Allison Mack Has Been Released from Prison — Has Ex Nicki Clyne Spoken to Her? (EXCLUSIVE)

You may remember the girl-next-door actor Allison Mack from her roles on Smallville and Wilfred. For all of you '90s kids, she was also in classics like Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves and Camp Nowhere. But her acting gigs aren’t all she’s become known for in recent years.

Mack was revealed to be a “high-ranking member” of Keith Raniere's self-help group, NXIVM, which prosecutors described as a sex cult and pyramid scheme.

Mack's participation involved recruiting women to be "slaves" and branding them, per The Hollywood Reporter.

After pleading guilty to racketeering charges in April 2019, Mack was living life under house arrest as she awaited sentencing related to her involvement with NXIVM. During this time, she also filed for divorce from Nicki Clyne, another NVIVM member whom she reportedly married to get around U.S. immigration laws.

So, where is Mack now?

In an exclusive interview with Distractify, Mack's ex-wife revealed whether the two still communicate following the actress's legal troubles. Here's what to know.

On June 30, 2021, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced Mack had been sentenced to three years in prison plus three years of probation, as well as 1,000 hours of community service and a $20,000 fine.

She was serving her sentence from Sept. 13, 2021, at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif., before her early release on July 3, 2023. The news was first reported by the Albany Times Union after the Federal Bureau of Prisons shared her release.

Ahead of the former actress's sentencing, Mack and her lawyers released a statement, which was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

"I threw myself into the teachings of Keith Raniere with everything I had," Mack's letter stated. "I believed, wholeheartedly, that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightened version of myself. I devoted my loyalty, my resources, and, ultimately, my life to him. This was the biggest mistake and regret of my life."

In addition to Mack's letter to the court, her lawyers asked the judge in a memo for the actress to receive no jail time after publicly denouncing Raniere and recognizing that she has "committed grievous wrongs and that she has earned her punishment" (via THR).

It's unclear as to exactly why Mack was released over a year early, but it could be related to her cooperation with officials throughout the trial. If she had further information to get out early, that hasn't yet been released to the public.

Mack and her lawyers have not responded to requests from news organizations, so it's unclear as to if Mack is still in California or if she has moved somewhere else. Even still, she likely hasn't spoken with her ex, Nicki Clyne, since her release.

Clyne spoke exclusively with Distractify about her experience since the beginning of the legal troubles.

"It really haunts me that people that I know and love are in prison wrongfully," she said. "I didn't realize that the nature of the system and the incentives that prosecutors have create much more corruption, and people get railroaded and have to negotiate their way out of prison terms, even when they're innocent."

While it's possible that Mack did truly defect from Raniere and the NXIVM teachings, Clyne explained, "It was really difficult for anyone to present an alternative perspective or opinion [that would support NXIVM]. And of course, once it became a legal issue, everyone was advised not to say anything."

Journalist Frank Parlato, who created The Frank Report to take down Raniere, "published a list of, I don't know, 100 so-called sex slaves," Clyne said. "The only way to get your name taken down was to disavow your participation and NXIVM. So I think that people were put in very difficult positions."

Clyne goes as far as to say that some were "eventually coerced by the government into admitting to things that they didn't do in order to avoid going to prison."

Could Mack be one of those people?

"Many were wisely advised by their attorneys to take a plea deal and cooperate with the government because they just had no chance and they were facing very serious charges with long sentences, 20 to 40 years."

Mack eventually took the plea deal, and Clyne hasn't spoken to her since. “I stopped being able to communicate with Allison when she decided to cooperate with the government, which is over three years ago now,” Clyne revealed.

Mack was arrested and charged with alleged sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and forced labor conspiracy in April of 2018, as E! News reports. She was released on a $5 million bond, later pleading not guilty to the charges against her in her first appearance in court. But a year after her initial arrest, in April of 2019, Mack pled guilty to racketeering, and the judge accepted her plea.

"I must take full responsibility for my conduct and that is why I am pleading guilty today," she shared following her plea. "I am and will be a better person as a result of this."

NXIVM marketed itself as a company that helped members become their best selves. Mack went from member to senior leader throughout her 12 years with the organization.

“I joined NXIVM first to find purpose,” she shared during her plea hearing, according to The New York Times. “I was lost and I wanted to find a place, a community in which I would feel comfortable.”

She reportedly wanted to use the courses NXIVM offered to “help eliminate psychological and emotional barriers” (per NYT), enhance relationships, and improve her acting abilities. As she became more involved in the organization’s inner workings, it was reported that she ran her own “slave pod,” subjected women to diets of 500 calories a day, berated them as they sat on the floor, and watched as they endured beatings.

Her slaves were also branded with a combination of Allison Mack and NXIVM founder Keith Raniere’s initials.

“I believed that Keith Raniere’s intentions were to help people and that my adherence to his system of beliefs would help empower others and help them,” Allison said in her plea hearing. “I was wrong.”