Well, the rumors about me started before I was DFed, but while I was having elders over to "help" me because I could not understand why sexual abusers in the congergations were allowed to get away with it. The first rumor was that I was on the internet talking to apostates. That was untrue, At that time I had NEVER opened an ex-JW site or read about or talked to ANY ex-JWs. (after I was DFed for being an apostate I did decide to check out the internet site and have become very enlightened, Glad I was DFed now.) Then, when the elders heard that they said that that was why I was "questioning" them on abuse matters. I guess they did not think it had anything to do with my father in-law being arrested for sexual abuse and the elders doing nothing. It had nothing to do with one of my baptized brothers abusing me when I was a child and it had nothing to do with my sister-in-law having been repeatedly raped by her uncle who was an elder. He had been removed for a short time and then made an elder again. It also had nothing to do with my BEST friend's "annointed" step father abusing the family physically, sexually and emotionally. I could not get the elders to even look into that when I was 15. I told them I was going to childrens servvices and they told me not to because it would give Jehovah a bad name. I was so STUPID to have listened to them at the time. But now I was done. So I questioned. But of course to them none of these were the reasons. I was just becoming an apostate.
So while I appealed being DFed the rumors abounded that I was an apostate. Then, once I was DFed there were rumors that I must have cheated on my husband. NOT TRUE! I just wonder what they think now, since we both moved away together.
Oh and the rumors that I had talked to Dateline and helped them with the part of the story about my father-in-law. Oh, but that one is true.
At first the rumors hurt a lot. Now they just amuse me.