'Prophet' pastor Gwen Shamblin was ADULTERESS whose Tarzan actor lover Joe Lara threatened to shoot
The son of Christian diet guru Gwen Shamblin sensationally claimed her Tarzan actor lover Joe Lara threatened to shoot him with a sniper rifle as he stood in the way of their reality TV hopes.
Michael Shamblin, who also revealed his devoutly religious mother had been cheating on her husband of 40-years with Lara, recalled the chilling encounter in his first interview since the couple died in a horror small-plane crash three years ago.
He said his mom and Lara were plotting a return to the limelight with their own reality show, but when he disapproved, Lara made the eye-opening threat that has stayed with him to this day.
'He showed me a Creedmoor sniper round, and he said, 'This is what we are going to take you out with from 1,200 yards,'' he told NewsChannel5.
Tarzan actor Joe Lara (left) and Christianity diet fad leader Gwen Shamblin (right) captured national headlines when they tied the knot in 2018. Her son has now claimed that Lara was unhappy and looking for a divorce, and would 'escape' on his small plane that he crashed three years later, killing seven including Shamblin
Michael Shamblin gave his first interview since his mother's death three years ago, sensationally claiming that when he stood in the way of their reality TV show hopes, Lara threatened to shoot him with a sniper rifle
Joe Lara (pictured) was an accomplished sniper, which Michael alleged led him to believe the actor was serious when he showed him the rifle and quipped: 'This is what we are going to take you out with from 1,200 yards'
Michel said he immediately felt Lara's quip was a legitimate threat, knowing the actor was both proficient with a sniper rifle, and wasn't a fan of his new stepson.
When questioned whether he took the comment to mean 'that (bullet) could be aimed at you', he responded: 'Yes... it was an a*****e comment.'
Lara and Shamblin captured national headlines when they tied the knot in 2018, after Shamblin ditched her longtime husband for the former Tarzan actor.
She had built a huge following as the founder of the Christian Diet Program and the Remnant Fellowship, mixing diet culture with Christian beliefs into a group some have referred to as a 'cult.'
After their wedding, Michael said they struggled to find their feet, with Lara often 'escaping' on flights on his small plane as his stepson speculated he quickly 'wanted out.'
The couple perished in a horror small plane accident alongside Shamblin's son-in-law Brandon Hannah, church leaders David and Jennifer Martin, and Jessica and Jonathan Walters on March 29, 2021.
Following two years of investigations, the NTSB ruled that Lara was flying the plane and crashed after becoming disoriented.
Lara's Cessna C501 (stock image) plunged into Percy Priest Lake minutes after takeoff from an airport just outside Nashville, en route to Palm Beach International Airport
A map showing the route the plane was traveling and the crash site in Percy Priest Lake located in Smyrna, Tennessee
Church leaders David and Jennifer Martin were aboard the flight and died
Jonathan and Jessica Walters were also leaders of the church and sadly perished when the plane went down on March 29, 2021
Brandon and Elizabeth Hannah. Brandon (left), Shamblin Lara's son-in-law, was one of the seven people killed in the tragic accident
Before the fatal accident, Michael said the couple were searching for an avenue back into the spotlight, including filming an online video series called 'Life with Gwen and Joe' that they hoped to flip into a reality TV show.
Michael said they were concerned he would interfere with their plans, leading Lara to make the reference to his sniping abilities.
'By this point, I was considered practically an enemy of Gwen. We just played the game. I was still there,' he recalled. 'She knew for years that I was kind of a threat to go to the media to do exactly what I'm doing now.'
In his decision to speak out for the first time since his mother's death, Michael claimed his mom was carrying out a blatant affair right under her constituents' noses.
Shamblin married Lara less than two months after leaving her husband of 40-years, David, which Michael said was just the tip of the iceberg.
'They would travel together, her and Joe would travel together. They started being sat next to each other at leadership house parties. She was essentially committing adultery,' he said.
Michael recalled how his mother quickly fell for Lara after he began attending services at her church, but he was less than smitten with the former star.
'He didn't like me because I was the one guy who was not going to kiss up to him,' he said.
'And I didn't really like him either. I didn't trust him. I always kind of felt like he's acting.'
