Jim Bakker, former televangelist who fell from grace after fraud and intimacy scandal, dies at 86
The controversial figure's death was announced by his wife.
Jim Bakker, the notorious former televangelist and ex-husband of Tammy Faye, died Monday, October 5, 2026, at the age of 86. His death was announced on the Jim Bakker Show Instagram account, on behalf of his widow, Lori. No cause of death was revealed.
Bakker was one of the most famous televangelists of the 1970s and 1980s, but he fell from grace in 1987 after a sex scandal and conviction for fraud. In recent years, he was best known for talking about and trying to sell products for “the end of days” on his show, as well as his Silver Solution supplement, which he sold during COVID-19.
Bakker’s rise and fall was magnificent
Bakker and his first wife, Tammy Faye (known for her heavy makeup), married in 1961 and soon started their own traveling ministry. In 1965, televangelist Pat Robertson brought them onto the Christian Broadcasting Network, where they launched a kids’ show. The following year, Bakker hosted the Christian talk show The 700 Club.
Soon after, Bakker and Tammy Faye left Robertson’s network and launched their own — PTL (“Praise The Lord”) Satellite Network. That’s where their empire truly took off with the creation of The PTL Show. During its heyday, the show drew in millions of viewers and earned millions of dollars each year. The two became famous and were often lampooned by comedians for their extravagant lifestyle. (Much later on, a movie would be made about Tammy Faye.)
However, things took a turn in 1987 when Bakker admitted to a sexual encounter with a church clerk. The clerk alleged sexual assault; Bakker claimed it was consensual. Though Tammy Faye stuck with Bakker, the reputational damage was done.
More bad news was to come, though, as an investigation into PTL’s finances found that Bakker had been using ministry funds for his own benefit (some of the money allegedly went to the church clerk as a payment to keep quiet about their encounter). In 1988, prosecutors indicted Bakker on 24 federal counts of mail and wire fraud. In 1989, he was convicted of all. Though he was sentenced to 45 years in prison, he was released after five years. A few years later, he married Lori, and they eventually created The Jim Bakker Show (where Bakker sold his fake coronavirus cure).
Some of Bakker’s family have publicly responded to his death
According to AP News, Lori Bakker said in a statement about her late husband, “He was a pioneer of Christian television, but to me, he was my husband, my best friend, and the man I was honored to walk beside through so many seasons of life and ministry.”
One of his several children, Jay Bakker, the 50-year-old son of Bakker and Tammy Faye, posted about his father’s passing on social media and said, “We had a very complicated relationship and he was also my father and a grandfather and I need to mourn in my own time. I need the freedom to feel anger and feel loss…”
His grandson, James, also shared a post on Instagram that read, “Our relationship was complicated at best and I don’t think I can ever truly summarize it but I did see you, I gave a portion of my life to you, for better or worst at times.”
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