Hope Was a Member of the Bizarre Internet Cult "Love Has Won" — Where Is She Now?

The Gist:

• Amy Carlson was the leader of the Love Has Won cult.
• Her body was discovered in April 2021.
• Prior to her death she grew a following using daily YouTube videos and was often joined by fellow member Hope.
• Hope, along with former member Aurora, started their own group called 5D Full Disclosure.

In April 2021, the body of Love Has Won leader Amy Carlson was discovered in the Colorado home where the group lived. It was already in a state of decay and covered in glitter. Her body was on a bed surrounded by Christmas lights and apparently her followers were treating it as a shrine of sorts. To them she was known as Mother God and her death was treated like an ascension.

During its 15-year reign, the Love Has Won cult amassed followers using videos on their now defunct YouTube channel called "Daily Energy Update." They were delivered by Carlson and other members, like a woman who called herself Hope. She was one of less than 10 individuals who came to believe that Carlson was on another consciousness level. Now that Carlson has passed, where is Hope now? Here's what we know.

Hope, whose real name is Ashley Peluso, decided to carry on Carlson's message after she "ascended." Along with fellow Love Has Won member Lauren Suarez, who goes by Aurora, Hope rebranded the cult in 2021 and changed its name to 5D Full Disclosure. According to their website, the group's "mission is to create the blueprint and the foundation for Heaven on Earth." They plan to do this via passion and humanitarian projects.

There are three projects listed on the 5D Full Disclosure website. The first is Mother Earth's Crystal Schools which is "based on the unique energetics of each child and encourages them to create and play using the right side of their brain." In their words, it's a more holistic approach to learning with less focus on logic.

Next up is the New Earth Transitionary Government, which teaches and encourages "all Galactic Human Beings to claim their own sovereignty, become their God Self, and to lead Humanity through the example of divinity." In other words, they want to govern themselves but do so while being part of a collective.

Last but certainly not least is the Givers Gathering Co-Op, which is essentially their version of Eden filled with other 5D individuals. As a reminder, one hallmark of cults is separating people from their friends, families, and the life they know. A co-op could just as easily become a compound if one isn't careful.

Taking a page out of the Love Has Won handbook, Hope and Aurora started a YouTube channel where they release videos called "The Daily Disclosure." They do not come out every day. Their titles run the gamut from transphobic to ley lines and everything in between. Videos released in 2023 appear to have taken more pop culture or political slants, with confusing new-age opinions shoehorned in throughout.

In September 2020, Hope and Aurora were beamed into Dr. Phil's studios to defend their involvement in Love Has Won. They shared with Dr. Phil that they are both college graduates and are two of the "most brilliant people in their family." The implication being, if Love Has Won was a dangerous cult, they would know. In fact, they would both leave if that were the case. No one was making them stay.

They claim that the footage being shown of Carlson on the show was "taken out of context." Dr. Phil then says he has asked for context which resulted in Aurora saying that their version of putting a child in time-out is not abuse. To clarify, their version is locking a child in a dark closet, which Dr. Phil correctly points out is absolutely abuse. Aurora also defends corporal punishment. It's a bit of a mess.

Hope chimes in and says she has spent nearly three years with Carlson, and would not be the person she is today without her. "She has shown me so many beautiful aspects of this planet that have been forgotten," explains Hope. She describes this as love and claims those who don't understand that, cannot feel love. Hope ends her diatribe by suggesting that Carlson abandoning her family was an action rooted in love. Hard disagree!