Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover star Yumi Nu was candid about her “brain-infusing” into Christianity as a teenager and said she discovered “a new relationship with God” after “leaving church”.
The plus-size model, granddaughter of Benihana founder Rocky Aoki and granddaughter of famous DJ Steve Aoki, described in an article how she gave her “life to Christ” and later got rid of her rigid religious beliefs. cutting.
“Leaving the church was one of the greatest pains of my life. The solid foundation on which I stood was made up of cards, an illusion that quickly dissipated,” wrote Nu, 25.
In an article published by The Cut, 25-year-old model Yumi Nu described how, in her youth, she was “brain-infused” with Christianity and escaped from her rigid religious beliefs.
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover star remembers giving “his life to Christ” after attending Christian high school
In the years that followed, I learned to rediscover the world on my own, discovering what gave me strength and what didn’t. I needed to strengthen my inner compass to find where I wanted to go without the external pressures I was experiencing.
Now, she has revealed that she was of Japanese and Dutch descent, non-religious upbringing, and attended public school for most of her life, but everything changed when she moved home with her family at the age of 14. From Maryland to Newport Beach, California. .
They moved in with their Japanese Christian grandmother, who was “deeply involved in the local evangelical church.” As an impressionable teenager, he saw a “flare” in people who were addicted to a higher power he wanted for himself.
Now and her sister, Natalie Nottenboom, ten at the time, were sent to the same Christian schools their mother went to.
Christian beliefs were an important part of the curriculum, and he remembered a homophobic discussion that took place in a 2010 Bible class.
Now (pictured with her father and sister) she was brought up non-religiously until her family moved to Newport Beach, California to live with her Japanese Christian grandmother.
He is now (pictured as a child) enrolled in a Christian high school, where he is taught that sexual desire is indoctrinated by Satan and that homosexuality is a “sin”.
When Nu was consumed by the din, she began to fear everyone she knew who “did not believe in Jesus”, including her agnostic father, Brent (pictured).
His teacher suggested a fictional adoption scenario and asked the students if it would be better for a child. with two gay fathers who would ensure a happy life, or heterosexual parents in a Christian home where the child is guaranteed to lead a bad life.
Many of her classmates chose Christian parents, arguing that it would be better to be abused and “still hear about Christ.”
“The last time I heard my instincts say: something wrong here‘ He talked about Christian teachings. “Slowly but surely I accepted my suggestion.”
When Nu and her sister were consumed by religion, she began to fear everyone she knew who “don’t believe in Jesus”, including her agnostic father, Brent.
He explained that his father was a “strong believer in science” and would challenge their “newly held beliefs” at every step.
Nu’s beliefs began to emerge after meeting “urban Christians” during the summer in New York City in 2017 (pictured that year)
Now (pictured at age 21) she has moved to Los Angeles and devoted herself to music and songwriting as her beliefs began to change.
“I talked endlessly about how Jesus changed me and freed me from my possible curse and how he could save them as well. believed‘ said. “As the weeks went by, some of my good friends from Maryland said they couldn’t recognize me anymore. We lost contact.
She has now explained how her views on sex were distorted by the numerous purity classes and “women’s studies” sessions she attended as a teenager.
She was taught that every thought of sexual desire was put into her head by Satan, and that “it is the woman’s responsibility to ensure that men do not fall into sexual temptation.”
The model claimed that the church also taught homophobia by teaching that God’s creation of sex would be shared only by a man and a woman in marriage. Same-sex marriages were considered “godless and sinful.”
He has now shared his beliefs as a Christian YouTuber and has developed a small following of around 20,000 subscribers.
Now (pictured with her uncle, DJ Steve Aoki), she said she is still uncomfortable with all the ways she “potentially harms” others with her religious beliefs.
Now (pictured with her sister, Natalie Nottenboom) has written that it’s been “a 14-year struggle to find compassion for myself” and says she’s in therapy to reconcile with who she is.
He remembered how his gay friends came to him despite his beliefs, but he was “very scared” [her] to help them struggle to accept their curses in the moment.
Nu’s suffocating view of what constitutes a “good Christian” began to emerge when he spent the summer in New York in 2017. He remembered attending a dinner with “urban Christians” who shamelessly talked about drinking and flirting.
He initially said he was “shocked”, but noted that when they discussed that week’s Sunday service, “their faces shone with the same brilliance” he had seen in members of the Orange County Christian congregation.
Nu befriended a Christian named Owin, who declared himself gay, through his YouTube channel. At 21, he was no longer a cowardly teenager, and after sharing his story, he told her that he had his support.
As his beliefs began to change, he moved to Los Angeles and devoted himself to music and songwriting. He previously worked with creative people whom he believed were “not godless or worthy of heaven”.
The model (pictured with her boyfriend Dimitri Dinas) said the 14-year-old self would “look at me with disappointment and shame for running away from God.”
At the end of her essay, she said, “I’m discovering my new relationship with God and what’s right for me this time.”
She made her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2021 wearing bikinis that accentuated her famous curves. This year it adorned its cover iconic magazine
The artist also recently released her first EP, Hajime, which also includes the song “Sin” – “the song of breaking the church”.
“Fourteen-year-old Yumi wouldn’t approach current Yumi with a ten-foot stick,” she wrote in her article. “He looked at me with disappointment and was ashamed that I had fled from God. But he prayed for me, believing in my heart that I was a lost sheep who had to find his way home. He believed that all the happiness or healthy love I had in my life would no longer last because it was caused by sin.’
Now, she said she is still pursuing ways to “potentially harm” others with her religious beliefs and is in therapy trying to reconcile the person she is now with the person she was before.
“At 25, at 14, I have a hard time finding self-compassion,” she explains. “There’s tension between us like two old friends with a bad relapse. I can’t believe I’ve been around someone like him and I’m sure he feels the same for me.
“After the divorce, I’m discovering my new relationship with God and what’s right for me this time because, like this lifelong connection with my childhood, I need to figure out where and how to go from here.”
Source: Daily Mail
