Pastor Jamal Bryant Says ‘Narcissism’ Led Him To Infidelity

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Pastor Jamal Bryant of New Delivery Missionary Baptist Church didn’t maintain again when Kandi Burruss introduced up his headline-making 2016 scandal on her podcast Communicate On It, overtly dishing deets on his divorce from #RHOP’s Gizelle Bryant.

With shocking candor, the 54-year-old pastor revealed that he felt like a whole “narcissist” when information of his fathering a baby with a parishioner at his former church whereas nonetheless married to Gizelle came to gentle.

“Poverty is just not all the time cash. Poverty is the mismanagement of time, and, so, individuals make precedence what must be secondary. It’s a must to be very cautious on the totally different types of narcissism,” Bryant instructed Kandi throughout their uncooked interview in regards to the penalties that unfolded after he admitted to welcoming his son, John Karston Bryant, with a church member named Latoya Shawntee Odom in 2016 (soar to the 30:00 minute mark.)

“Narcissism is a elaborate phrase for egocentric..I wasn’t considering on how will this have an effect on my daughter? How would this have an effect on my marriage? How does it have an effect on my ministry? It was simply, ‘What is going to this do for me?’”

The fallout from the infidelity confession made Pastor Jamal Bryant expertise suicidal ideations.

Bryant shared with Kandi that his profession was hovering when the scandal broke. He had grown his congregation to 10,000 members at Empowerment Temple in Baltimore—the church he based in 2000—and had been fortunately married to Gizelle since 2002. However on the peak of his ministry, the revelation of his infidelity despatched shockwaves by means of each his private {and professional} life, threatening to unravel all the pieces he had constructed. Gizelle filed for divorce in 2009 because of his infidelity, although they reconciled in 2019. The previous couple share three daughters.

Reflecting on the fallout, Bryant stated he wore a “tattoo of disgrace” for years, a sense that hit dwelling when a TSA agent in Fort Lauderdale quietly instructed him, “I heard in regards to the child. Hold your head up,” after the story made nationwide headlines. His congregation additionally started to “shrink,” following the information. The backlash was so intense, he admitted, that he struggled with suicidal ideas through the darkish second.

“I felt just like the partitions had been coming in and I didn’t have anyplace to go.”

When Kandi requested the Baptist pastor how he made it by means of the storm, Bryant stated flat out: “Prayer was my oxygen.”

He continued:

“I wanted to be in another area. When you must disconnect from the truth you’re in, the place you nearly need to have an outer physique expertise, and step again and see your self.”

The spiritual chief, who joined New Delivery Missionary Baptist Church in 2018, stated finally he discovered to forgive himself.

“What I did is just not who I’m, and it’s simpler stated in a more healthy, healed, entire area than when you’re hemorrhaging. In that hemorrhaging area, I wasn’t certain whether or not I’d be capable of breathe once more.”

Regardless of efforts to restore their relationship, Gizelle and the pastor ended their marriage for good in 2021. Bryant later tied the knot with Dr. Karri Turner in 2024. Notably, throughout BravoCon 2023, Gizelle opened up about why she lastly determined to stroll away from the connection with the well-known pastor.

“He and I’ve recognized one another for 20-plus years. We have now three stunning daughters. On the similar time … he was in a unique psychological area,” the truth TV vet stated on the time. “So I felt like if ever [we] had been going to get the household again collectively, that was the time to attempt. It didn’t work out. However I believe I’d have regretted not making an attempt.”

What do you consider Pastor Jamal Bryant’s revelation on Communicate On It?