Bishop Eddie Long’s wife has filed for divorce, according to statement released this Friday. The New Birth Missionary Baptist Church megachurch pastor has been embroiled in a scandal over the last two years after four male parishioners accused Long of coercing them into inappropriate sexual relationships.
Vanessa Long announced her plans to file for divorce in the statement, in which she said she has “decided to terminate her marriage” after a “great deal of deliberation and prayer”
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“It is my sincere hope that this matter can be resolved expeditiously, harmoniously, and fairly,” she also said in the statement.
“I ask that you respect my privacy and that of my family, as my attorneys and I have agreed that we will not try this case in the media, and I do not intend to make any further statements concerning this matter,” she added. “I also ask that the public pray for my entire family during this difficult period of transition.”
In May this year, Bishop Long settled lawsuits filed by the four men who once attended the New Birth. When the allegations were initially made Long vehemently denied them saying, “I am not the man that’s being portrayed on the television.”
Long gained a reputation as a spiritual leader after turning his 150-member congregation into a following of 25,000 people and a televangelist empire, partly based on the idea that God would give wealth to the faithful.