has responded to threats of legal action made by his oldest daughters, and , who claim that he has placed their 10-year-old sister Indiana Boone in an unsafe situation.
Heidi, 38, alleged that her father had been neglectful of Indiana, who has special needs, in an interview with People published on Saturday, August 31. “She wandered into traffic on Highway 431, terrified and lost, until a stranger found her and brought her home,” Heidi told the outlet. “Instead of addressing the danger she was in, my dad used this traumatic incident to create content that boosted his public image.”
She also claimed that Rory had cut off her and her sister Hopie, 36, from communicating with Indiana entirely. “This is a devastating change for her because we’ve been in her life since the day she was born,” Heidi said. “She’s even come to stay with us once a month for most of her life.”
However, Heidi said all of that changed three years ago when Rory began restricting her and Hopie’s contact with Indiana. At first, she said, they “weren’t alarmed,” but that changed when their father began canceling Indiana’s regular visits to her sisters.
“Eventually, he said she wasn’t allowed to do overnight visits anymore, with no explanation,” Heidi told People. “After that, we were only allowed to see her three times: her 10th birthday, one dinner, and the Homestead festival in June — when we saw her last. Now, he doesn’t let us talk to her on the phone and won’t respond to my texts.”
Rory, 59, responded to these claims via a blog post published on Saturday titled “love, dad,” wherein he described the situation with his daughters as a “family dispute,” saying that Heidi’s claims about him have “broken [his] heart.”
Rory shared Indiana with his second wife and singing partner, , who died from cancer eight years ago. (Rory shared Heidi and Hopie with ex-wife .) Heidi’s claims come months after Rory married Indiana’s schoolteacher, , in July.
In Rory’s lengthy post, he added that Indiana “has never been more loved or better cared for than she is right now.” According to the country music star, the main issue is that Heidi and Hopie “refused to respect my wishes when [Indiana] was there” concerning the movies and music they “want to expose her to.”
“But Indiana is my daughter, and I know what Joey would want, and I am standing firmly on not compromising the values and principles that are important to me to raise Indy with,” he continued. “I tell her that hopefully soon, we’ll all be back together, and she’ll get to talk to and see them again. I do look forward to that day almost as much as Indy does.”
In his blog post, Rory also took the time to respond to claims that he and Rebecca had “joined a cult,” about his ties to Homestead Heritage, described as an “intentional Christian community,” per its website. Heidi told People that Indiana had been left in the care of the community’s branch in Montana as Rory and Rebecca went on their honeymoon.
Rory responded to this allegation in his blog post, saying, “Indiana stayed with two families, both of who have little ones that Indy is very close to.”
As for Heidi, she told People, “[If I could see her] I would tell her what I told her at the Homestead Festival: ‘I love you, I miss you, and I’m doing everything I can to see you. I’m sorry if my actions get you in trouble, but I will never stop fighting for you.’ She said okay and gave me a hug.”
Us has reached out to Rory’s reps for comment.
