The wife of Georgia televangelist Bishop Eddie Long has filed for divorce, according to a statement issued Friday by her attorney.
Vanessa G. Long’s statement did not specify why she is seeking a divorce from Long.
“It is my sincere hope that this matter can be resolved expeditiously, harmoniously, and fairly,” she said in the statement. “I ask that you respect my privacy and that of my family, as my attorneys and I have agreed that we will not try this case in the media, and I do not intend to make any further statements concerning this matter.”
Last spring, Long settled a lawsuit filed by four young men who accused him of pressuring them into sexual relationships while they were teenagers and members of Long’s congregation at New Life Missionary Church in Lithonia, Georgia.
Long is also being sued by former parishioners who accuse him of getting them to invest in a Ponzi scheme that wiped out at least $1 million in their retirement savings.
**UPDATE**
Around lunchtime, in a statement sent through New Birth’s public relations firm, Vanessa Long said, upon further “prayerful reflection,” she was withdrawing the divorce petition.
“I love my husband,” she said in the second press release. “I believe in him and admire his strength and courage.”
Long, a New Birth elder, said her decision to seek a divorce was driven by “years of attacks in the media that frustrated and overwhelmed me.” She and her husband “mutually agreed to find healing,” Vanessa Long said.