Shamblin's son said that although his father David (pictured) discovered Gwen was having an affair, he 'never had an affair against her. He was not out drinking every night. He was intent to be married to her his whole life. He was a good father'
Michael Shamblin recalled how he quickly took a dislike to his mom's new husband Joe Lara (pictured), saying: 'I didn't trust him. I always kind of felt like he's acting'
Lara shot to fame in the 1990s by playing Tarzan in the hit show 'Tarzan: The Epic Adventures'
Lara and Shamblin met when he began attending services at her church, which led them to carry out a blatant affair right under her religious constituents' noses, her son claimed
While his mom would preach the teachings of Christianity from the stage, Michael said her sordid affair extended to a secret bank account that she would use to covertly send Lara gifts, which was discovered by her then-husband before their divorce.
'(David) never had an affair against her. He was not out drinking every night. He was intent to be married to her his whole life. He was a good father,' he insisted.
After leaving her longtime husband, Michael said she and Lara 'never had one month of peace' from the day they married until the day the plane went down en route to Palm Beach International Airport.
'Every month was custody fights with his ex, Natasha. Or there was constant issues, constant trouble,' he said, adding that he perceived Lara as having a negative impact on his mother's lifestyle.
'She started experimenting with marijuana and, I heard from people, even harder drugs,' he said. 'It was constant intoxication on trips and things like that.'
Despite her religious following, Michael said it appeared that 'the average Remnant person didn't know any of that. They would only know what they see in the worship space.'
The NTSB report into the 2021 crash found that Lara became disoriented while piloting.
Flight track data found that the plane 'made a series of heading changes, along with several climbs and descents, before it entered a steep, descending left turn,' the crash report cited.
While the true circumstances to the crash remain a topic of contention, Michael felt the final flight came after he would use flying to escape a marriage he was no longer interested in.
'I could tell he didn't want to be there. That's why he was flying so much. It was an escape,' he said.
'I think deep down, once he got in that position, I think he wanted out... He wanted out because he had no clue how controlling what kind of life that was going to be with Gwen.'
The Remnant Fellowship: A church of 'hope' for some and a 'cult' for others
In 2002, Christian diet guru Gwen Shamblin Lara bought 40 acres of land in Brentwood, Tennessee, and donated the entire property for the building of the Remnant Fellowship Church.
The Remnant Fellowship Church opened its doors in November of 2004 and the entire Weigh Down organization was donated to the church in 2006.
The church bases its ministry on the Bible-based teachings of Gwen Shamblin through Weigh Down Ministries, according to the church's website.
Remnant remains based in Brentwood but its services are webcast out to over 100 Remnant Fellowship locations worldwide, according to the church.
The church's global leadership includes a team team consisting of '120 shepherds, deacons, ministry leaders, and ministry assistants.
'Any decisions made on behalf of the church are made through the leadership team with much prayer and discussion. Many of the day-to-day operations are handled through the various ministry teams,' the church's website reads.
The church is known for helping people through problems such as alcohol and drug addiction and markets itself to people 'weary of the constant battles in today's world.'
'Rising crime, financial problems, broken homes, alcohol and drug abuse, rebellious children, disappearing morality - it seems like the world is growing further and further away from God and Christ, and the results are obvious,' the church's website reads.
The church notes that it is 'not a man-made doctrine or dogma about sacraments or rituals.'
Its 'assemblies' take place on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings and usually run between 90 minutes and two hours long with music provided by a chamber orchestra, choirs and a praise band.
People who support the church have praised it for helping them through the 'hopelessness' in their lives.
'This is a church of change changing from increasing hopelessness of the world to a high calling that is filled with more and more hope and blessings from God!!' a woman named Sherri Johnson wrote in a Facebook review.
Another woman named Cora Elizabeth Palmer wrote: 'Most peaceful place on Earth. Very thankful to get to be a part of such an awesome church!'
However, the church has also faced criticism and characterizations as a 'cult.'
Former members Adam and Maria Brooks wrote in 2002 that they were 'blindly caught up in Mrs. Shamblin's call for faithful followers to leave their churches' and claimed that she would recruit members of her church from her Weigh Down events.
'As a result, in the summer of 2001 we left our church for a brief period and nearly joined Remnant Fellowship,' the couple wrote.
'For us, that experience gave us a traumatic taste of what it is like to be recruited into a cult and to experience 'cultic mind control.'
The church also faced criticism in 2007 after two members Joseph and Sonya Smith were convicted of beating their 8-year-old son to death, NBC News reported. The church was reported to have stood by the couple amid their conviction and even paid for their legal appeals.
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