Christian comedian John Crist recently announced his engagement to girlfriend Lydia Fielder in a social media post celebrating the “best thing that’s ever happened.”
In a social media post Sunday evening, the 41-year-old comedian and author shared a series of photos of himself proposing to Fielder, a co-anchor for Nashville TV station WSMV-TV.
“The best thing that’s ever happened to me in my entire life by far, I love you so much @lyfeoflyd,” he captioned the photos.
Fielder also shared the photos on her social media pages, writing: “God wrote it from the start — my first love is now my forever love. I do, John B. Crist.”
She also commented under Crist’s post: “God’s redemptive plan, JB. I LOVE YOU!”
The duo, who recently celebrated Crist’s debut on the “Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon, were officially linked earlier this year.
Following the news of their engagement, the couple’s social media pages were flooded with congratulatory comments, including well-wishes from Bethel Music singer Jenn Johnson, comedian Leanne Morgan and “Duck Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson Huff.
An Atlanta native, Crist is the son of a pastor and grew up in a large homeschooling family. He shot to fame with his viral videos poking fun at Southern culture, country music, and, frequently, Chick-fil-A.
As his comedy career gained momentum, he later admitted to making “a lot of poor choices.” In 2019, multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct and harassment, leading Netflix to cancel his show. Following a four-month stint in rehab, Crist, who previously dated country star Lauren Alaina, re-emerged and reflected on how his downfall was necessary for him to find healing.
“The only thing worse is if that had never happened to me,” he said, revealing he contemplated suicide in his darkest moments. “Every time I had like a sold-out show or anything I did on television, … I thought that if everybody knew the truth about me that all of these people would hate me.”
He added, “In that whole rehabilitation process, I found out there’s a God that loves you, and He cares about you, and He’s not mad at you.”
Crist recently celebrated five years of sobriety.
In a 2023 interview with The Christian Post, Crist said facing public scrutiny and “cancellation” gave him a unique vantage point from which to observe the ebb and flow of public opinion.
“I think everybody has their own convictions about things, and I think that’s fine,” he said. “I think if you say to me, ‘I won’t come to your shows or engage with your material because I believe it’s across the line,’ I’m OK with that. I used to not be. I used to want to explain to everybody, ‘Well, no, I meant this,’ but I now say, ‘It’s fine.'”
“If you say, ‘You know what, our pastor wants to have holes in his jeans, we’re going to start a new church,’ — I think that’s fine, but you don’t get to be critical of the other church and say that they’re going to Hell for that. We’re not talking about the cardinal issues of Christianity. We’re talking about these ancillary things that … have divided us since day one.”
Crist said that while experiencing a public cancellation was “the worst thing on planet Earth” and “horrific,” it saved his life.
“I don’t agree with the way it was done, but it did save my life,” he said. “I’ve been sober since that day.”
