"The wife of disgraced US pastor Ted Haggard says counselling has successfully freed him of his gay urges and made their marriage "better than ever".Gayle Haggard appeared on MSNBC's Today programme to say that her husband's therapy had given him the "tools" to deal with his compulsions.
The founder of Colorado's New Life Church, Mr Haggard was forced to resign leadership of the church and the presidency of the National Association of Evangelicals in 2006 after allegations emerged he had hired rent boys and taken drugs with them.
The evangelical preacher, who counselled George W Bush, was a vocal opponent of gay marriage but was plunged into scandal when prostitute Mike Jones revealed they had had an three-year sexual relationship.
Speaking to Today presenter Meredith Vieira, Mrs Haggard revealed that on the night her husband admitted some of the allegations were true, she allowed him into the marital bed.
She explained her decision: "Broken people need to be touched, and by reaching out, Ted was pleading for my help."
Mrs Haggard continued: “In Ted’s case, he had had some experiences as a child that kept replaying themselves in his mind. Once he went to therapy he was able to identify that and was given the tools to deal with it. Because of that, he no longer has those compulsions. That’s not true for everybody. That’s his story.”
She added: “Our relationship is better than it’s ever been. Going over this mountain together has given me the marriage that I’ve always longed for." By Jessica Geen of Pinky3
0 Leave a comment:
Post a Comment