Embattled evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned Monday as president of Liberty University, the Christian school founded by his late father, a spokesman for the school told CNN.
The Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia, will issue a statement soon, Liberty University spokesman Scott Lamb said.
The resignation of Falwell, one of President Trump’s most prominent evangelical backers, comes after the latest in a series of recent public controversies about his behavior.
A Miami man is saying he had an eight-year affair with Falwell Jr.’s wife after he met the couple at a Miami hotel. In a statement to CNN, Falwell Jr., acknowledged the affair.
Falwell Jr., 58, who was on leave from the school, issued a lengthy statement Sunday saying he and his family were blackmailed by the man, who had an "inappropriate personal relationship" with his wife Becki.
Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife Becki Falwell speak during a town hall meeting on the opioid crisis in March 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In his statement, obtained by CNN and first reported by the Washington Examiner, Falwell Jr. said the affair led to stress, weight loss and the feeling that he was "living on a roller coaster."
