Pastor Carl Lentz's alleged mistress Ranin Karim admits she was 'devastated' when his wife found out

May 2024 · 5 minute read

PASTOR Carl Lentz's alleged mistress Ranin Karim admitted she was "devastated" when his wife found out about their "affair."

Their extramarital relationship ended once Laura Lentz saw their steamy text message exchange.

Ranin went on Good Morning America this morning and gave her first televised interview after Carl was fired from Hillsong due to their affair.

The artist explained that she noticed multiple red flags when she met him, but still went along with their "consensual" affair.

She described that he allegedly told her not to Google him, refused to save her number in his contact list, wouldn't give her his last name, or tell her what he did for a living.

She recounted that he allegedly told her "he worked with celebrities, that he managed celebrities, and traveled with them," but that he still didn't say what he specifically did.

Ranin said: "It was so strange. I realized he was the pastor from Hillsong and I was like 'I've been to this church like six years ago.'"

She claimed that she later confronted him after finding out who he was and asked him "is there something wrong with your marriage that you're sitting with me?" to which he replied no.

Once his wife had found out, she got a call from him at midnight and he allegedly said: "My wife found out and I gotta go." She claimed to be "devastated."

Ranin then revealed that she believed his rising popularity as a celebrity pastor made him seek extramarital affairs, saying: "When you give someone so much power, they become God to people and I think people forgot the sense of religion and believes and he became God for some people."

However, it seems like Ranin wasn't the only "other" woman in Carl's life as three other women have allegedly come forward with claims that they also had affairs with him.

After Carl, 42, was terminated for “breach of trust” and “moral failures” after cheating on his wife of 17-years, church founder Brian Houston announced an investigation is underway.

Following the organization’s proclamation of a deep dive into various claims, a church insider exclusively told The Sun more affairs have already allegedly been exposed. 

The informant said: “Three other women, maybe even more, have come forward in the investigation with allegations of having an affair with Carl."

However, the source said the ladies “do not want any media attention” so will likely “not be going public” for now.

The insider alleged that the father of three’s infidelity has been going on for the last “five or six years.”

Reps for both Carl and Hillsong were not immediately available for comment when contacted by The Sun.

Over the weekend, a Hillsong Church statement confirmed that they were appointing a third party legal team to investigate "wider cultural issues inside the church and that they were taking all concerns "extremely seriously.”

The statement read: "Since last week’s announcement of a leadership change at Hillsong East Coast, we have heard from a number of people about their experiences and concerns.

"It is important that we establish the truth and then do everything we can to ensure our church is both a safe place and one that seeks to glorify God in all that we say and do."

The church continued: "For this reason we have decided to appoint a New York based legal firm that is not associated or affiliated with Hillsong to conduct an in-depth review and investigation into all concerns and any wider cultural issues.

"We are taking this extremely seriously and on the basis of this report, we will be better positioned to take whatever actions are deemed necessary to right the wrongs and see Hillsong East Coast move forward in a way that enables many more people to find hope in Jesus.”

Justin Bieber’s former best pal was one of the lead pastors at Hillsong NYC before being fired.

One day later, it was confirmed he had been engaged in a months-long affair.

The celebrity pastor’s wife Laura - who was another pastor at Hillsong East Coast - was also let go, with sources telling The Sun that church leaders told them: “If a married couple both work at the church and one of them is terminated, they both will be fired immediately.”

Justin and his wife, Hailey Baldwin, have cut all ties with Carl since news of his infidelity broke - after being friends with him for years.

Both of the stars have also unfollowed the celeb favorite on Instagram after The Sun exclusively spoke to Ranin.

Carl and Ranin met in May at Domino Park in Brooklyn, New York, when he approached her to flirt and make small talk.

However, she claimed Carl lied about his true identity and told her he was an unmarried sports agent.

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Their relationship took an explosive turn after she claimed Carl’s wife saw all of their messages - including "naughty photos" - which were connected to his work computer at the church office while several other co-workers were also present.

Read More on The US Sun

As The Sun exclusively reported, Carl and Laura are attempting to make their marriage work as divorce is “the last thing” they want for their family

According to a source close to the Lentz’s, the family quietly moved to Los Angeles last week as they try to make a “fresh start.”

Pastor Carl Lentz's wife discusses the importance of ‘guy time’ in marriage

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