EXCLUSIVE: Disgraced 7th Heaven actor Stephen Collins, 72, has retreated to Iowa town

[TMC]

..., married 32-year-old German super fan and lives quiet life meditating daily after admitting to 'exposing himself and touching minors'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-sessions.html

• Stephen Collins, 72, is living in Fairfield, Iowa, five years after admitting to sexual conduct with minors, DailyMail.com can reveal
  He admitted in 2014 he did 'something terribly wrong' when he inappropriately touched one girl and exposed himself to two others between 1973 and 1994
  Collins went largely unscathed by the scandal and DailyMail.com photos show his new quiet life, where he attends meditation gatherings
  He looks nearly unrecognizable from the clean-cut Rev. Eric Camden character he played on 7th Heaven, wearing glasses and sporting a scruffy beard
  Collins married German-born Jenny Nagel, 32, in July, who was a super fan of his, posting years ago about her love for the series and his character
  The former actor also attends twice-daily transcendental meditation sessions in Maharishi Vedic City, where hundreds attend the members-only sessions

Disgraced actor Stephen Collins is living in a small Iowa town where he married a German woman half his age and attends daily meditation sessions, years after admitting to sexual conduct with minors, DailyMail.com can exclusively disclose.

The 72-year-old admitted in 2014 that he did 'something terribly wrong' when he inappropriately touched one girl and exposed himself to two others between 1973 and 1994.

Collins, who went largely unscathed by the media storm unlike Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer and Kevin Spacey, quietly left LA and now lives in the close-knit town of Fairfield, Iowa.

The 7th Heaven star's new life includes his young bride Jenny Nagel, 32, who he married in late July. Nagel was a super fan of Collins' when he starred in the TV drama, posting nearly 10 years ago about her love for the series and his character.

The couple also share a love of transcendental meditation, attending sessions in nearby Maharishi Vedic City, where hundreds attend the members-only gatherings.

Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show Collins' life away from the spotlight, attending meditation sessions, going out for breakfast with friends and mundane chores, such as taking out the trash.

Collins looks nearly unrecognizable from his character on 7th Heaven, the clean-cut and virtuous Rev. Eric Camden, now wearing glasses and sporting a scruffy gray beard.

He was spotted taking out the trash with Nagel from their $557,000 home that sits on 1.77 acres and overlooks the scenic Pleasant Lake.

The home, which was purchased in August 2017, has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office and meditation room.

It's unclear how Nagel and Collins met but according to Facebook, Nagel has been wearing a diamond ring on her engagement finger since April.

Nagel has long been a fan of Collins', sharing a 7th Heaven video clip on social media back in 2010 of Collins' character and on-screen wife, writing: 'Have been watching this show since 1999... and those 2 r the best!! I wanna have this kind of relationship (when I grow up).'

She moved to Fairfield in January 2018 to study at the Maharishi University Of Management, which was founded in 1974 by spiritual guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who created transcendental meditation (TM).

Its mission is to 'provide a consciousness-based education holistic, relevant education for a successful life — not just a career — to ensure our happiness and to make real contributions in the world' and 'meditation and spiritual growth, self-exploration, higher consciousness, spirituality, and inner peace through the transcendental meditation technique'.

The meditation involves the repetition of a sound, called a mantra, and is practiced for 15–20 minutes twice per day, while sitting with closed eyes.

Nagel's love for meditation could be how she met Collins, whose new simple life also includes twice-daily transcendental meditation sessions in Maharishi Vedic City.

Collins was seen one evening driving into the facility and spending more than two hours inside. He appeared glum walking with his head down and headed toward the facility's golden domes.

In 2012, Oprah Winfrey featured the unusual town, where hundreds attend daily ritualistic meditation sessions. Twice a day, residents convene at two giant domes to meditate - one dome designated for women, the other for men.

The members-only facility is guarded by a staffed entrance and only those with special identifications are allowed to enter.

Collins isn't the only celebrity to practice TM, Jim Carrey, Jennifer Aniston, Russell Brand, Gisele Bündchen, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Hanks, Hugh Jackman, Lindsay Lohan, Jennifer Lopez and Paul McCartney have all praised the method.

