'My family instantly cut me off when I fell in love with a man in TK Maxx'
'My family instantly cut me off when I fell in love with a man in TK Maxx'
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A former Jehovah's Witness got more than just a bargain when she went into TKMaxx - and it made her want leave her strict community behind. Madison Wilford was born into the religious community, but she walked away from it all when she was just 18 after falling in love with someone outside of her strict beliefs. Making the bold move to leave her family and ideology behind, Madison says she doesn't regret it now feels "free" after being exiled from the community.
The 22-year-old's life changed drastically after her family found messages on her phone from her boyfriend Josh. The pair had been secretly dating after meeting while working together in TKMaxx, and the discovery led to Madison's family cutting her off altogether. "I wasn't allowed to be with anyone from outside of the religion," Madison explained. "If I wanted to be with Josh, I had to walk away from everything. I had to leave my home and start life again, and that's what I chose to do. No one has spoken to me since. It was very hard at first. After growing up in the community, I didn't know anything about the world or how to make friends or even speak to people normally outside of it.".
Once their relationship was out in the open, Madison moved in with Josh's grandparents and the pair saved up to rent a place of their own. However it didn't come without its hardship as Josh's family also had their reservations about Madison. She said: "Mine and Josh's relationship was hard for his family at first because they'd heard a lot of bad things about Jehovah's Witnesses but eventually his nan, grandad and mum welcomed me in.".
Recalling her time within the community, Madison said the whole experience took a toll on her mental health. She says she spent 50 hours per month knocking on doors and handing out leaflets, and people would use a hose pipe to chase her away. "I went preaching at least twice a week. As soon as I could walk and speak, I had to be the one to knock on the door and leave leaflets," Madison explained. "It was very scary, especially as nine times out of 10 people would obviously not like you knocking. We had lots of crazy experiences like people trying to squirt us with a hosepipe to get us off their driveway. I hated doing it as I was always very shy and speaking to random strangers about something you know they won't be interested in is daunting.".
According to Religion Media Centre, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that we are living in the last days before Armageddon and the community are known for their door-to-door evangelising. Madison added: "It was instilled in us that Armageddon would come.". She explained that from an early age, she always felt the pressure to be perfect, something she describes as "really hard". But as she grew up knowing nothing different, she thought it was normal.
However her life changed when she met Josh, and the pair hit it off straight away, and would go on secret dates while working together in TKMaxx. "I wasn't supposed to have a job but I managed to convince my parents so I could make some money. We could only spend time together on our lunch breaks but Josh was really understanding," the 22-year-old explained. It got to a point where Josh considered joinign Madison's community - but she wouldn't let him "lose his family" and realised it was down to her to leave her life as a Jehovah's Witness behind. Making the tough life-changing decision, she said: "I knew he was a good person and he was worth leaving everything behind. I also couldn't cope in the religion anymore. It was so strict. I tried to tell my family that I was the same person but I had to leave because of love. They said it was my decision but I would be cut off from their world. We were close, so I still have hope that they'll speak to me again some day but I don't think it will happen.".
The pair moved from North Wales to Chester to start a new life, and both took up a job in Waitrose. Madison is also having therapy to help her deal with her past, and despite losing her family and community, she feels "free". She said: "I know that I made the right decision, everything is going really well between us. The religion can be dangerous and I'm having therapy to help me deal with what I've been through. Thankfully, I'm getting a lot better at making friends and learning a lot about the world outside of the community. I feel free now.".
