Now, I have a similar sad story to relate--I speak of the divorce and second marriage of Pat Williams.
Recently, my own marriage was helped by reading a book written by Pat and his wife Jill--a book I'd heard about when it first came out but had never read. I remembered that I hadn't heard from them since they were given a big magazine spread featuring them and their 18 children (14 of whom were adopted). I found, to my dismay, that--only 10 years after publishing a book sharing how Pat was able to singlehandedly save their marriage--Jill once again felt estranged from him, but this time, unlike before, she saw divorce as the solution. Their divorce wasn't even final yet when Pat fell in love with a single mother of one, whom his website now says, "Pat and his wife, Ruth, are the parents of 19 children, including 14 adopted from four nations, ranging in age from 26 to 40." As in the case of Arthur and Sherry, there is not a single mention of the woman with whom he posed with all 18 children. The woman with whom he coauthored at least three books. The woman who pushed him to adopt all those children in the first place.
Pat, on the other hand, had gone on with nary a glitch. Like Arthur, he's very close to the children and now their children. He's even had the temerity to coauthor, with new item Ruth, a book on raising a megafamily (he and Jill coauthored one back when they had only 10 children).
This adds to the considerable list of people who have appeared on Focus on the Family to talk about how God's hand was upon their marriage--only to disappear off the radar later on when, apparently, it wasn't.
ADDED MARCH 28, 2014
This post is a big hit today. In trying to find out why, I've found a few other articles on the story And--dreadful. He's written another book with his latest item, "Happy Spouse, Happy House."
UPDATE May 2021
In response to a recent reader (most recent comment) I've added a link to his website (the page has, of course, long been deleted, but whoever did so wasn't quite successful at erasing its existence entirely), and edited this post to more precisely quote the websites I linked to. I've even taken a look at the book he subsequently wrote, in which he does open up quite a bit about how his marriage unraveled. Jill moved out on him in early 1994--pretty interesting given that they released a commemorative edition of their "Rekindled' book in August 1995!
For those who are wondering, Jill--according to her Facebook page--married someone else as well.
ReplyDeleteTwenty-nine years ago my wife ran off with my golfing buddy. She "no faulted" me. We had been married in a triple wedding(3 sisters). For 10 years I was a happy camper! They married. I have remained "single until reconciled."(I Cor. 7:10) While they had been foolin' around behind my back, they tried to use Pat's "Rekindled" book to blame me for my wife's "syn"-opsis of our marriage.... this all the while(behind my back) they were taking "long drives" with each other on Sunday afternoons. Years later I called in on a LIVE CBN program where they were interviewing Pat pushing that very same book. I phoned and miraculously got plugged in live to ask Pat, "Jill wasn't 100% innocent as you state in the book, was she"? They cut me off and Pat gave some hemmed and hawed response. Again, years later, when I was walking into my grocery store, who but, none other than Pat, pulls up next to me, with his window down. He was pleading hysterically, "Do you know where the NEAREST post office box is located"? He was waving a large manilla envelope and seemingly needed it to be mailed YESTERDAY! I cried, "Hey Pat...how's it going"?(which MUST have added to his hysteria)! I sent him inside the store to inquire. This was 40 miles north of Orlando at 9:00 PM...and at the same exact time that Shaquille O'Neal was considering leaving the Orlando Magic(Pat was VP)for greener pastures. The rest is history, but NOT completely over. Pat's boss and I attended the same church. I discussed my contact with Pat and the divorces. The boss (who should know)admitted that there had been NO innocent party before Pat's break-up. You NEVER know who you are going to run into...Years later I phoned my "one flesh for life" spouse and said, "Hi, this is Chuck." She paused and asked, "Chuck who"? Man I miss my golfing buddy! See I Cor. 6:9-10.
ReplyDeleteIn checking out "Happy Spouse, Happy House" by Pat and Ruth Williams, I see where they give great credance to Dr. Ed Wheat's book, "Love Life for Every Married Couple" which ironically is the same book Pat credits for saving his marriage with Jill and thus came about the book by he and Jill, "Rekindled".
ReplyDeleteI have to wonder if Pat and his second wife should have written a book together. I understand they're now married. But, I feel writing a book about your second marriage is not the best thing to do.
DeleteThis is the church adopting the world's spirit of feminism (the devil turning God's order upside down) and claiming if there are marriage problems it's automatically the man's fault... so how did that work out for Pat and Jill? Did you ever notice that "christian" marriage books don't even know what the Bible says to wives?
ReplyDeleteYou can read Pat's side of the story of why he and Jill got a divorce for free (first chapter)if you click on Look Inside: https://www.amazon.com/Ahead-Game-Pat-Williams-Story/dp/0800723724/
ReplyDeleteFactual correction:. Part did not immediately marry after his divorce from Jill. It was three years later before he met his current wife.
ReplyDeleteI never said he married her on the bounceback. I said she was a new item. When a couple makes the move to acquire government approval on their adulterous relationship is of little signifcance to the timeline, in my opinion.
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