Pastor reveals secret marriage to a second woman, but his stepdaughter’s confession changes everything

• US pastor Israel T. Ford sparked controversy after revealing his secret marriage to a second woman and defending polygamy as biblical.

• Two days later, his stepdaughter, Kourtney Jones, accused him of sexually abusing her from age 12.

• Jones urged the public not to mock her mother or the pastor’s second wife amid the growing scandal.

They say three is a crowd, but at LifeWorks Church in Cleveland, it was framed as 'God's will'. That was until a viral Sunday announcement brought secrets, scripture, and serious allegations crashing into the open.

The Sunday service at LifeWorks Church in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 25, 2026, began with familiar hymns but ended in a spectacle that would spark a nationwide theological debate. 

With a composed smile, Pastor Lydia Ford, alongside her husband, church founder Israel T. Ford, introduced Minister Shakayla Talley not as a colleague, but as her "sister in marriage"...spiritedly and with so many kind words.

There and then, Ford revealed they were living in a polygynous arrangement, a secret he claimed to have kept for nearly three years.

Taking the stage, Shakayla quipped that the "cat’s out the bag," and that the "elephant is in the room" framing her submission to their shared husband as the "will of God."

As footage of the announcement went viral, Israel Ford went on the offensive. 

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He aggressively defended the union on social media, dismissing traditional Christian teachings on monogamy as "unbiblical".

Ford argued that modern Christianity had been corrupted, pointing to Old Testament patriarchs to justify his polygamous marriage. 

He brushed off critics who cited the Apostle Paul’s New Testament directive that church leaders must be the husband of one wife. 

"I will not prioritise pleasing man over what God has revealed," Ford declared, boldly inviting any dissenters in his congregation to find the exit.

The boastful viral video was intended to solidify Ford's divine authority, but instead, it served as the catalyst for his undoing. 

Watching the man she accused of making her "life hell" flaunt his controversial lifestyle and receive a global platform proved too triggering for Kourtney Jones, Lydia Ford’s daughter and Israel’s stepdaughter. 

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On October 27, just two days after the pulpit stunt, Kourtney broke a six-year silence with a devastating Facebook post. 

She alleged that Ford had sexually abused her starting when she was just twelve years old, recounting a harrowing pattern of inappropriate comments, forced declarations of love, and him repeatedly lying in her bed.

The scandal has deeply fractured the family. Kourtney revealed she had carried the agonising secret for years to protect her mother's peace. When Lydia eventually spoke up, she allegedly chose to believe Ford's version of events, creating a profound rift between mother and daughter. 

Yet, remarkably, Kourtney extended grace to the women caught in Ford's web. She vehemently defended both her mother and Shakayla from vicious online mockery, urging the public not to disparage them and framing both wives as victims of Ford’s manipulation rather than willing co-conspirators. 

Her twin sister, Kayce White, released a parallel statement distancing herself from the polygynous marriage while echoing the plea for compassion toward their mother.

Today, LifeWorks Church stands at a dangerous precipice. The legalities of the marriage remain murky.

Ohio law prohibits multiple legal spouses, making bigamy a first-degree misdemeanour if civil paperwork was falsified.