A former senior Scientologist who became one of the Church’s fiercest critics has died, his family revealed – following a battle with cancer.
Mike Rinder, 69, passed a year-and-a-half removed from his advanced esophageal cancer diagnosis, and shortly after sharing a photo with his wife and two kids over Christmas.
In the snap, a smiling Rinder looks a far cry from the man seen next to wife Christie Collbran in photos shot just a few months ago, where the Australian-born defector still had a full head of hair and a healthy complexion.
In the photograph taken December 25, he was bald – seemingly losing his hair within just three months as he grappled with his diagnosis.
In a heartfelt post showing the family during better days, Collbran paid tribute to the father-of-two cohosted the Emmy-winning docuseries Scientology and the Aftermath with Leah Remini.
Penning it Sunday, she did not confirm whether it was cancer that took her beloved’s life and did disclose his day of death.
‘Rest in peace, my sweet, beautiful husband,’ the update began, before memorializing one of Scientologist’s most high-profile detractors.
He had been part of the agency’s secretive Sea Org for more than three decades,