Yahoo News Ex-Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz's Wife 'Devastated' When 'Truth Came Out' About Affair with Nanny on Zoom Call
"My feelings about that situation for a long time were actually true," Laura Lentz says in an episode of FX's The Secrets of Hillsong, premiering Friday
Ex-Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz's wife learned the truth about his "inappropriate relationship" with their nanny on a Zoom call in "front of everyone," she said in a new documentary series.
FX's The Secrets of Hillsong, which chronicles the scandals of the famous megachurch and premieres Friday, features the first interviews with the couple since they were forced out of the church in 2020 for Carl's "moral failures," with the former pastor later publicly admitting to infidelity.
In the series' second episode, Laura Lentz recalled her shock upon first learning from her husband that he'd "been unfaithful."
Earlier that month, Hillsong leadership was informed that "incriminating text messages" had been found from Carl to a woman named Ranin Karim, according to the documentary. Karim later identified herself as his alleged mistress in an interview with Vanity Fair published weeks after his firing.
"It was Oct. 25 [2020]," Laura said during the Secrets of Hillsong episode. "Carl was like, 'Hey, can I talk to you for a second?' As soon as he shut the door…my heart just dropped."
"She wasn't mad; she was just so broken," Carl added, admitting that he "wasn't even fully honest" at the time.
Then, on a Zoom call with the couple, board members and church founder Brian Houston, who went on to resign in 2022 amid complaints that he behaved inappropriately towards two women, questioned Carl about his relationship with their family's nanny, Leona Kimes, also a church member.
"He hadn't told me this part yet," Laura said in the episode.
Although Kimes had been a trusted part of the family, she was "always" at the house, and Laura had suspected something was happening.
"I'd sometimes get these little feelings. And then one night, I found them in a compromising position," she said. "I was angry, and I definitely freaked out."
But afterward, Laura said Kimes denied doing anything wrong, and they "never talked about it again."
"We were her pastors; we were her leaders; she was on staff. It got really messy," Laura said. "I was pretty much gaslit by both of them for quite a while."
Related:Ex-Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz Admits to 'Inappropriate Relationship' with Nanny: 'I Am Responsible'
But on the Zoom call, "the truth came out there in front of everyone," she said: "another affair."
"So my feelings about that situation for a long time were actually true," Laura said in the episode, sharing that she "had to move off of the screen because I was devastated."
"Out of everything that I've had to deal with, I've had to process that situation probably the most," she remarked.
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Soon after that Zoom call, it was announced that Carl had been fired from Hillsong in November 2020. Six months later, Kimes came forward with allegations that she was sexually and emotionally abused by the ousted pastor, whom she did not identify by name, which Carl denied.
Addressing her allegations in the second episode, Carl said, "I am responsible for allowing an inappropriate relationship to develop in my house with someone that worked for us." However, he claimed that "any notion of abuse is categorically false."
"There were mutual adult decisions made by two people who lied profusely, mainly to my wife," he added. "It's an issue because I was a boss; this person was an employee. I'm responsible for that power dynamic and the management of it and the wisdom that goes with it, and I failed absolutely miserably."
In an update on social media last week, Carl shared that the couple — who are still together and recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary — decided to take part in the documentary as "part of the healing" process.
"For the last 3 years my entire focus has been fighting for my wife and my kids," Lentz, who said he is no longer preaching, wrote in the social media post. "Although we have a long way to go, with a lot of work, a lot of honesty, and a lot of prayer, we have found ourselves in a beautiful, happy and deliberately honest place."
The Secrets of Hillsong episodes 1-2 premiere on FX on Friday and will be available to stream on Hulu the following day. Episodes 3-4 will premiere on May 26.
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