A sad story all around. You may remember Joey + Rory from their hits in the late 2000s like "Cheater, Cheater" and "This Song's For You" with the Zac Brown Band. The duo, comprised of husband Rory and wife Joey Feek, won the 2010 ACM Award for New Vocal Duo of the Year, and was a 3-time ACM Award nominee for Top Vocal Duo. But tragically, Joey Feek passed away in 2016 after a battle with cervical cancer, leaving behind her husband and their daughter, Indiana. Rory recently married his new wife, Rebecca, eight years after Joey's passing. But according to his daughters Heidi and Hope, they're worried for the safety of their little sister. Heidi and Hope are Rory's daughters from a previous marriage, and half-sisters to Indiana, who has Down Syndrome. And they've recently been speaking out about their concerns for their sister. Last month, Heidi confirmed in an Instagram post that her and her sister were pursuing legal action against their father after claiming that they had been cut off from contact with Indiana, as well as other disturbing claims:
"Over the past two years, my sister Hopie and I have been increasingly cut off from Indiana. Our father has restricted our communication and visits with her, which only heightened our concerns about her care. During that time, we were alerted to some alarming issues regarding her well-being, and our attempts to address them were consistently ignored. Our fears were further compounded when we discovered that Indiana was involved with an organization known for its troubling history of child abuse. We are pursuing legal action because we no longer believe Indiana is safe under our father's care, and her well-being remains our top priority." The organization that Heidi referred to is the Greycliff, Montana branch of Homestead Heritage, which on its website calls itself "an agrarian- and craft-based intentional Christian community." The group has been described in media reports as a "cult" as accusations from Heidi and Hope have been made public. But Rory
responded to the claims made by his daughters in a blog post, explaining why he cut off his daughters from their sister:
"Every couple of months, I used to let Indiana spend a night or two with her big sisters in Alabama, but about a year ago, I stopped allowing that. Mostly because they refused to respect my wishes when she was there, which I will try to explain. 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. But soon after, 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. The situation had escalated to them taping the conversations they were having with her and leading her on so they could find ammunition to use against me, and it had become clear that Heidi wasn’t looking out for Indiana’s best interest—she was looking for revenge and a way to hurt me, no matter the cost, and I was no longer going to let Indiana be a part of it." He also dismissed allegations that the group is a "cult."
"Now, if you’re asking if Homestead Heritage or Greycliff is a cult, the answer is no. 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." And he fiercely denied allegations that Indiana had been left with a child molestor while he and his now-wife were on their honeymoon, while also claiming that his daughter is safe and well taken care of:
"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.”" Well his statement didn't exactly sit right with his daughters, who posted a fiery response on Instagram, which they say includes proof that members of the Homestead Heritage, including members with whom Rory regularly interacts, have been accused of sexual misconduct. And they also had strong words for Rory's comment about Indy having a mother for the first time. You can read their full response in the Instagram posts below:
Regardless of the circumstances, it's a sad situation to see a family have to deal with all this - especially when there's a 10 year old with special needs at the center of it who should be the only priority. Hopefully they're able to resolve things as a family soon.
Local News
