Former Church of Scientology member and co-host on Leah Remini's Scientology and the Aftermath, Mike Rinder, has died at the age of 69. According to recent updates issued by Rinder himself on his YouTube channel, Rinder passed away as a result of a returning cancer, stating that the cancer had spread to his brain. His wife, Christie King Colbran, confirmed the news to Rinder's followers.
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Colbran shared the sad news of Rinder's passing on Instagram. "Rest in peace, my sweet, beautiful husband. I speak for so many when I say the sadness and pain we feel mirror the depth of our unwavering love for you," Colbran wrote. "The world will remember you. My best friend, my hero, my love, Michael John Rinder."
" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px);width:calc(100% - 2px)">Colbran would then share some final words that Rinder instructed her to share once his inevitable death arrived. "If you are reading this, I have shuffled off this mortal coil in accordance with the immutable law that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes," Rinder wrote.
"I have been lucky — living two lives in one lifetime. The second one the most wonderful years anyone could wish for with all of you and my new family!" Rinder continued. He would then express his only regret in his life: his role in dismantling the "abuses of Scientology.
"My only real regret is not having achieved what I said I wanted to — ending the abuses of Scientology, especially disconnection and seeing Jack into adulthood," he continued. "If you are in any way fighting to end those abuses please keep the flag flying — never give up. And please, if you are able in some way, help Christie and the boys to move forward into the next chapter of their lives."
A Defector
Rinder was part of Scientology's Sea Org or Sea Organization for over thirty years. It was only after he saw John Sweeney's Scientology and Me, a television documentary that attempted to corroborate certain accusations raised against the Church of Scientology, that he decided to leave.
Alongside him, Christie King Colbran also left Sea Org and later married Mike Rinder in 2013. Rinder then became what some consider the biggest defector in the Church's history. He would host Scientology and the Aftermath alongside Leah Remini in 2015, and for three seasons the pair unveiled some of the experiences former Scientology members had to endure at the church.