In his apology statement, where he admitted to his inappropriate conduct in 2014, Collins credited daily transcendental meditation for not '[engaging] in any such behavior for over twenty years.'

He wrote: 'I have been in extensive therapy for over twenty years, years of 12 Step recovery, personal growth workshops in therapeutic settings, private religious confession and consultation, daily prayers of atonement, and meditation every day. I have been in treatment continuously for over twenty years.'

Collins relocated to his home state of Iowa after he first faced allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct after audio recordings of him confessing to his then wife about the conduct, were leaked.

Collins and his estranged wife Faye Grant were in a private marriage therapy in hopes of healing their relationship in 2012, and Grant secretly recorded their session.

The couple began therapy after Collins allegedly made a written confession to Grant where he admitted he exposed himself to minors.

In the recording, Collins can be heard admitting to exposing himself to a 10-year-old relative of his first wife Marjorie Weinman. Collins and Weinman divorced in 1978. He also confessed to touching the young relative.

'There was one moment of touching where her hand...I put her her hand on my penis,' Collins says.

Collins goes on to admit to exposing himself to several others girls. He says he flashed his private parts to one girl 'a couple of times' when she was 11, 12 and 13.

'When you exposed yourself...did you have an erection?' Grant then asks.

'No, I mean, no. Partial, maybe, I think,' Collins responds.

Collins also said he also exposed himself to a girl who lived in their Los Angeles neighborhood, who he tried apologizing to years later, and a New York girl who was 12 or 13 at the time.

The New York victim allegedly told police she would sometimes stay with Collins and his first wife at their New York City apartment when she was 10 and Collins would often come into the guest room, where she slept, after taking a shower and only wearing a towel.

Collins then allegedly exposed himself to her and would make the victim put her hand on his penis. She says he touched and rubbed her. The victim tried to prevent these attacks by pretending to be asleep.

It was only when she saw Collins on a TV show in the 1990s that the woman first told her husband about the childhood abuse.

In 2000, she sent an anonymous letter to Collins' second wife Faye Grant, telling her he was a child molester.

But it wasn't until late 2011 that she ever received a response, after Collins confessed about his past sexual abuse to Grant.

Grant sent the woman an email saying: 'Stephen lied when confronted 12 years ago. He said he had a hole in his holey jeans, as was the style then, and you "must have" seen his genitalia one time.'

In March 2015, April Price, one of Collins' victims, came forward in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com.

April was 13 when the then 35-year-old Collins exposed his naked penis and body to her — not once, as he's claimed, but on three separate occasions.

April, a wife and mother in Oklahoma, broke her silence to re-live the sexual assaults she endured while on summer break in 1983.

She explained she was visiting her aunt in LA who lived kitty corner to Collins. She asked for his help to fix her TV so she could play her video game and at one point 'he turned around, his pants were completely unfastened. His penis was hanging out.'

April told DailyMail.com: 'Honestly, I was 13 and hadn't even kissed a boy yet. This was not something I was even remotely prepared for in my life and I shut down.'

Since his downfall in 2014, Collins has largely stayed away from the spotlight, living his quiet life in Farfield.

[Schmoopie]

Hmmm... That picture looks nothing at all like him. Interesting.

[JO Sweet Heart]

I can tell that its him in the picture.

God bless you and him and the other cast members always!!!

Holly

[TMC]

This is probably a dumb question, but is it safe to say that Hollywood had no choice but to blacklist Stephen Collins after his confession? His last credited acting role was as Howard Stark in the Avengers Assemble animated series. Wikipedia for what it's worth, says that he's an American former actor, whose career largely ended in 2014 when he confessed to sexual misconduct with multiple minors.

It's likely too much of PR and insurance risk to want to hire him for acting work. A similar sort of thing happened with Jeffrey Jones. He still unlike Stephen Collins, gets acting work, but after the year 2008, his acting gigs have been fewer and more far in-between.

Kevin Spacey is a more recent example, of somebody who Hollywood is understandably, uncomfortable dealing with now because of the controversy surrounding his personal life.