Embattled evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned Monday as president of Liberty University, the Christian school founded by his late father, a spokesman for the school told CNN.<br /><br />The Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia, will issue a statement soon, Liberty University spokesman Scott Lamb said.<br />The resignation of Falwell, one of President Trump's most prominent evangelical backers, comes after the latest in a series of recent public controversies about his behavior.<br />A Miami man is saying he had an eight-year affair with Falwell Jr.'s wife after he met the couple at a Miami hotel. In a statement to CNN, Falwell Jr., acknowledged the affair.<br />Falwell Jr., 58, who was on leave from the school, issued a lengthy statement Sunday saying he and his family were blackmailed by the man, who had an "inappropriate personal relationship" with his wife Becki.<br />Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife Becki Falwell speak during a town hall meeting on the opioid crisis in March 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.<br />In his statement, obtained by CNN and first reported by the Washington Examiner, Falwell Jr. said the affair led to stress, weight loss and the feeling that he was "living on a roller coaster."
