Eurovision 2025 star forced to follow strict rules after joining cult
This year's host of the Eurovision Song Contest, Michelle Hunziker, may be a hugely successful actress, but her life was once very different after joining a strict cult
A huge Eurovision Song Contest 2025 star had a very dramatic life after joining a cult. Michelle Hunziker is one of the presenters for this year's competition, with the live final kicking off in just a matter of hours.
But while the 48-year-old is a hugely successful actress, her life is very different to how she once lived. T his year, Michelle will join Hazel Brugger and Sandra Struder as they host the 69th final of the song contest held in Basel, Switzerland. The Swiss trio will deliver the results of each country across the globe as the UK's act, Remember Monday, attempts to change the trajectory of the UK's scoring following a string of rough years.
While Michelle will no doubt be dressed in full glamour for the final, she once had to follow a string of very strict rules after marrying her first husband, Italian pop singer Eros. The pair tied the knot in 1998 and went on to welcome their daughter, Aurora, 28. Sadly, their relationship came to an end in 2002.
During her first marriage, Michelle joined a sect called Warriors of Light. Those in the sect had a strict lifestyle and had to follow a vegan diet. They also had to refrain from drinking alcohol, smoking, having sex or masturbating. Michelle was just 20 when she joined the Warriors of Light group after meeting a therapist named Clelia.
Michelle and Clelia became close after she helped her husband, Eros, overcome sickness after suffering from a sore throat. Speaking about her experience in her 2018 memoir, A Seemingly Perfect Life, Michelle wrote: "'Before the meetings we had to shower and put on white clothes.
"We always had to take off our shoes on the threshold. Then we had to wash our hands again and sit in circles on the sofas or cross-legged on the floor before starting the sessions of lying down or meditating." She went on to write: "According to Clelia, sexuality was an animalistic instinct and therefore dirty and low.
"We had to lift that instinct to a higher level, sublimate it, and turn it into inner energy." Just five years after joining, Michelle left the group at the age of 25. It was claimed in 2018 that Michelle blamed her divorce from Eros on the cult, which had allegedly attempted to convince her that he was a bad influence and had allegedly attempted to isolate her from her family.
Michelle will be joined on stage by former Eurovision entry Sandra Studer, who made her big break in 1991, performing under the stage name Sandra Simó. Her song Canzone Per Te landed her in fifth place overall and she went on to forge a successful media career. The mother-of-four became a popular presenter on German and Swiss TV, appearing on programmes like Takito and Swiss Award.
Sandra also kept up her singing, appearing in musicals like Sister Act and Spamalot. Sandra married Luka Müller in 1998 and the couple have four children together. She said she was "thrilled" to be back on the music competition as a host, posting a photo earlier this year showing her posing with her co-hosts Hazel and Michelle.
She wrote: "So thrilled! Thank you @eurovision for this incredible opportunity to be part of such a special journey. I can't wait to celebrate the ESC stage with all of you!" Swiss-American comedian, poet and presenter, Hazel completes the presenting trio. The mother-of-two was born in San Diego, California and has a Swiss father and German mother. The family made the move to Zurich, Switzerland and from 17, she started performing slam poetry.
The comedian found mainstream fame when she appeared on German satirical news programme heute-show, before going on to tour her stand-up show Tropical, which landed on Netflix in 2020. The description of her programme reads: "In this stand-up special, comedian Hazel Brugger offers her breezy takes on unruly geese, chatty gynaecologists, German bank loans and more."
The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final airs at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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