Inside Rory Feek’s Feud With Oldest Daughters Heidi and Hopie Amid Homestead Heritage ‘Cult’ Claims

Country singer Rory Feek and his two oldest daughters, Heidi and Hopie , are making headlines amid their ongoing feud over his alleged involvement with the community known as Homestead Heritage. Heidi and Hopie have accused Rory of leaving his youngest daughter, Indiana, in the care of the allegedly abusive group and are seeking legal action against him. Meanwhile, the singer responded to his daughters with a denial.

Who Is Rory Feek?

Rory is a country musician most known for the duo Joey + Rory, which he formed with his second wife, Joey Feek, in 2008. Rory was previously married to ex-wife Tamara Gilmer from 1985 to 1982, and they welcomed Heidi and Hopie during their relationship. After tying the knot with Joey in 2002, they added Indiana, who was born with Down syndrome, to the family.

Unfortunately, Joey died from metastatic cervical cancer in March 2016. Rory later moved in with his third wife, Rebecca, who was Indiana’s schoolteacher. The “One Angel” singer revealed that he remarried in a July 2024 Instagram post. Heidi and Hopie were not at the wedding, according to Taste of Country .

Heidi and Hopie Feek’s Claims Against Dad Rory

On August 23, 2024, Heidi announced via Instagram that she and Hopie were pursuing legal action against their father. "We no longer believe Indiana is safe under our father's care,” the statement on her Stories read.

Days later, she shared a statement on her feed directing her followers to an interview with Taste of Country published on August 29, 2024.

“Rory often left Hopie and I with people who took advantage of us — Hopie far worse than me, but she isn't ready to tell that story yet,” she wrote. “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 wellbeing is the top priority.”

In the interview, Heidi claimed that Rory has limited the contact between Indiana and her two older sisters in the past few years, and the rift was worsened when they asked him to attend family counseling.

“Over time, he cut Indy off from us more and more until now we have no contact," Hopie told the outlet. “First, he stopped letting us FaceTime with her because he 'had a flip phone,’ but now we know he has an iPhone. Then he stopped letting her come and spend the night in Alabama, which had been a staple of her entire life, and now we can’t even talk to her on the phone.”

Heidi also elaborated on the alleged abuse and neglect she and Hopie experienced as children, claiming that Rory once refused to get her medical care for 24 hours after she broke her leg. Rory claimed in his 2017 memoir, This Life I Live , that he called a nurse hotline, and a medical professional told him that Heidi was “probably OK” if she didn’t have a fever or swelling. He also hesitated to seek emergency care because of their financial status.

Heidi also alleged that she was beaten at 8 years old by Rory’s girlfriend after she accidentally broke a perfume bottle.

What Is Homestead Heritage?

Heidi and Hopie claimed that Indiana received an injury while visiting a Homestead Heritage community branch. “[The trip] was a total disaster,” Heidi told Taste of Country . “Indy was terribly injured from an accident that took place while riding a horse carriage driven by children. They returned early, with Indy literally scarred by the experience.”

In response to Heidi and Hopie’s claims, Homestead Heritage told In Touch , “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. 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.”

Homestead Heritage is an “agrarian- and craft-based intentional Christian community,” according to their website. It was founded by Blair Adams and his wife Regina in 1973.

The group became the subject of sexual abuse allegations in the past. A 2012 article from the Texas Observer investigated the allegations and explored the stories of three individuals — Bill DeLong , Joseph Ratliff and Andrew DeLong (according to Homestead Heritage, Bill was a church member when his crime was uncovered, while Joseph and Andrew were relatives of members) — who were convicted of sexual assault in the 2000s and early 2010s. Richard Santa Maria , a former member, according to Homestead Heritage, was also charged with continuous sexual abuse of a minor in 2011 and later convicted.

Homestead Heritage issued a response via their website to the Texas Observer ’s investigation, stating that “in every case of abuse we’ve ever encountered, it was our ministry that exposed and reported the crime.”

“The omission of this fact is so glaring that it’s hard to explain it in any other way than a deliberate attempt to distort the truth,” the statement read. “For our nearly 40-year history, our church ministry has always condemned and never tolerated any physical, psychological, mental, emotional or sexual abuse of anyone, much less abuse of children. Criminal behavior of any kind is expressly forbidden.”

The statement continued, “We find our spiritual roots in the 500-year-old peace-loving Anabaptist tradition, which stresses simplicity and an absolute commitment to nonviolence. Nothing could be more grievous to us or antithetical to our entire way of life than innocent children abused by criminally cruel and selfish adults. All our church members, as well as family, friends and neighbors who know us and our children well, and even numerous former members of our community, would attest to the truth of this statement. (In fact, 85 former members have signed a petition protesting any media story that would associate our community with such behavior.) The only exceptions to this good testimony find their source in a few disgruntled and dishonest people who we’ve put out of our community because they would not live according to our freely chosen values and morals.”

Rory Feek Responds to the Homestead Heritage Claims

Rory responded to Heidi and Hopie’s claims in a blog post on August 30, 2024.

“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,” he wrote. “There are some chapters that even the best of storytellers would never imagine writing. 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 went on to say that he did not believe family disputes should be settled online and added that he loved his daughters “with all my heart.”

“What makes this hardest, I think, besides that it’s being done in public and by family members that I love dearly, is that Indiana has never been more loved or better cared for than she is right now. She’s 10 years old now, and for the first time in her life, she has a mother,” he continued. “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. When Joey passed away, Indiana had just turned two, and so she doesn’t really remember her. 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.”

Rory denied that Indiana was not allowed to contact her sisters, noting that she was just not allowed to “spend the night with them anymore.”

“I still let Indy call them, and them call her, 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,” he added.

Rory also addressed the allegations that Homestead Heritage is a cult, writing, “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.”

Heidi and Hopie Responded to Rory’s Blog Post

Rory’s oldest daughters responded to his lengthy blog post with a statement on Instagram on August 31, 2024. They claimed that they have “been trying to reach” him for months with no response, adding a screenshot of their unanswered text messages.

“We found peace in our own lives and have taken the long journey of healing,” their statement concluded after they made more claims of childhood abuse. “We have come out stronger on the other side of our childhoods.”

In another post , Heidi added that she was disappointed about Rory saying that Rebecca was the first mother Indiana had, as it seemed like a disservice to Joey.

“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,” Heidi claimed. “Hopie and I aren’t the only ones speaking up.”