Yahoo News Carl Lentz's Wife Laura Says She Had 'Every Reason to Leave' After Cheating Scandal — Here's Why She Stayed
"I saw you break down like I'd never seen you break down, or anyone for that matter," Laura Lentz said on the first episode of Carl's "Lights On" podcast
Carl Lentz’s wife Laura is opening up about why she chose to remain married to the former Hillsong pastor after his cheating scandal.
It has been nearly four years since Carl, 45, was fired from the controversial church for “moral failings" and admitted he had cheated on his wife.
In the first episode of Lights On with Carl Lentz, which can be found on the faith-based platform
The B-Side, Carl and Laura opened up how the scandal impacted their marriage.
Asked by her husband of 21 years why she chose to stay with him, Laura revealed she had “every reason to leave," but ultimately decided against it after seeing Carl “doing the work” necessary to heal.
Related: Ex-Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz Admits to 'Inappropriate Relationship' with Nanny: 'I Am Responsible'
“I remember the first time we sat on the phone — I think it was, like, the next day or that first week of everything,” she recalled. “We're on the phone with a therapist, and she was asking you questions about your childhood and some of the things that you had gone through in the trauma and the abuse.” (The former pastor previously alleged he was sexually abused as a child by a family friend in FX's 2023 documentary series, The Secrets of Hillsong.)
Laura continued, “And I saw you break down like I'd never seen you break down, or anyone for that matter."
While Laura did not allow Carl’s pain to excuse his actions, she said it did give her context into the “torment” her husband was experiencing mentally.
“One of the reasons I chose to stay was seeing that and what that did to you for the sake of my kids,” she explained, adding that she also “knew that I needed to stay to heal.”
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Laura admitted that her journey “isn't for everyone,” and even said staying with a husband who had been unfaithful was something she previously wouldn't have thought she'd do.
“I was one of those people,” she said, sharing that she thought she “would have been like, ‘Get out of here!’ … But when you're in it, it's definitely a different thing.”
Instead, Laura said she stuck around and worked on healing, refusing to live with pent-up “brokenness and hurt.”
“I just chose very early on in this situation to be like, ‘I don't wanna live with a broken, bitter heart.’ And so I did the work myself,” she explained.
As for why they're speaking out now, Carl said that after the scandal, both he and his wife needed to work on themselves and make their family a priority. “You needed to do your journey of healing and work. I need to do my journey of healing and work,” he recalled. “And so that's how we got to where we are today.”
Now, Laura — who has received several messages from people "who have gone through similar situations — said she hopes her experience will help others.
“I'm hoping that this is gonna help them with whatever they're going through,” she said.
The first episode of "Lights On" is available on B-Stream now and premiere on YouTube at 8:00 p.m. CT on June 4.
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