All About Carl Lentz's Wife Laura and Their 3 Kids

Here's everything to know about Carl Lentz's family.

The ex-Hillsong pastor first met his wife Laura Lentz in the church's training program in the early 2000s before they eventually tied the knot in 2003.

Together, Carl and Laura share three kids, son Roman and daughters Charlie and Ava. While the former pastor has previously admitted that his life has been a "challenging road" amid his various controversies with the church, he revealed that his family has been "together" despite it all.

Premiering May 19, FX's The Secrets of Hillsong chronicles the scandals of the megachurch, featuring the couple's first interviews together since they were forced out of Hillsong in November 2020 for Carl's "moral failures," with the former pastor later admitting to infidelity.

In the four-part documentary series, Carl — once a "rockstar pastor" known for his close relationship with Justin Bieber among other A-list celebrities — opens up about his cheating scandal with Laura, a "breach of trust" that he says was "one of the biggest [mistakes] of my life."

Ahead of its release, Carl wrote an in-depth Instagram post about his sobriety, marriage and the FX series — and shared he'd recently celebrated his 20th wedding anniversary with Laura. "For the last 3 years my entire focus has been fighting for my wife and my kids," he wrote.

"All I wanted was to prove to my wife and kids that I could show up for them like I had never done before," the post continued in part. "Although we have a long way to go, with a lot of work, a lot of honesty and a lot of prayer, we have found ourselves in a beautiful, happy and deliberately honest place."

Read on to learn more about Carl's family, including his wife Laura and their three kids.

Laura Lentz

Carl was born in 1978 and raised in Virginia, where he grew up before moving to North Carolina State University to pursue an education and play basketball from 1988 to 2000. In the early oughts, he moved to Australia to study at Hillsong International Leadership College, the church's training program, where he met Laura.

The couple wed on May 5, 2003, and have been together for two decades, celebrating 20 years of marriage in 2023. While the former pastor recently took time to acknowledge the "healing" from his "mistakes," Laura opened up at length on the topic in a May 2021 post.

Marking the pair's 18th wedding anniversary, Laura spoke out on Instagram for the first time since her husband's cheating scandal made headlines in November 2020. While the caption did not explicitly reference Carl's scandal, it made multiple allusions to familial strife and resilience.

She compared her life to palm trees, noting that "they are strong, can weather the biggest storms, they always grow upwards," followed by listing a few words: "freedom, righteousness, reward, resurrection."

At the time, the mother of three explained that she took a break from social media over the past few months because it was "not good for [her] soul," and that she'd had to block and delete many users and comments from her posts.

Laura added that her family's struggles led her to "true friendships," but also marked the end of others. Since then, Laura — who also appears in The Secrets of Hillsong — has opened up about her growth and healing journey on social media, revealing that she "wouldn't wish my journey on my worst enemy."

In fact, she wrote that she'd rather use her story "to help someone else" despite "the trauma, the thoughts and memories" she felt "everyday." "We all have scars from many of life's experiences, and i am choosing to see mine as "BEAUTIFUL," she concluded the post.

The couple's "first interview" featured in FX's documentary uncovers new relationship bombshells, including Laura revealing she "freaked out" after finding her husband and their nanny in a "compromising position."

The couple — who were both pushed out of Hillsong Church in 2020 — ultimately stayed together and worked through the fallout of Carl's betrayal.

Ava Lentz

Ava Lentz (pictured right) is the eldest of Carl and Laura's three kids born on June 1, 2004. While the college student often shares lifestyle content with her nearly 30,000 Instagram followers, both of her parents post sweet tributes to her on their respective social media pages.

In 2018, Carl celebrated Ava's 14th birthday with an Instagram post, writing, "I love being her daddy." He went on to praise her leadership qualities, discuss the stereotypical dad concerns he has with her dating life and acknowledge her transition into a young adult.

"TIME. FLIES!!" Lentz wrote. "I used to say the typical young dad things we all tend to say about our daughters.. 'I'm gonna keep her in the house... she will never date...'" he continued in part. "But then, you begin to see a woman of God develop and mature and you realize that she's a LEADER."

"She can and will make her own good decisions. She's strong and capable and classy and wise..." the dad of three said of his eldest child. "When she does date? The guy will be a legend, cause she knows what she is worth."

Carl concluded by saying that her "future is so bright" and that he is "proud" of her. "Thanks for giving me grace, as I'm learning every day how to be a better father."

Meanwhile, Laura enjoys the mother-daughter time they have together and often posts about their day-to-day activities.

"I am proud of my daughters…Not too long ago they were babies, and it was my role as a mum to raise them to be Strong, Confident, Independent, Kind, Loyal, Gracious, Loving Women!!" Laura wrote in an Instagram post, featuring a black-and-white photo of her and her daughters on International Women's Day.

Charlie Lentz

Charlie Lentz (pictured left) is the youngest of Carl and Laura's two daughters, and was born on June 9, 2006. Similar to her older sister, she often shares fun-filled photos with her 30,000 followers on Instagram. Her parents have also posted heartwarming tributes to her on their social media pages.

Only a few days after Ava's 14th birthday in 2018, Carl celebrated Charlie's 12th birthday and highlighted all of her attributes and accomplishments as a pre-teen on her road to adulthood.

"I just can't imagine life without this amazing girl," Carl began the birthday Instagram post. "Charlie was born with a triple dose of empathy and a compassion for others that is rare among adults, let alone pre-teens."

Furthermore, the dad of three shared that he has learned a lot from Charlie over the past 12 years of his life. "She has taught me," Carl wrote before listing "one lesson in particular that some other dads might find helpful."

The lesson? "She requires TIME," he explained. "There have been times we have hung out for an hour or two, she wont say much. And then out of nowhere, comes deep thought, interesting questions, passionate feelings."

Carl concluded of Charlie: "Your bright spirit and kind heart inspires me daily."

As for Laura, she shared that her daughter is "kind, fun, strong, loving, compassionate, hilarious and not afraid to stand alone! I love you Chucky, you are going to change the world!"

Roman Lentz

Roman Lentz (pictured right) was born on June 5, 2009, and is the youngest of Carl and Laura's three kids. Unlike his older sisters, he keeps the majority of his life private on social media, but his mom and dad post updates about him on their respective Instagrams.

According to both his parents' posts, some of Roman's favorite activities include video games and lacrosse. As for his personality, Laura said that he is "kind, sensitive, protective, self aware & a lover of people."

Carl also posts a lot about their father-son bonding time, especially as a working dad. "My summer prayer was to get the most possible 'face time' with my son as I possibly can... My daughters can barely fit me in," he wrote on Instagram in July 2019. "Being a dad is a work in progress, this we know FOR SURE.. getting better daily is the goal!"

In an August 2019 post, Carl detailed a fun-filled day he had with Roman when he got out of school early and he got to pick the activities. "7/11, spray paint some dirt bikes, watch videos of other people playing video games (slow and painful parental torture) and wrestle... it was my favorite day of the year so far..." the former pastor wrote in part of the day spent with his son.

"When you are a new dad, older dads tell you 'hang on, because they grow up quick!' Carl wrote about his kids in another post. "THEY. WERE. CORRECT. From holding your babies, to dancing with them as mini-adults as I did recently, its a whirlwind to say the LEAST."

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