Author Jen Hatmaker revealed Monday that she and her husband Brandon are divorcing, and she requested privacy as her family seeks to “heal and rebuild.”
“Our loss is not for public devouring,” she wrote on Facebook.
Hatmaker, the author of Of Mess and Moxie and several other books released by Christian publisher Thomas Nelson, sparked controversy in recent years by asserting the Bible affirms LGBT relationships and same-sex marriage. LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention stopped selling her books in 2016.
“We are in a moment with no handbook and without a single clue how to navigate this privately, much less publicly,” she began in her Facebook post. “I don’t know how to hide grief, so I haven't, and I am grateful for your absolute decency these last few weeks. I don’t know how to say this, and I still cannot believe I am even saying it, but Brandon and I are getting divorced. Although the details are ours alone, this was completely unexpected, and I remain stunned as we speak. I am shocked, grief-stricken, and broken-hearted.
“Although this community is impossibly dear, beloved to me, in case you are an interloper who revels in the pain of another, I beg you to spare us your cruelty. We have suffered so greatly,” she wrote. “... The kids and I are getting away to retreat for a while, and I ask for your kindness … and for some room to breathe. Please respect the privacy of our children and our extended family. Our loss is not for public devouring. We are real people managing this in our real life in real-time, and we are doing the absolute best we know how to do.”
She asked the public for prayer.
“Hold us so dear to your hearts,” she wrote. “We have felt your prayers these last few weeks. We have experienced your mercy. Thank you for being good to us. Know that we are deeply surrounded by love and have not been alone a single second in two months. Please help protect us and keep us safe as we try to heal and rebuild.”
I first thank you for the kindness you have shown these last two months. We are in a moment with no handbook and without...
Related:
LifeWay Stops Selling Jen Hatmaker Books Due to Her LGBT Views
What God Says About Gay Marriage
What the Transgender Debate Means for the Church
How Should Same-Sex Marriage Change the Church’s Witness?
Photo courtesy: Jen Hatmaker Facebook
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
