Julia Haart revealed in a recent radio interview that she “wouldn’t be alive” if she stayed in the Orthodox Jewish community that she was in for over four decades.
Netflix reality series My Unorthodox Life stars Julia Haart as we follow her story of how she fled her Orthodox Jewish community in Monsey, New York, to find freedom in the 21st century.
Julia Haart appeared on Angela Yee’s Wealth Wednesday radio show yesterday, March 22, where she discussed her former community.
Haart revealed the ultra-religious Jewish community was so “restrictive” that it left her suicidal, let’s see what she said.
Julia ‘wouldn’t be alive’ if she stayed in Orthodox community
Julia Haart delved into her life in the Jewish Orthodox community during Angela Yee’s podcast.
Haart revealed that women are married off to their “perfect matches.” If they are impure or misbehaved in any way then “end of the story.”
Julia Haart’s family was often used to “punish” her as she explained; if you don’t conform then your children won’t receive proper “matches” or marriages.
Not knowing anyone in the “outside world” she maintains that the inside of her community was like “living in the 1900s.” Think Bridgerton minus the “fancy balls and gorgeous dresses.”
The former head of Elite World Group explained that leaving the community is a difficult thing to do. Especially when adapting to the modern world. She explained that people who leave the Orthodox life often turn to suicide or drugs. Julia revealed that even she “wouldn’t be alive” if she hadn’t left.
Having never been on a date or to a bar, or worn pants, or sung and danced in public. Haart eventually had the courage to leave her community at 42 years old.
Julia Haart’s children became her purpose
Whilst Julia Haart’s children are what gave her the pursuit to conform they are also what gave her the strength to leave. When asked what gave her the courage to leave that life, Julia revealed that it was her daughter Miriam.
The Netflix star said that Miriam was a “born rebel” and she gave Julia the ability to question the community she was living in. Ultimately, her daughter gave her strength and acted as her “inner voice.”
How the family has adapted to modern life
Nowadays she revealed that her family has taken to modern life pretty well. Her daughter is a “bacon-eating crab-loving” 21st-century child, who doesn’t allow anyone to limit her.
Julia is so proud of all of her children as they have thrived since leaving the community which disallowed women’s full education. Her four children daughters Batsheva, and Miriam, and sons Shlomo, and Aron are extremely educated. Her youngest son Aron is still Orthodox. Miriam is now a student at Stanford University, while Shlomo studied law at Columbia.