Back in 2020, news broke that prominent evangelical Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife Becki were involved in a sex scandal. A former pool attendant at a Miami hotel had come forward with a story about his seven-year sexual relationship with Becki. And he claimed that Jerry would sometimes watch (and film) them have sex.
Now, the scandalous story is the subject of a new Hulu documentary called God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty, which lays out the scandal and features interviews with Granda.
Becki isn’t interviewed in the documentary (and neither is Jerry). But she has spoken out about the scandal and her thoughts on the situation. Here’s what she’s said about the whole thing, and what happened to her after the story broke.
Who is Becki Falwell?
Becki Falwell is the wife of former evangelical Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., and daughter-in-law of the late televangelist and Christian leader Jerry Falwell Sr.
Jerry Jr. and Becki met in 1987, when she was 13 years old. Jerry was friends with Becki’s older sister, and the two went on their first date when he was 23, and she was an 18-year-old college freshman, according to Vanity Fair. They fell in love and she dropped out of Liberty to waitress. The two later got married after Jerry graduated from the University of Virginia's law school.
While she was a stay-at-home mom for two decades, Becki also got involved in other conservative projects. She previously served on the advisory board of Women for Trump, and spoke with Jerry at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2019.
She has three children.
Jerry and Becki have three children together: Jerry Falwell III (Trey), Caroline Grace, and Charles Wesley. They have also welcomed a few grandchildren into the Falwell family, too.
What happened with Giancarlo Granda?
Becki met Granda when he was a 20-year-old pool attendant at a hotel in Miami in 2012. The two began a sexual relationship that lasted several years, and in 2020, Granda went public with the story. He also claimed that Becki's husband (and then-president of Liberty University) would watch them have sex, and provided Reuters with emails and texts that showed the sexual nature of the relationship. Becki and Jerry have both denied this.
Granda appears in the Hulu documentary to talk about the affair, and he also has a new book out about the scandal, Off the Deep End: Jerry and Becki Falwell and the Collapse of an Evangelical Dynasty.
FYI, here’s the Amazon description for Granda's new book: “Jerry Falwell Jr. is a prominent figure in the evangelical world whose support for presidential candidate Donald J. Trump helped secure Trump's Republican nomination in 2016. He captured headlines when it was revealed that he and his wife Becki had participated in a years-long bizarre sexual relationship with a pool attendant they met at the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami Beach." It then continues, saying that Granda "is now ready to share the story of his years on an ‘only in America’ rollercoaster ride through the monied corridors of power and profound hypocrisy.”
What else happened with Becki?
Just days after Jerry resigned, an anonymous Liberty student and friend of the couple's son Trey told Politico that Becki had performed oral sex on him at her home in 2008. The student was 22 at the time.
Becki denied the allegation, telling Vanity Fair it was “so ridiculous.”
What has Becki said about the scandal?
Earlier this year, the couple talked to Vanity Fair about Granda's allegations and the affair. Becki explained that she felt lonely as her husband’s career pressures grew. She started noticing that the college-aged men on Liberty University's campus were giving her “attention that I'd never gotten before."
In March of 2012, she began the affair with Granda. "I had someone I could talk to," Becki told Vanity Fair. "It's that dopamine rush. All of a sudden this young, handsome fella starts texting you and giving you attention and you're like, wow, this is kind of nice."
Becki said she decided to end their affair in 2014 after Granda started seriously dating someone else, noting that she "felt guilty."
Are Jerry and Becki Falwell still married?
Yes, Becki and Jerry are still married, and she has shown up in several Instagram posts Jerry has shared over the past few months.
"We're together more than any couple you will ever meet in your life," Becki told Vanity Fair. "He forgave me, and that's what Jesus teaches, forgiveness."
What is Becki Falwell's net worth?
Becki Falwell has a $33 million dollar net worth. This is mostly due to her marriage to Jerry, although she works as a social worker, activist, and media personality, which also contributes to the total, per Mixed Article.
Where is she now?
Becki seems to be living a quiet life in Lynchburg as a mom and grandmother right now. She has an Instagram account, but it’s private. (It does, however, feature a profile photo of herself and Jerry.) And Jerry has shared several snaps from their farm and lake house.
Catch up on all the latest with the Falwell scandal now that God Forbid is available for streaming.
Korin Miller
Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.
