Where Are Warren Jeffs' 80 Wives Now? A Look at Their Lives After the Cult Leader Was Imprisoned for Sexually Assaulting Minors By Jessica Sager

Warren Jeffs called himself a prophet, but he was, in reality, a polygamist cult leader and a perpetrator of sexual abuse.

As the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), an offshoot of Mormonism, Warren forced marriages for others, including between minors, and had as many as 80 “spiritual wives” of his own, The Guardian reported, though those marriages weren’t legally recognized.

ABC News reported in The Doomsday Prophet: Truth and Lies that as many as 24 of Warren’s wives were underage when he married them.

While Warren attempted to hide his nefarious activities from the public eye, he eventually landed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for sexually abusing children across several states — many of whom he considered his wives.

After going on the run from authorities, Warren was convicted in 2011, allowing many of his victims and “wives” to find freedom and peace. Because few of Warren’s marriages were legal and many of them were minors, not many of his dozens of brides are publicly known. However, some have spoken out about their experiences.

Here’s a look at where some of Warren Jeffs’ wives are now.

Who is Warren Jeffs?

Warren was born in 1955 to Rulon Jeffs, the leader of FLDS. The church preaches that all men must have at least three wives, and church leaders were able to punish other men by “reassigning” their wives and children to others, NPR reported.

As an adult, after working as an accountant for his father, he ran the Alta Academy schools for FLDS compound members, The Deseret News reported. Warren then took over the church after his father suffered a series of debilitating strokes.

Warren was the only member of the church permitted to perform marriages and to assign wives to husbands. In many cases, those wives were often underage.

What did Warren Jeffs do?

After a number of accusations by family members, which later included his own children, son Roy and daughters Rachel and Becky, Warren was charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct of a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual misconduct of a minor.

He was also charged in multiple states, before ultimately being convicted of two counts of being an accomplice to rape in Utah and sentenced to 10 years to life in prison, per CNN.

However, in 2010, Warren’s Utah conviction was overturned and a new trial was ordered. Later that year, he was extradited from Utah to Texas for his trial, in which he pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a child.

In August 2011, he was convicted of sexual assault of a child under the age of 14 and a separate charge of sexual assault of a child under the age of 17. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Who were Warren Jeffs’ wives?

Warren had over 80 wives in what he called “spiritual” marriages. Many of his former wives have spoken out against the convict, including Briell Decker, who was his 65th wife.

After escaping the organization, Decker spoke to The Guardian in 2018 about her experience marrying him at 18 years old, describing him as “creepy.”

“When Warren was around, I’d go into hiding,” she said. “If I didn’t, I’d have to be part of the temple stuff that he was doing,” elaborating that meant sex acts.

However, one of Warren’s wives continues to defend his innocence. Naomie Jeffs — who was considered his “favorite” wife — was first married to Warren’s father when she was 18 and he was 83, becoming his 17th wife, according to Oxygen. A month after Rulon’s death in 2002 at age 92, Naomie married Warren.

She later became his scribe, taking notes during his ceremonies and sermons, as well as from recordings of his day-to-day activities. She described the role as “an honor.”

Where is Naomie Jeffs now?

Naomie stands by her belief that Warren is innocent.

In the Peacock docuseries Preaching Evil: A Wife on the Run With Warren Jeffs, Naomie said she and Warren don’t consider themselves a couple anymore after he asked her to do things with which she disagreed while he was incarcerated, though she declined to explain what exactly those things were.

She spent two years in “lone living” away from the FLDS and officially left the church in 2018.

Naomie said in Preaching Evil that when she tried returning to the FLDS she was largely ostracized from the rest of the members. “It was sad,” she said, adding that she felt like she was leaving her own family. “It was a melancholy feeling.” Still, she said that “it was the right thing to do.”

She has since become a Mormon and is pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse.

Where is Merrianne Jessop now?

Merrianne Jessop was one of over 400 underage children who were removed from the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services after someone claiming to be a 16-year-old FLDS member called a local domestic abuse hotline.

She was the last to be returned after the Third Court of Appeals ruled that the removal of the children had been unwarranted, Texas Monthly reported.

The DFPS claimed they saw a marriage record that indicated her father married a 12-year-old Merrianne to a 50-year-old Warren. However, Merrianne said at the time that this wasn’t a crime.

“Heavenly Father is the one that tells Warren when a girl is ready to get married,” she said, per Texas Monthly. “He is only following the word of Heavenly Father.”

Merrianne was 15 when she was returned to the ranch, and her life since then has been private.

Where is Vicki Thompson now?

Vicki Thompson, one of Warren’s wives, and her children left FLDS in 2018 and moved to New Harmony, Utah, where they resided in a community of other former members.

Thompson remarried in July 2019 and welcomed son Jayden Tex Thompson in November 2021.

In Preaching Evil, Thompson’s children shared that they have resumed normal lives, with her son Wendell studying business management and pursuing a cybersecurity career and her daughter Sarah being particularly excited to wear normal clothes like jeans. Thompson identifies as Mormon.

“If I could talk to Warren today, I would let him know I’m very happy with my life, and my children are happy,” she said. “If I were to say anything to people still in the FLDS that are perhaps reaching for more in their lives: What is it they want for their children? What kind of future do they want their children to have? And is it reality, or is it fantasy?”

Where is Briell Decker now?

Decker was granted ownership of Warren’s former home, which she converted into the Short Creek Dream Center, ABC News reported.

The Dream Center is a 40-bed residential center for those needing support in substance addiction and trauma recovery, as well as for people escaping domestic violence and sex trafficking or experiencing homelessness. The organization also works with a local food bank and teaches essential life skills to residents.

“I feel like I’m safe,” Decker told ABC News. “I feel like more lives are being touched than I could have ever possibly imagined.”

Where are the Blackmores now?

Three women — Millie, Alyshia and Nolita Blackmore — were all married to Warren when they were teenagers.

Alyshia married Warren when she was 12 and sent to him from the Bountiful FLDS community in British Columbia, Canada. She went to the YFZ ranch the same year.

In an episode of Secrets of Polygamy, Alyshia said she is “very happy” since leaving the church and has been enjoying life with her young daughter and “the love of [her] life” in the Pacific Northwest.

Alyshia said her older sisters, who were 17 and 16 respectively, also married Warren at the same time.

She left the church in 2016 and has since spoken out against the church.

In 2016, The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Millie, who married Warren at 13, returned to the Bountiful FLDS community. At the time, one of her half-brothers told reporters that Millie wouldn’t speak to him and that she was living with her mother and appeared to remain loyal to Warren and the FLDS church.

Meanwhile, Nolita left the church in 2019 and has remained close with Alyshia and Thompson, whom she calls her friends.

Nolita has since become an aspiring writer working to raise awareness of cults and the alleged abuses committed in FLDS.

“Sometimes I forget how far I’ve come, but looking at little me, from ten years ago, I just want to hug her and tell her everything will be ok,” she wrote on Instagram in January 2024. “First photo taken ten years ago, I left the cult I was born and raised in, in January, 2019, five years ago.”