARIANA. New Customers Only. Thank you to Huel for partnering and supporting our show! Timeline’s clinically proven formula, Mitopure, now starts at $79, when you subscribe at⁠ http://timeline.com/MARIANA⁠ Learn more about…

People in this episode

Host: Mariana van Zeller

Guest: Lola Blanc

Topics covered

  • cult survival
  • coercion
  • trafficking
  • Mormonism
  • documentary
  • true crime

Keywords

  • cult
  • trafficking
  • Mormon
  • coercion
  • survivor
  • documentary
  • true crime

Sponsors

Huel, Timeline

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Netflix, Trust Me

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