Author and influencer Jen Hatmaker is finally peeling back the curtain on her shocking divorce and reimagined life in a newly announced memoir.
The mother of five was a bestselling Christian author, blogger, podcaster and speaker with more than a million followers on social media and her own show on HGTV when her world came crashing down in 2020. But while she’s taken her fans along on her journey to rebuild her life over the past five years, she’s said little about the cause of the crisis. Until now.
Jen HatmakerJen Hatmaker Gets Candid About Cause of Her Divorce
The New York Times bestselling author just announced that she’s written her first book (apart from a cookbook) since 2018, and it’s not like anything she’s ever done before.
“Awake” begins in the middle of the night in July 2020. Hatmaker wakes up to find her husband of 26-years in their bed, calling another woman. In her post announcing the book, Hatmaker writes, “AWAKE is deeply personal. It is raw. It is unexpected. It was desperately hard to write. I wrote this in raw, real-time vignettes that span four decades.”
Hatmaker’s Life Crisis Changes Everything
When things fell apart for Jen Hatmaker, she understandably withdrew from social media for a bit, then put up a post for followers that asked for privacy and peace.
In that July 2020 post, she wrote, “In short, we are deeply hurting in our little life. As I’ve written, there is a difference between secrecy marked by shame, and privacy marked by discretion, and we are in the second category. Our family is navigating an unexpected crisis, and I’ve taken a step back from socials and work to help steer toward healing and wholeness. Please know that everyone is safe, and all our kids are okay. Also know that our community and family has radically cared for us, and we are surrounded by love and support. Jesus loves us. We are not alone.
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Please don’t worry but please do pray for us if you pray. A request: don’t pry or ask or push, even out of sincere concern.”
While Hatmaker did not elaborate on the specifics of what happened in the months and years that followed, she did tell followers she was getting a very unexpected and unwelcome divorce.
Hatmaker Explains How Memoir Developed
In a post on social media, Hatmaker explains how the memoir developed. “I had an idea.,” she writes. “Different from any format or even style I’ve ever used. A risk for sure; nerve-wracking and a little thrilling. Not ‘instructive’ or ‘prescriptive’ or ‘a guide’ through anything. It is what I know so far, raw and true. The first sentence goes for the jugular.”
She goes on to say, “I took a pass writing the first few pages to see if it would even work. I sent it to my partners late last night and walked into the room this morning trying to act like I wasn’t freaking out to hear their reaction.
The response was strong.
My agent Margaret said this: ‘The pages you sent me are stunning. Keep going. Save nothing for the swim home.'” Hatmaker writes.
In the post, Hatmaker explains her resolve, saying, “Don’t hold back. Spare nothing. Go past the point of no return and trust that the middle of the sea is worth getting to, even if you’ve never been there.
I’m ready to write this for you, but also for me.
I am here to tell you a year and a half later, I held back nothing.”
Jen Finds New Love After Marriage Falls Apart
While “Awake” begins with the breakdown of her marriage, the book spans the course of 40 years, including moments from Hatmaker’s childhood, relationships and life as the mother of five.
Hatmaker weaves all of that into a story of how the crisis radically changed not just her life but her opinions, her faith and her outlook.
It also brought her new love.
In February 2022, Hatmaker introduced followers to her boyfriend, Tyler Merritt.
In the post showing the smiling couple, Hatmaker writes, “This is Tyler. We met randomly in New York at the beginning of November. He was there to lay claim to life. I was there unknowingly stepping into the story. He is now so impossibly important to me, so miraculous, I could just throw my head back and laugh every time I think of him.”
The pair are now a constant presence on each other’s social media pages and have even gone on a speaking tour together. Merritt, who is an author himself, also sits in on Hatmaker’s “For the Love” podcast from time to time.
In announcing the relationship, Hatmaker told her readers, “I didn’t need Tyler to heal my broken heart. Me and Jesus did that on our own. He isn’t a missing piece. I am whole. So is he. I am learning what it looks like when two whole, healthy people fall for each other without the pressure of fixing or ‘completing’ the other. It is an absolute miracle.” She then asks her followers, “Be happy for us, because we sure are. The music is back on.”
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Author/Influencer Jen Hatmaker Announces Revealing Memoir