Our group chats have been talking about one thing, and one thing only this week, Netflix's newest docu-series Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult. The three-part series tells the inside story of the dancers at 7M management, founded and run by Robert Shinn, and their families who have been trying to get back into the lives of their loved ones.
Robert Shinn, who preached at the Shekinah Church in Los Angeles, has been accused of running a cult, with former members accusing Shinn of coercion (both financial and sexual assault allegations) of which he has strongly denied.
In the documentary we see the Wilking family, made up of daughter Melanie, and her parents Kelly and Dan, who are intent on rebuiling a relationship with their daughter Miranda, who is managed by 7M, and who they claim has changed since joining 7M, and is now part of the alleged cult. Miranda has always denied she, and husband James Derrick, are in a cult.
In episode two of the series, we see Miranda does come back to her family and they attempt to rebuild a relationship, however things are still strained. Melanie shares she doesn't feel comfortable involving her sister in her wedding plans to her new fiancé. So who actually is this mysterious fiancé? Here's what you need to know about Melanie's partner, now husband, Austin Ekeler.
Who is Austin Ekeler?
29-year-old Austin Ekeler is an NFL player, who now plays for the Washington Commanders having signed a two-year-contract with the team back in March earlier this year.
Austin has been playing football since he was a young boy while growing up in Nebraska and later Colorado.
He currently has over 200,000 followers on Instagram and has his own foundation which aims to help children and families in crisis.
How long have Melanie and Austin been together?
Austin and Melanie reportedly began dating in 2021, after Austin slid into Melanie's DMs.
While appearing on the Dancing for the Devil documentary, Melanie spoke about her relationship with Austin and how she's not been able to share it with her sister, Miranda, and said: "I started dating someone who I am madly in love with. And before I told her everything, but I'm like 'No you don't get to hear about certain things'."
Two years later in 2023 Melanie and Austin got engaged, after Austin proposed while the couple were at Laguna Beach in California.
After Austin signed with the Washington Commanders earlier this year the couple revealed they were moving to Washington D.C.
When did Melanie and Austin get married?
Just a few days before the release of Dancing for the Devil, on 25th May this year Austin and Melanie tied the knot in a ceremony in Las Vegas.
The wedding had 138 guests, who were asked to wear all black, including Austin's Washington Commander teammates and Melanie's sister Miranda.
Following their wedding the couple revealed they will be living in Virginia during the football season and Las Vegas in the off season.
Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult is now available on Netflix
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Lydia VennSenior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer
Lydia Venn is Cosmopolitan UK’s Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer. She covers everything from , to the latest celebrity news. She also writes across our work/life section regularly creating , covering exciting new releases and sharing the latest must-haves. In her role she’s interviewed everyone from Margot Robbie to Niall Horan, and her work has appeared on an episode of . After completing a degree in English at the University of Exeter, Lydia moved into journalism, writing for the , before working as Features Editor at , where she spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Talk Radio. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of Gilmore Girls and 00s teen movies, and in her free time can be found with a margarita in hand watching the Real Housewives on repeat. Find her on .
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