The "Other Woman" Speaks Out

Teryl says she found out her husband—the worship leader at their church—was having an affair when she overheard a suspicious telephone conversation. "I walked in and heard him say to her, 'I wish you weren't working today, because I'd try to buzz out to see you for a while,'" she says. "I instantly knew something wasn't right, and my heart started pounding."

At the time, Teryl was pregnant with their fourth child, the couple's first son.

Although Teryl says she was devastated by the affair, she fought to save her marriage. When her husband decided to leave, she says she grabbed him by the ankles and tried to prevent him from walking out of the door. "I held onto him because he really represented my dreams, my life," she says. "He was a part of me. … It was like my life was ending."

Teryl's divorce is now final, and they have joint custody of their children. "He takes his time with them and he does a good job with them and I'm thankful for that," she says.

Teryl says she holds her husband responsible for his mistakes, but also blames the other woman. She wrote a letter to her husband's mistress to express her pain. The letter read:

What can I possibly say to the woman who has aided in the demise of my life? I wish I could stand in front of you to voice these thoughts so you could see the real person in me, the real tears that fall, and the real pain I have endured. … As a woman, I can't possibly understand how you are comfortable with completely tearing apart our family. If your relationship with a married man is all you've ever dreamt for yourself, then you haven't set your aspirations high enough. You are worth more than a man who would leave his entire family and his entire life.