Jerry Falwell Jr accuses wife’s ex-lover of blackmail following photo scandal

Powerful evangelical leader and close Trump ally Jerry Falwell Jr has said that his wife’s ex-lover tried to blackmail them by contacting the media with “false claims” about their relationship.

Falwell’s statement to the Washington Examiner took place amid his indefinite suspension as head of the conservative evangelical Liberty University, which came several days after he shared a photo of himself with his pants unzipped while aboard a yacht.

It is the latest revelation in the increasingly colorful and scandal-plagued life and career of Falwell, who is a prominent advocate for Donald Trump and widely seen as one of the influential voices on the American religious right.

Falwell’s father, Jerry Falwell Sr, founded Liberty University. The younger Falwell had headed the ultra-conservative educational institution since his father’s death in 2007.

In the 1,200 word statement Falwell opened up about the impact of the scandal on his life. “It was like living on a roller coaster,” Falwell said, calling the alleged blackmail attempt a “‘fatal attraction’ type situation”.

Two days before his statement to the Washington Examiner, Liberty University’s board announced that a decision “whether or not to retain Falwell as President has not yet been made, and the Board requested prayer and patience as they seek the Lord’s will and also seek additional information for assessment”.

The board’s statement also said that they have “decided to not publicly comment on the various rumors and claims about Falwell at this time”.

The photo in question shows Falwell sporting a black T-shirt and dark pants, which are unzipped at the fly, lowered enough to expose Falwell’s navel, stomach and upper crotch.

Falwell’s underwear, which seems to be grey, can be seen. Falwell’s manner of dress in the photo appeared to conflict with Liberty University’s strict dress code, which forbids skirts shorter than two inches above the knees, and bars male students from sporting shorts in class.

In his statement, Falwell described the evolution of his wife’s affair and emotional aftermath – which came to a breaking point amid alleged blackmail threats. Falwell said that he and his wife, Becki, met “an ambitious young man who was working at our hotel and was saving up his money to go to school” during a vacation some eight years ago.

They urged him to pursue an education and career and were “impressed by his initiative in suggesting a local real estate opportunity”. Falwell said his family members invested in a property, including the man in this transaction, believing that he could manage it. Falwell’s family grew close to the man and his family, he claimed.

“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,” Fallwell said.

He added: “After I learned this, I lost 80 pounds and people who saw me regularly thought that I was physically unwell, when in reality I was just balancing how to be most supportive of Becki, who I love, while also reflecting and praying about whether there were ways I could have been more supportive of her and given her proper attention.”

Falwell said that he and Becki forgave each other. Her ex-lover, on the other hand, became “increasingly angry and aggressive” when they tried to distance themselves from him. The man started threatening to publicly expose their affair unless Falwell and his wife paid him off. Falwell and Becki, at the advice of their attorney, stayed in contact and tried to placate him.

When they tried to fully cut ties, Falwell said, the man ramped up his threats to disclose “more outrageous and fabricate claims about us,” and contacted the media. “Over the course of the last few months this person’s behavior has reached a level that we have decided the only way to stop this predatory behavior is to go public,” Falwell claimed.

In a statement to the Washington Examiner, the unnamed man insisted that “any allegation of extortion is falsely, defamatory and belied by clear documentary evidence”.