She’s been dubbed this year’s Bachelor Villain, but behind Keira Maguire’s confident front is the shocking revelation that she grew up in a polygamist cult started by her father Alistah Laishkochav.
Working in real estate and residing in Sydney’s glamorous Eastern Suburbs, 30-year-old Keira’s lifestyle is a far cry from her bizarre childhood spent in Victoria, living with her nine mothers and 63 siblings.
Laishkochav, a former police officer from New Zealand named Ian Lowe, fled his home country and migrated o Australia, changing his name and reinventing himself.
The blonde beauty’s father had nine wives and 64 children.
Arriving in Sydney in the 1970s, he began life as self-styled messiah, who “believed he was Jesus.”
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In 1974, Laishkochav met his nine “wives” in quick succession.
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The family settled in Bells Beach, Victoria, in 1983, where Keira was born and spent much of her childhood.
Shut off from the outside world, the children, from various mothers – some of whom were also sisters – spent little time with anybody outside of their families. They were often told outsiders were “evil” and that God would save only them.
Growing up, Keira and her loved ones spent little time with anybody outside of their family.
In a statement to Woman’s Day Keira explained: “I am not in a position to comment on Alistah Laishkochav. My mother removed my family from that environment when I was five years old, over 25 years ago. I was brought up by my mother and grandmother in Brisbane in a loving, caring and compassionate household.”
“I had a wonderful childhood and I am extremely grateful to both my mother and grandmother for the upbringing which they provided me and my siblings. Although I have since met and reunited with my family, I have never had a relationship with Alistah Laishkochav. Alistah Laishkochav is not relevant to who I am nor does he define me.”
To find out how Keira escaped the cult and the tragic downfall of her father, be sure to pick up this week’s issue of Woman’s Day, on sale now
