'Battlestar Gallactica's' Nicki Clyne, the Forgotten Member of the NXIVM Sex Cult

In 2008, Nicki Clyne was at the height of her popularity, a glorified extra on Battlestar Gallactica who would eventually become a frequently recurring character on the series, Crewman Specialist Cally Tyrol, until she was somewhat surprisingly killed off the series in the third episode of the fourth season. That was 11 years ago, and until appearing in a web series in 2018, Nicki Clyne had not acted. The answer to why can be found in an interview Clyne did on a BSG online forum soon after her character had been killed off.

So, do you have any new projects lined up? Or new work, new plans? Yeah, not acting wise, yet … But I’m also developing a business with a few of my friends, that will be uhm … we have very big ideas, and sometimes I find it hard to put it into concise words. But basically we want to create an online community for college students that, that invokes and inspires critical thoughts, and connecting with people who share values. As well as a commerce portion that business, that will partner with different businesses, and provide discounts for students on whatever they might need. From travel to books, to you know food, and things like that. Because I think that I’m a big believer in education and learning about yourself in that process. But sometimes I think that is lost because some students are so focused on just surviving and getting what they need to get done for their tests, that they lose that introspection that I think is so important at that time of your life, to really think about what one wants to do, and be in the world.

Of course, we know now that, at the time, that by “a few of my friends,” Clyne likely meant Smallville’s Allison Mack and Kristin Kreuk, who by then were deeply involved in Keith Raniere’s NXIVM. The online community that they were creating appears to have been an effort to recruit college students into the organization by using what appears to be a survey to help them screen potential recruits.

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In the decade since, of course, we have learned that NXIVM was basically a sex cult operated by Keith Raniere and Allison Mack. Kristin Kreuk had wisely left the group in 2013, but Nicki Clyne continued to rise up the ranks with Mack as her mentor. In fact, Clyne reportedly quit acting altogether to devote herself completely to NXIVM, wrote blog posts for $15 an hour, and worked as a waitress in a vegan cafe.

By the time Mack and Raniere were busted, Clyne was among the eight women in the slave group within NXIVM known as DOS. Clyne was one of the sex-slave members branded with Raniere’s initials, audio testimony revealed earlier this week.

Raniere, 58, is accused of heading the secret group, in which women were scarred with his initials in their pubic region and ordered to have sex with him. “Here, give me your hip,” the Nxivm leader says to “Battlestar Galactica” actress and DOS slave Nicki Clyne as the gaggle discusses the size and location of the brand. “You’re small, tiny.”

In 2017, Nicki Clyne and Alison Mack were reportedly married, and while they both had a sexual relationship with Raniere, Mack apparently married Clyne — a Canadian — for visa reasons (it is apparently an ethical breach to be in love with anyone who is not Raniere).

Soon after Mack and Clyne were married, word about the sex cult went public, and Raniere and the inner circle fled to Mexico, where Raniere was eventually arrested in March 2018. How did authorities know where to find them? Some speculate that Clyne was working with feds and led them to Raniere through this Instagram photo at a popular Puerto Vallarta monument. Raniere was arrested outside of Puerto Vallarta, and Clyne recorded the FBI raiding the home. Interestingly, Clyne was not arrested, and is expected to testify against Raniere in June.

Most recently, Clyne was reportedly spotted near the headquarters of NXIVM in upstate New York, leading some to speculate that members continue to run the organization behind closed doors.

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