Jim Bakker, the disgraced televangelist who built a TV empire with then-wife Tammy Faye in the 1970s and ’80s, died on Monday, October 5. He was 86.
“It is with a broken heart that I share that my beloved husband, Jim Bakker, went home to be with the Lord this evening,” Jim’s second wife, Lori Bakker, announced via the former PTL Club cohost’s Instagram account.
Lori, 69, noted that Jim was “a pioneer of Christian television” to many people, “but to me, he was my husband, my best friend, and the man I was honored to walk beside through so many seasons of life and ministry.”
Reflecting on her husband’s 66 years “preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Lori wrote, “Jim loved people deeply. He loved this ministry, and he loved the friends and partners who stood with him throughout the years. Even in his final days, his heart was still for the work of God and for the Gospel to continue reaching the world.”
Celebrity Deaths of 2026: Robert Kelker-Kelly and More Stars We’ve Lost This Year
Lori concluded her statement by asking for “prayers and privacy during this time,” adding that Jim’s “legacy will never be forgotten.”
Lori did not share Jim’s cause of death, though he suffered a minor stroke in 2020.
Born in Michigan, Jim was best known for cohosting The PTL Club with the equally charismatic Tammy Faye from 1974 to 1989. The Christian TV show — which stood for “Praise the Lord” — drew 13 million viewers a night at its peak, according to the Associated Press.
However, in 1987, Jim’s world began to crumble when he admitted to having sex with a 21-year-old church secretary, Jessica Hahn, in 1980 when he was 40. Hahn claimed Jim had drugged and raped her, which he denied, though it was later revealed that he had paid her $279,000 in 1985 in exchange for her silence.
Jim subsequently resigned from his PTL empire as Tammy Faye stood by her husband, whom she had married in 1961.
Ex Televangelist Arrested in Missouri, Accused of Child Sexual Abuse
Things only got worse for Jim in 1988 when he was indicted for mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy after an investigation into PTL’s finances. He was convicted on all 24 counts in 1989 and sentenced to 45 years in federal prison. Jim was ultimately released on parole in 1994 after serving less than five years behind bars.
Tammy Faye divorced Jim in 1992 while he was incarcerated. She married Roe Messner the following year. Tammy Faye died at 65 in 2007 after battling cancer for 11 years.
Jim, for his part, wed Lori in 1998. He returned to televangelism in 2003 with The Jim Bakker Show.
In addition to Lori, Jim is survived by his seven children, two of whom he welcomed with Tammy Faye and five he adopted during his second marriage.
