Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Wife Becki Confirms Affair; Wishes People Would Be 'As Forgiving As Christ'

Becki Tilley Falwell, the 53 year-old wife of evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr., has admitted to her six-year-long affair with a former pool attendant in his 20s.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Falwell admitted to her affair with Granda, which she described as embarrassing and humbling.

“I wish Christians and people would be as forgiving as Christ was,” she said in an interview with The Washington Post.

Mrs. Falwell came clean after news of her sensational affair were exposed, forcing her husband to resign as president of Liberty University in Virginia, the largest evangelical university in the world.

Mrs. Falwell's hand was forced by her husband's public admission of her affair Sunday to the Washington Examiner. In his statement to the newspaper, Falwell said “Becki had an inappropriate personal relationship with this person, something in which I was not involved.”

Mrs. Falwell's illicit relationship with Giancarlo Granda was earlier revealed by Reuters. Apart from revealing his relationship with Mrs. Falwell, Granda also said Jerry Falwell Jr. was sometimes in the bedroom watching as he made love to his wife. The former pool boy later became the Falwell's business partner in a hotel.

“He enjoyed watching us in person and also remotely through video cameras,” said Granda.” He also listened to our phone calls.”

Granda said he had sex with Mrs. Falwell “multiple times per year.” He said their liaisons, which began in 2012, took place at hotels in Miami and New York, and sometimes at the Falwell's home in Virginia.

Falwell said his indecision over his resignation from Liberty was because he wanted to avoid giving credibility to Granda's claim he liked to watch his wife make love to another man. He told The Post the Reuters story was “90 percent false.”

Granda responded to Falwell's denial by later issuing a statement accusing Falwell of lying. He stood by his claims some of his sexual encounters with Mrs. Falwell were witnessed by her husband.

In an effort to hang on to his position, Falwell first said he was only going on take a leave but pressure from the university's board of trustees forced him to resign because of "hypocrisy." Falwell, who headed the university since 2007, confirmed his resignation to media Tuesday. He was replaced by former chair Jerry Prevo, who will remain acting president until a new leader is found.

Falwell said he resigned as Liberty's president in part because he didn't want his wife’s conduct to embarrass the Christian university. He also said he's bored with the job and wanted to move on.