Ted Haggard's Wife, Gayle, Discusses Husband's Same-Sex Attraction

CHICAGO — Former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard's wife says she knew about his struggles with same-sex attraction for years and felt he was "winning the battle" before a scandal involving a male prostitute triggered his downfall in late 2006.

Gayle Haggard makes the remarks in an appearance with her husband on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to air Wednesday. She said she was shocked when Haggard first told her the truth about the allegations against him.

"The first words out of my mouth were, 'Who are you?'" she said, according to a publicity release issued Tuesday by Harpo Productions.

However, Gayle Haggard also said her husband told her early in their 30-year marriage that he "struggled with some thoughts."

"I felt it was the thing that could destroy Ted if he gave in to it," she said. "So I prayed for him and I felt as though he was winning the battle."

Haggard, 52, resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., after the male prostitute went public. Haggard confessed to "sexual immorality."

The scandal widened in recent days with disclosures that Haggard also admitted to an "inappropriate" relationship with a church volunteer, Grant Haas, who was 22 at the time.

Haas told KRDO in Colorado Springs that Haggard performed a sex act in front of him and sent him illicit text messages. He informed New Life Church shortly after the scandal broke, and the two parties reached a settlement in 2007 that included a confidentiality agreement. Haas went public as Haggard is heavily promoting an HBO documentary about his time in exile.

Comments

[DaBluAce]

okie dokie is being pulled again....t­hey are trying to make a buck any way they can!

[Bec01]

Whenever I hear of people like Mr. Haggard or anybody else who is trying to fight their sexuality or is ashamed because he is gay, it makes me want to fly back home and give my parents a big hug and kiss for being accepting, open-minded parents who are not judging people in such an ignorant way.

[maribelle1963]

Ahhh, that's sweet. I hope you at least call them and tell them; they'll appreciate it so much.

(My 14 year old daughter is gay and last week, out of the blue, she gave me a running bear hug and told me how much she appreciated my attitude of acceptance and raising her to be non-homophobic. I was really touched--s­pontaneous appreciation from a teenager--that's change I can believe in! :-)

[dm10003]

you gave her a sense of place in the world, something that all people need to face life, with a fair chance at happiness down to her core!

[haval2]

I love Liberal54.­..nail on the head! why do the evangelicals constantly try to change what God has created. the man is gay. that's not a "bad" thing. it is what it is and all are God's children and loved. Wifey smelled the good life and these camps designed to "turn kids around" are sick, like stunting the growth of one's feet.

[exhale09]

There are Native Americans who see Gay people as being "Two Spirit People"

They recognise that this is how many people are born into the world.

Seems to me that since GOD is THE Creator...­who is anyone else to question His CREATIONS?

I feel sorry for Ted Haggard. He is traumatised by his own religious beliefs. He would be a happier healthier human being if he could just BE who he is...the way THE CREATOR CREATED HIM....and he would not need to hide and slink around in shame and guilt, living a pretense, or do drugs to ease the pain of feeling guilty about his own inborn sexuality.­...the real sin is the HYPOCRISY.

[spartanmom]

Well, since they believe in a god that lies I guess they get a little confused

[Nikola Tesla]

Come to S.F. Haggard family. You will be welcome here.

[wagthedog1001]

As long as they leave Colorado. We have enough religious wackos.

[Nikola Tesla]

How very "Christian" of you.

[Stilts9]

Haggard feels guilty about being gay.

[ReallyMe]

Being a liar however is no problem for his ilk.

[Harinama]

but not about preaching hate and divisiveness to his flock. He should be ashamed of his ego, not his "gayness". I know that if he dropped his church, embraced his sexuality, the gay community, while hating his hypocrisy, would still embrace him as a human being.

Love, compassion, acceptance are the basic tenets of Jesus's teachings. It's too bad that most "christians" do not seem to understand that.

[Strobe74]

HUH.. i can't believe he wasn't able to pray the gay away.. Aren't the evangelicals the one that send kids to gay camp to cure them when they are believed to be homosexual? can't believe it didn't work. Who would have guessed?

[indy girl]

What if they send them to a gay camp to be "cured" and they come home even gayer? Or gay network while they're there?

[sonshine]

I love you guys here at HuffPo. You're clearly the smartest people alive--along with the Kossacks, of course.

[dm10003]

people like this need a few things to really see themselves and create a meaningful life -- things i think they are unlikely to search out. obviously his parents and peers haven't given him decent social tools for the 21st century.

for instance, ted really needs group sessions with other gay fathers, both married and divorced. he has to learn how to view himself in real world forms. and he has to get help with substance abuse.

the reason i think he will never do these things is his determination that he won't see his current straight/g­ay/religio­us/crimina­l social profile as misshapen. on top of all that, out gays will have difficulty accepting him, even if he accepts an out lifestyle.

our criticism may actually help him find himself, his place in his familiy, in society, and the world. but he's resistant.

[Mort]

But they said he was cured!

[bamboozled]

I love that. "Struggled with some thoughts." That would make sense if he didn't act out those thoughts in reality. Whether or not he struggled is irrelevant: He's gay. He had gay sex. Sounds like she's the only one who's struggling with the thought of it.

[ReallyMe]

Anybody else with those thougthts would be villified by their sort... But, with him? It's just a struggle.

[dm10003]

his church villlified him for starters. "struggle" comes from those talking to the press.

[DonCosenza]

Meanwhile, Gene Robinson gets to be a bishop in the Episcopal church *and* openly gay. Looks like you chose the wrong denomination, Ted!

[SSF]

It seems the Evangelical movement is one very large closet. One can only wonder how many more Ted Haggards it conceals!

[MadamRoma]

Oh so many.

[METAL]

Same Sex Addiction huh?...

[dgerzeeboy]

Sadder than his belief that his homosexuality is a battle to be won, sadder than a life of alternating between self-repression and loathing, or continual episodes of fake redemption, is the fact that Ted's an anachronism. He's living in the 50's, when being gay was a mandate to a life of secrecy. His right-wing conservative religious looney belief that being gay is a first class ticket to hell is laughable compared to the hell he lives everyday of his life.

[Hoosierbrad]

OH, but it's so curable! NOT!!