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Online! | | Jaci Velasquez Divorced | | [img]https://www.sermonindex.net/images/forum/2004/may/featured_news.gif[/img]
Less than two years after her 2003 wedding made the news, Christian/Latin music superstar Jaci Velasquez's marriage has ended in divorce.
Velasquez and Indiana native Darren Potuck were married on August 16, 2003, in Franklin, Tennessee. But their marriage later "took a turn," Velasquez told Christian Music Today in an exclusive statement.
"When my husband and I started out as newlyweds, we were like all newlyweds, wanting that dream marriage," Velasquez said. "Somehow, things took a turn and we have ended up in divorce."
Velasquez did not elaborate on the reasons for the divorce.
A Word Records spokesman said Velasquez and Potuck had worked to save their marriage, and Velasquez alluded to that in her statement.
"I sought counseling," said the 25-year-old singer, "but the painful truth is that our marriage didn't work out. I've had such a difficult time with this. My heart hurt so badly that I felt like I wanted to crawl under a rock and just die. I can't say that I have ever felt such pain before. My heart literally felt like it was breaking in half."
Velasquez referenced "Lay It Down," the second radio single from her new album, Beauty Has Grace, to describe what she's now experiencing. The lyrics to that song include these lines: "All of my hopes and my dreams and my best laid plans / Are slowly slipping through my folded hands."
"I am learning how to live out the words of 'Lay It Down' daily and experiencing God's love, grace and mercy like never before," she said. "My God is so awesome, I can feel him lift me up every time I feel like it's all too much for me."
Velasquez further said she has not discussed the divorce "because it is clearly too painful. I am still in the healing process and ask for your prayers and consideration for my privacy."
In a 2004 interview with Christian Music Today, Velasquez had described her husband as "the greatest, the funniest, and the coolest guy you'll ever meet.
Any girl wants a guy that will be hers forever, and that's how I feel with him."
Velasquez, a Grammy nominee and multi-platinum selling artist in both the Christian and Latin markets, recently moved to London, but is still making appearances in the U.S. She will appear at the Soul2Soul Honors 2005 event August 26 in Louisville, and she will appear at a Nashville Hecht's department store August 27 in support of the M·A·C AIDS Fund.
She is currently working on her next CD, an all-Spanish for the Latin market. Velasquez is also the founder of her own Christian music label, Apostrophe Records.
Her divorce is the highest-profile divorce in Christian music since Amy Grant's 1999 divorce from Gary Chapman. Grantlike Velasquez a Word Records artistlater married country music superstar Vince Gill.
After Grant's divorce became public, many radio stations stopped playing her songs and many Christian retailers refused to stock her albums. But Grant has made a comeback in Christian music circles in recent years, especially with her two hymns albums, Legacy (2002) and Rock of Ages (2005).
Regarding Velasquez, a Word Records representative said the label is "not concentrating on radio or retail sales. We love Jaci, and we're concentrating on Jaci and helping her work through this."
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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
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|  2005/8/23 16:39 | Profile | ZekeO
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| | Re: Jaci Velasquez Divorced | | Very sad.
It must be exhausting to live your life in front of the whole world. In reference to the 2004 quote and then now, gracious, no wonder she wants to crawl under a rock. Shame. :-(
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Zeke Oosthuis
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| | 2005/8/23 16:50 | Profile | Yodi
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| | Re: Jaci Velasquez Divorced | | Hmmm... it's unclear what the grounds for divorce were here. [shaking head] I don't understand... if you're a Christian, you know that God doesn't like divorce. It's... a non-negotiable, unacceptable issue. If either one of them committed adultry or if her husband was an unbeliever and couldn't stay with her being a believer, there's Biblical grounds for that. But all I read here was that, "our marriage didn't work out". She's supposed to be a Christian artist. I don't get it. Isn't this a bad example?
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Yolanda Fields
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| | 2005/8/23 16:52 | Profile |
| | Re: | | Why is this even posted here? Seems like gossip to me... I'm sure both parties are hurting in this divorce. Why do we all need to know all about it?
Krispy |
| | 2005/8/23 16:54 | | KingJimmy
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| | Re: | | I don't think something that was published in Christianity Today as a result of her interview for the public constitutes gossip.
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Jimmy H
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| | 2005/8/23 16:58 | Profile | sermonindex
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Online! | | Re: | | I personally heard alot from jaci v. about sobriety, purity and other virtues preached from her music and witness to the world. And now her allowing her witness to be ruined like this is awful, it does require the prayers of the saints. But also is an ensample for us to walk in a way that is more pure not allowing ourselves to fall in the same way shaming the witness of Christ.
I just found the news very dis-heartening but reality so I posted it.
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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
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| | 2005/8/23 17:00 | Profile | MrBillPro
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| | Re: | | Quote:
KrispyKrittr wrote:
Why is this even posted here? Seems like gossip to me... I'm sure both parties are hurting in this divorce. Why do we all need to know all about it?
Krispy
Maybe this is the reason,The Word says your sins will find you out. Is Divorce a sin?
O Lordy here we go again. :-?
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Bill
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| | 2005/8/23 17:04 | Profile | sermonindex
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Online! | | Re: | | "Our sins shall find us out" where is that scripture anyone?
God has been speaking that to my heart personally it does not matter if we are a public figure like Jaci v. or just a follower of Jesus Christ in nomial life "our sins WILL find us out" we need to live circumspectly for the days are evil.
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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
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| | 2005/8/23 17:06 | Profile | Yodi
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| | Re: | | Forthright and honest, Velasquez shares the strain that her parents marriage endured. It had a lot to do with the fact that they had a daughter who was a traveling singer and who took my mother [away for periods of time]; I had to travel with my mom because I was a little girl, comments Velasquez.
She now attributes some of the growing up shes incurred to the stress of her parents divorce. I grew up mentally at a place I didnt really want to grow up. I wish I could have stayed 17 forever and thinking that I was living out a fairytale.
In spite of the tough times Velasquez has endured personally, her professional career has thrived. She feels her fairy tale life is continuing in the musical realm. However, more important to her than the musical success, is the way her personal challenges have helped her grow spiritually.
I guess you have to go through the hard times to see the light, and I did. I had to go through the hard times; I had to see what not living in such a little safe place, what thats like. Velasquez says the divorce made me question [Gods goodness and faithfulness], but also I believe when you question things, it makes you stronger.
I see that as a positive thing that I can sit there and question and go, God, are You really there? Because then at that point, He shows you [that He has been there all along].
Velasquez encourages other teens whose families are battling separation and divorce: The best encouragement is [to know that] our parents are still only human. Were [all] human beings; were not perfect. People are not perfect, and God really is. And in spite of our unfaithfulness, He shows His faithfulness. Thats what I think the divorce has taught me.
She also emphasizes the importance of loving your family as they are, not as you wish they would be. The depth of Velasquezs love for her family is evident in the respect she has for their advice. She credits her loving family for constantly reminding her that while musical success, touring, and being a part of her fans lives is fun, the most important part of life is making sure God is honored.
[url=http://www.intouch.org/myintouch/youth/teen/hangin_out/december2001/j1_37374862.html]Hangin' Out With: Jaci Velasquez[/url]
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Yolanda Fields
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| | 2005/8/23 17:10 | Profile | MrBillPro
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| | Re: | | How about here for beginners:
You have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23.
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Bill
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| | 2005/8/23 17:13 | Profile |
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