Christian relationship guru Derrick Jaxn admits extramarital affairs; wife says God has forgiven him
Gripping tightly to his forgiving wife’s hand on Monday, popular Christian relationship guru Derrick Jaxn, who is well known for preaching a message that black men don't cheat, confessed to his millions of social media followers that he had been unfaithful to his wife multiple times.
“This chapter of our marriage was one that was preceded by a marriage that I completely failed," Jaxn (also known as Jackson) revealed in a video posted on Facebook, with his wife Da'Naia by his side.
"I would say it started around August or September of last year. But a lot has been said already about what was the cause. And some of it is true, some of it is completely false. But the truth is, and I’m saying it here now, is that Derek Jackson was involved with other women outside the marriage."
"And by involved, I want to be clear: I’m not just talking about casually kicking it maybe at lunch or something like that," he continued. "I’m talking about as serious as sex, sexual flirtation and that kind of thing."
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Jaxn’s confession comes just days after vlogger Tasha K. interviewed a woman identified as Candice De Medeiros, who said she had an affair with Jaxn. She alleges that Jaxn told her he was separated from his wife of four years.
De Medeiros said that last July, Jaxn planned a lavish Miami trip during which they had sex. She claimed that he also took her to his marital home in Atlanta, where they also connected while his family was away.
“All of it falls under the umbrella of inappropriate, cheating, affairs, stepping out. Definitely not in line with the vows that I took and definitely not in the line with the biblical standard of what it means to be faithful, which is the standard that I’m going by now,” Jaxn admitted Monday.
He further stated that he previously confessed “everything” to his wife and wanted to confess publicly to be transparent.
“I’m saying this publicly, not because I’m married to you guys," he said. "First and foremost, I’m accountable to God, and then I have to be accountable to my wife in which I’ve already had this conversation."
Jaxn apologized for not practicing the messages he has been preaching and made clear that he did not stand by his behavior.
“Now that it’s been made so public, it’s important that I, first off, let you guys know that I do not stand by those actions. I don’t want to encourage anybody to do that. And then secondly, I know that I cannot build a platform preaching certain things, preaching against certain things, and then in my real life, live contrary to that for any amount of time or any length of time to any extent and think that I can’t be held accountable," he said.
“The same way that I preach that men and women in this situation need to face consequences for their actions, deserve to be held accountable, guess what? Derrick Jackson is no exception. He’s not exempt from that. I’m also not a victim. Nobody made me do this. She didn’t make me or push me to do it. The next person didn’t influence me …"
When he asked his wife if she wanted to say anything after his confession, Da'Naia Jackson said she agreed with everything her husband said. She made it clear that her decision to remain by his side should not be interpreted as tolerating his actions.
She explained that she had been flooded with messages asking, “why haven’t I left?” She revealed that she did initially leave her husband when she learned of his indiscretions.
“The answer is: when I found out about it, I left. I did not hesitate or waste time to do so. And I stayed gone. No matter how many times he came, I stayed gone. And stood firm on 'I’m not coming back.' And I did not come back until I see a shift and change in his mentality in how he carried himself, in how he presented himself in conversations that we were able to have, that we have never been able to have in just 12 years of knowing each other,” she detailed.
“We were able to have these dialogues. [I] said, 'OK Lord, this is something that you’ve had your hand on.' And this was with me being completely removed from his life, and in him pursuing God, continuing to pursue God and continuing to eliminate these things that led up to the catastrophe that you guys are seeing for the first time."
She added that she and her husband are getting counseling, and men of God are currently guiding him.
“I forgave him. And most importantly, God has first forgiven him, and I also forgive the others as well. And with that, we are free and moving forward. So that’s all I have,” she concluded.
Jaxn apologized to his fans after his wife’s comments and said he understood if people didn’t want to listen to him again after hearing about his sins.
“I get it. [To] some of you, all this may have come as a huge shock, a huge disappointment. I let a lot of you down," he said. "If you’ve had a perspective shift on who Derrick [is], hopefully, it’s away from anything remotely close to perfection, and it’s simply that I am a human. And that does not justify anything that I did, but I don’t want anybody out there putting me on a pedestal."
"If you did, then I hate that you did that," he continued. "Maybe I gave you cause. I apologize if I did. For those who are saying, 'Derrick, I don’t ever want to listen to you again,' it’s understandable. I appreciate you while I had your support.”
Jackson is now promoting his latest book, titled Heal Together.
“No matter how badly you’ve been hurt in the past or present, God didn’t give you a desire for a healthy marriage without also providing an action plan to manifest it into your reality,” a blurb about the book on his website reads.
