Pastor And Seminary Professor Commits Suicide After He Was Outed In Ashley Madison Leak

A beloved pastor and seminary professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary was found deceased just a week after he was outed in the Ashley Madison leak. The 56-year-old pastor, John Gibson, mentioned the adultery website leak in his suicide note along with other “demons” he faced on a daily basis. His wife says she just wishes that John would have offered forgiveness to himself like he had done for so many others over his life.

CNN Money reports that pastor John Gibson was found deceased in his home on August 24, 2015, by his wife Christi. The father-of-two, husband, pastor, and seminary professor had committed suicide after a battle with depression, personal “demons,” and the inclusion of his name on the Ashley Madison leak. Gibson left a suicide note which outlined the demons that ultimately led to the taking of his own life. Christi noted that John explained in the note that he was just “very sorry.” Christi went on to say that she just wishes her husband could have forgiven himself and that “it wasn’t so bad” that she could have forgiven him.

“He talked about depression. He talked about having his name on there, and he said he was just very, very sorry. What we know about him is that he poured his life into other people, and he offered grace and mercy and forgiveness to everyone else, but somehow he couldn’t extend that to himself. It wasn’t so bad that we wouldn’t have forgiven it, and so many people have said that to us, but for John, it carried such a shame.”

According to People Magazine, Christi claims that the pastor and seminary professor was afraid he would lose his job over the Ashley Madison scandal and that he just couldn’t cope. The grieving wife says that the hardest part was telling the couple’s two children that their father had taken his own life.

“It was a moment that life doesn’t prepare you for. I had to call my kids. How do you tell your kids that their dad is gone and that he took his own life?”

Avid Life Media, the company that owns Ashley Madison, is offering a $379,000 to catch the Ashley Madison hackers and says they won’t stop until the hackers are identified. Meanwhile, Christi just wants the hackers and people reading the list to know that the people affected have real feelings and are experiencing real loss. For those families suffering from the hack, Christi says don’t underestimate the power of love and that suicide is not the answer.

“These were real people with real families, real pain and real loss, but don’t underestimate the power of love. Nothing is worth the loss of a father and a husband and a friend. It just didn’t merit it. It didn’t merit it at all.”

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