Inside Scientology - Janet Reitman [173]
Tanja was a favorite of the leader and his wife, Shelly. She went to the movies and out to dinner with the Miscaviges. At the conclusion of a particularly grueling work cycle, she and her colleagues might be rewarded with a day at the beach, a ski trip, or even a few days of vacation. There were trips to Europe and Caribbean cruises aboard Freewinds; Miscavige's entourage sometimes enjoyed scuba diving or jet skiing. "In terms of a Sea Org life, I had a great life," said Tanja. "I couldn't really complain, especially given how everyone else was treated."
Tanja's husband, Stefan, for instance, never enjoyed the perks his wife received; this was also true for Marc Headley (Miscavige was notably uncharitable to the husbands of the women who worked for him). A wiry, handsome, and extremely headstrong young man, Stefan had married Tanja in June 1988, about a year after she arrived at Int. He was twenty at the time and a department head in the Commodore's Messenger Organization—nearly the same position Miscavige himself had once held at about that same age. Tanja and Stefan had begun what appeared to be a perfect Sea Org life, though like the Headleys, they wrestled with disappointment over not being able to have children. But they resigned themselves to that fate as faithful servants of the Church of Scientology. Raised by his Scientologist mother in Washington, D.C., Stefan had joined the Sea Org when he was twelve. He had every intention of spending his life at Int, as did his wife.
But as the couple began advancing in their careers, things changed. Stefan became a producer of Scientology's technical films and live events; Tanja was promoted to the RTC. This made Tanja a "sir" to Stefan—just as Claire was a "sir" to Marc. It was weird, the girls thought, but they accepted it. Far less comfortable, however, was the unspoken rule that staffers in David Miscavige's organization should distance themselves from anyone not in the RTC, including a spouse. Of course many people ignored this—Claire was married to Marc, Tanja was married to Stefan, and many of their friends were married to men in other organizations. But there was always a subtle pressure to stop being married to that person.
Tanja felt this pressure profoundly. For all of his initiative, Stefan would never ascend to the same echelon as his shy and retiring wife, who became a companion of "COB Assistant" Shelly Miscavige, a tough woman with very few friends. Shelly demanded that Tanja keep her company on Saturday nights. While the women ate popcorn and watched movies at the Miscaviges' condo on the base, Stefan spent the night alone.
Before long, Stefan's resentment began to show. In 1998, while in England producing a live event, he knocked heads with Miscavige—over what, Stefan does not exactly recall. But Shelly Miscavige approached him immediately after the altercation. "What kind of beef do you have with Dave?" she asked.
Stefan considered his answer: what beef did he have with DM? "You know what?" he said. "I hate that I don't see my wife. And when I do," he added, bluntly, "she's too exhausted to have sex."
Shelly blanched. "Oh," she said. "Okay."
This criticism would be Stefan's undoing. He was subjected to the False Purpose Rundown, put on the E-meter, and asked about his crimes. Why did he hate COB? What had he done to hurt him? Stefan maintained he'd done nothing. But Shelly was suspicious. As Tanja later explained, "Shelly was extremely serious about protecting Dave. She was like his bodyguard, doing whatever she had to in order to stop anyone or anything getting to him. She honestly believed that there were numerous people out to intentionally harm or destroy him—suppressives were all around." Those working closest