A Jerusalem-based Christian evangelical TV network that reaches hundreds of millions of homes is in very public chaos after the founder’s wife told viewers her husband, under the sway of the devil, had left her for another woman.

Wendy Alec told viewers last week that her husband Rory now lives on a farm in South Africa with a divorced jazz musician. She said the woman “had an audible voice from God that Rory was the man of her life” and that “the “devil got in very, very easily” to destroy her marriage.

The Alecs, South Africans who were married 27 years ago, launched God TV in London in 1995.

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Its main studio is in Jerusalem, “where it hosts events that are attended by leading Israeli officials,” according to the Daily Telegraph. “It employs more that 100 people at a headquarters and studios in Plymouth.”

God TV has broadcast from Israel since 2001, carrying a mix of programming involving various Christian leaders, live broadcasts, and satellite link-ups. It is available around the world, including on the US DirecTV satellite platform and Britain’s SKY.

In 2008, the network hosted 1,800 visitors to Israel for “A Celebration of Israel’s 60th Anniversary” in the Old City of Jerusalem. A year later, it reportedly partnered with the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to plant half-a-million dollars worth of trees in the Negev.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niTfqPdRQE8

Rory Alec issued a statement last month acknowledging that “After 20 years of service, I have had a moral failure this year. For this reason, I am stepping down.” Calling himself “an imperfect man,” he added: “It is with a heavy heart that I confirm my season with God TV is over for now.”

His name no longer appears on the network’s online leadership list.

Wendy Alec told viewers that “The princes of hell designed a perfect strategy” to seduce her husband, indicating he had been led astray while producing a jazz album for his new love. “It was a real strategic attack against his mind… The music studio is one of the most seductive environments you can have.”

She herself had never had an affair, she said, and she also denied that the couple had lived a lavish lifestyle.