Carl Lentz’s Wife Laura Was in a ‘Tormented Place Mentally’ After Betrayal with Nanny

Laura Lentz, wife of former Hillsong Church pastor Carl Lentz, is getting candid about her husband's inappropriate relationships in the couple's first interviews since he was fired from the New York City branch of the megachurch in November 2020. 

"It was Oct. 25 [2020], I remember that day," Laura recalled in the second episode of FX's The Secrets of Hillsong, a four-part docuseries that premieres on Friday, May 19. "Carl was like, 'Hey, can I talk to you for a second?' As soon as he shut the door… my heart just dropped. He basically said, 'I've been unfaithful to you.'"

Laura went on to say that during a Zoom call with board members and founder Brian Houston — who later resigned in March last year amid "complaints made against" him by multiple women, per the New York Times — Carl was questioned about his relationship with their nanny and fellow church member, Leona Kimes. "He hadn't told me this part yet," Laura added.

Though Kimes had been a trusted presence in their household, the mom of three explained that she'd "sometimes get these little feelings" about the pair before detailing the night she "found them in a compromising position," admitting that she got physical with her husband and Kimes. 

"Something came over me. I was angry and I definitely freaked out," she explained, noting that their former nanny denied there was anything going on and that they "never talked about it again." 

Laura continued: "I was in a really tormented place mentally. I don't know what's happening in my house anymore. I was pretty much gaslit by both of them for quite a while."

A little more than six months after the celebrity pastor was fired, Kimes alleged that she was sexually and emotionally abused in an essay published on Medium, though she never listed the former church leader by name. She further detailed the allegations in a statement to Religion News Service (RNS).

Carl denied those allegations through a statement from his rep in May 2021 and again in the second episode of The Secrets of Hillsong, saying, "Any notion of abuse is categorically false." He did, however, admit to "allowing an inappropriate relationship to develop in my house with someone that worked for us."

He continued: "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."

Episodes 1 and 2 of The Secrets of Hillsong premiere on FX on Friday, May 19, at 10 p.m. ET and will be available for streaming on Hulu the following day. Episodes 3 and 4 will air on Friday, May 26, and can be streamed the next day. 

If you or someone you know has been a victim of domestic violence, help is available 24 hours a day through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.