Who is Jay Bakker, son of Jim Bakker? Months before PTL founder's death, son spoke about his relationship with father and the 1987 scandal changed his childhood

Jim Bakker, who built the PTL television empire with his first wife Tammy Faye Bakker, has died at the age of 86. Bakker died Monday, according to a statement from his second wife, Lori Bakker. His cause of death was not immediately clear. Jay Bakker, the son of televangelists Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, grew up at the centre of one of America’s biggest television ministries before watching his family’s world collapse. Years later, he has spoken openly about alcoholism, rebellion, fear and his complicated relationship with his father, offering a deeply personal account of growing up after the scandal.

Who is Jay Bakker?

James Charles "Jay" Bakker is an American pastor, author and speaker. He is the son of Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, the televangelist couple who built a hugely successful television ministry. During their years of fame, Jim and Tammy Faye were described as America's reigning royalty of television, while Jay was their publicly adored child. As Jay entered adolescence, the collapse of his parents' public standing became increasingly difficult to deal with. ABC News reported that the fallout from their downfall contributed to his struggles with alcoholism and rebellion.

The 1987 scandal that changed Jay Bakker's childhood

The turning point came in 1987, when the Charlotte Observer reported on Jim Bakker's affair with Jessica Hahn, a Christian secretary. According to Jay's account, in an excerpt from his book Fall to Grace: A Revolution of God, Self, and Society, published by Today.com in 2011, the revelation made an already difficult family situation even worse. Jay recalled that "things went from bad to worse" after the newspaper revealed that his father had had an affair seven years earlier. The news came after Jay's mother had "accidentally overdosed".


The scandal devastated Jim Bakker's ministry and transformed the family from television royalty into the target of widespread ridicule. Tammy Faye, in particular, became a frequent subject of mockery because of her mascara-ladden heavy eye makeup. For Jay, the humiliation was deeply personal. Reflecting on that period, he recalled turning to drinking and partying as a way to escape, saying he wanted to "be someone else."

Jay Bakker on his complicated relationship with his father

Jim Bakker's imprisonment created another major separation between father and son. In the same excerpt from his book Jay described how their relationship changed during those years. He wrote that his father's absence became an "excuse for drinking", but even after Jim was released from prison five years later, Jay found it difficult to stop.

The five-year gap had changed them both. Jay recalled entering that period as a frightened 13-year-old known as Jamie Charles and emerging at 18 as "Jay", pierced and struggling with alcoholism. Their reunion, he acknowledged, did not go smoothly.

Jim Bakker tried to bring his son back to Christianity

Jay also recalled his father's attempts to redirect him towards Christianity. When those efforts failed, Jim sent him to Arizona for a young ministers training camp called Master's Commission. Jay described the programme as being heavily focused on control. He recalled that the counsellors had been warned about his rebellious personality and had developed different approaches to handling him, including assigning "good cop", "bad cop" and even a flirtatious fellow rebel.

Looking back, Jay said he quickly saw through the strategy.

Jay Bakker took to Instagram following his father Jim Bakker’s death, describing the loss as “very difficult” and acknowledging their “very complicated relationship.” He wrote that Jim was also his father and grandfather, adding that he needed to “mourn in my own time” and have the freedom to “feel anger and feel loss.” Jay also asked people to respect his privacy and not send or link him to anything about his father at that time.

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Jay Bakker recalls fear and death threats

Decades after the scandal, Jay revisited those childhood memories in an interview with WCNC in February 2026. He spoke about growing up amid intense scrutiny and fear, explaining that the family required security because of death threats. Jay also described how dramatically life changed between the period before the scandal and what followed. The local news coverage was no longer something distant to him. It had become inseparable from his own home life. Reflecting on the 1987 fallout, he said that it "just didn't feel like I was welcomed in my own home."

Where is Jay Bakker now?

In the same February 2026 interview with WCNC, Jay revealed that he is based in Seattle, where he remains close to his children while balancing several jobs alongside his religious work. He continues to lead Revolution Church, a ministry he started more than 30 years ago. His life today looks very different from the world of television fame in which he grew up. Jay said he paints, does lawn work and works after school at his children's school.

More about Jim Bakker

Jim Bakker had built the PTL television empire with his first wife Tammy Faye Bakker. His ministry eventually collapsed following a sex scandal and financial crimes. The couple later lived near Branson, Missouri, and filmed The Jim Bakker Show there after it launched in 2003. Bakker suffered a stroke in 2020.

But it was The PTL Club that established Jim and Tammy Faye as cultural icons. The couple became fixtures of American popular culture and were frequently mocked by late-night comedians during the 1980s and 1990s. Their story later reached the big screen through The Eyes of Tammy Faye, a theatrical film released in September 2021.

How Jim and Tammy Faye built the PTL empire

At the height of their influence, the PTL Club reportedly attracted up to 13 million viewers each night, while their Christian-focused empire also included the Heritage USA theme park and hotel in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The Michigan-born Jim Bakker married Tammy Faye in 1961. Jim preached while Tammy Faye sang and played the accordion at churches. Their work eventually caught the attention of televangelist Pat Robertson. In 1965, they launched a children's programme on Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network. By 1966, Jim was hosting The 700 Club, the Christian talk show.

Bakker left CBN in 1972 and established the PTL Satellite Network two years later. The PTL Club, with PTL standing for "Praise the Lord", became the network's signature programme. By the 1980s, the show had reached millions of viewers and generated millions of dollars annually from followers, turning the Bakkers into one of America's most prominent televangelist families.