If you’ve been following the saga with Jerry Falwell Jr., now-resigned president of Liberty University, you’re probably aware that he has been caught up in a number of controversies over the years, including the most recent controversy where inappropriate pictures of Falwell and another woman were posted with their pants unzipped on a yacht.
Over the course of this saga, Falwell resigned from his post at Liberty University and has released a statement blaming his erratic behavior and mental health issues on an inappropriate relationship he says his wife had with a young man eight years ago.
“During a vacation over eight years ago, Becki and I met an ambitious young man who was working at our hotel and was saving up his money to go to school. We encouraged him to pursue an education and a career and we were impressed by his initiative in suggesting a local real estate opportunity,” Falwall writes. “Shortly thereafter, Becki had an inappropriate personal relationship with this person, something in which I was not involved – it was nonetheless very upsetting to learn about.”
Last year, the Miami Herald reported on a “strange financial dealing” between Falwell Jr., and a young man who is identified as a “personal trainer” named Giancarlo Granda. Essentially, Falwell was threatened with the release of racy photos of his wife after he endorsed President Trump. Prior to that, Falwell had a similar dealing with a “pool boy” which, incidentally, was about eight years ago. It seems as though Falwell Jr. is throwing his wife under the bus for an affair she had with this kid.
“It was like living on a roller coaster,” he said in the statement. “While completely dedicating ourselves to Liberty, we were also suffering in silence during our personal time together, while simultaneously trying to manage and deal with this increasingly threatening behavior, which only worsened over time. We were doing our best to respectfully unravel this ‘fatal attraction’ type situation to protect our family and the university.”
He continues,
“Even though I continued successfully working with our entire Liberty team to achieve so many of our goals, I am now dealing with things in a way that I should have done before – including seeking to address the emotional toll this has taken. I shouldn’t have been afraid to admit my vulnerabilities and to reach out for assistance from the mental health professionals who could have alleviated this pain and stress. I am committed to speaking out and sharing with others at Liberty the importance of seeking counseling instead of thinking you need to be tough and try to bear these burdens on your own. I am in the early stages of addressing these issues.”
Falwell says that he lost 80 pounds after he found out about the affair, but that he and Becki had forgiven each other “because while her indiscretion may have been more obvious and apparent, I realized that there were important smaller things I needed to do better too.”
