Disgraced ex Rev. Ted Haggard is working every angle to stay in the media, and was recently booked on FOX”s “Divorce Court.”
The former evangelical pastor and his wife are planning another TV appearance after their HBO documentary, “The Trials Of Ted Haggard,” aired in January.
The two taped an appearance on the syndicated Twentieth Television show “Divorce Court,” to be broadcast nationally April 1.
The show’s judge, Lynn Toler, interviewed the couple about how their marriage survived after a male prostitute was found to be involved in a sex and drugs fueled-relationship with Ted Haggard in November 2006.
The scandal forced Haggard to resign as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and New Life Church in Colorado Springs.
The Haggards appeared at the wintertime Television Critics’ Association (TCA’s) and Ted was asked why he bothered to star in an upcoming HBO documentary, The Trials of Ted Haggard.
“We were unable to answer questions for two years. Now that we have this freedom to answer questions, we want to answer the questions. That’s all we want to do.”
Haggard’s wife and two of his children appeared on a panel for U.S. television critics to endorse his documentary. Talking of the documentary, Haggard said, “I don’t think it is a flattering piece. I think it is even-handed. It is embarrassing for me for people to see it, but it does answer their questions.”
Haggard explained that he had an “agreement” with his church that he would not tell his story. He claimed he was “stalked” by the press for two years.
Talking of his exile, he said, “My hope was always that I could deal with my issue on my own. That’s why I kept it secret, in hope I could deal with it on my own.”
“I am grateful now for Mike’s (prostitute Mike Jones) decision to expose that. I am grateful for my family’s decision to be faithful to me when I wasn’t faithful to them.”
Haggard revealed his arrangement with his church: “There were two contracts I signed. One with the overseers and the restorers was released in January of 2008. The one with the church was released just a few weeks ago, in December. Both of them asked or required us not to speak to the media, not to grant an interview was the idea, as I understood it. So we honored that.”
“We couldn’t speak to the media, we couldn’t grant an interview; we couldn’t do anything like that. Both contracts required that,” elaborated Haggard.
Haggard shared he no longer was a preacher, and sold life insurance.
Crystal Meth and gay sex are two of his old demons he hopes to never revisit. “The slice of it is I think sexuality is confusing and complex. And what this process did for me was to be able to discuss my own sexuality thoroughly with Gayle (wife) ad with the children and my therapist. The overseers were so thoughtful and wise they sent me and Gayle and the children to therapy instead of off to a monastery or a retreat. And where I am now is, I am thoroughly and completely satisfied with my relationship with my wife. But the process is on-going in me as I work through issues in my life and thoughts and all of that. I am in a very positive, constructive process. As for the drugs, I’m not sure what I bought.”
“This is part of Ted’s journey,” Gayle Haggard said. “It’s made him a better man. I see what has happened as a divine rescue.”
She said she was helped through her darkest hours by the biblical principles of forgiveness along with her husband’s repentance.
The couple will be paid an undisclosed amount for the interview, the latest in a series of public appearances that started in January when Ted Haggard began promoting the HBO documentary about his time in exile. He has been booked on the ”Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Larry King Live.”
In the coming months, he’s scheduled to speak at prominent U.S. evangelical churches, and is mulling over public speaking offers from secular organizations, but he said he has no plans to start a church.
“I think he is better equipped to minister to people than ever before,” his wife said.
