Civil rights activist and popular Pastor Jamal Bryant announced over Memorial Day weekend in suburban Atlanta at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church that he recently became engaged to his co-pastor Dr. Karri Turner.
He proclaimed the news before his congregation last Sunday, May 26 and in front of millions of viewers on his livestream that she will be the church’s future “first lady.”
Bryant, known as an out-of-the-box preacher who has exploited the Christian world by doing everything from appearing in reality shows to advocating for cannabis grows on church property, has also been linked to a few women in the public eye. Most notable are his ex-wife Gizelle Bryant, who joined Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Potomac” years after their divorce, and R&B singer, Tweet, whom he dated for about a year.
But little is known about his new love, one that was previously outed by popular gossip maven Tasha K earlier this year. Tasha K said she saw the couple together holding hands at an ice cream shop in Florida. When the couple saw her, they canceled their order and “got out of there.”
However, those invested in the Christian woman empowerment circuit will know that she is more than a Gizelle lookalike, she’s also a sought-after author, preacher, and speaker.
Who Is Dr. Karri Turner?
Turner was born and raised in La Vegas, Nevada, and established her faith with Christ at a young age. She was baptized at 7 and had early aspirations to be a congresswoman, but she says “God had other plans.”
Her ministry is dedicated to empowering women and girls and, according to its website, Turner also has a mission to inspire and draw women closer to their faith and says she helps them cultivate meaningful relationships with their God, living according to God’s purpose in both “ministry and the marketplace.”
Many churches and faith leaders book Turner at speaking engagements because of her expertise in leadership, spiritual capacity building, and entrepreneurship. Moreover, her books and projects, “Life Behind The Collar,” The NUDGE Mentorship Initiative, and “The Lit Life” Bible Study, reflect her commitment to spiritual and professional growth within the church and the Black and brown communities.
Turner holds degrees from undergraduate degrees from Morris Brown College and two graduate degrees (the M.Div. and D.Min.) from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
A bi-vocational clergywoman, she also works in the DeKalb County, Georgia, government as a division manager and is also the president and CEO of The Girl Bible, Inc.
Before joining New Birth, she served as a teaching pastor at The Rock Atlanta Church with Senior Pastor Dr. David E. Jackson, according to Voyage Atlanta.
Many Compare Her To Gizelle Bryant, the Mega Pastor’s Famous Ex-Wife
The obvious comparison between Turner and Gizelle are that they resemble each other. Both women are of lighter complexion with a propensity to wear their natural hair and extensions in shades of blond. Social media was quick to clock their striking physical similarities, writing comments like, “She & Giselle are twins,” and “He has a type!!”
Though Pastor Bryant’s ex has green eyes, Turner’s are a medium shade of brown. Both ladies are also members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
In 2019, fans of “RHOP” believed Gizelle and her daughter’s father were trying to reconcile. They were legally married from 2002-2009.
Gizelle has said multiple times as part of her storyline on the show that the preacher cheated on her. Playing into the headlines, in 2020 they once wore matching shirts, with Gizelle rocking a black tee saying “The Plot” and Jamal rocking a black tee emblazoned “The Storyline.”
But by 2021 it was clear that the former lovebirds were officially over. Internet speculation has it that during this time Pastor Bryant and Turner were dating and that possibly as the cause of the rekindling being extinguished.
Karen on Wendy said she’s heard rumors of Guzelle not being his only one… pic.twitter.com/eciTmi4zdE
— Reabetswe (@bbygalrea) December 4, 2020
Former cast mate Monique Samuels may have been alluding to Turner during the first episode of the season 5 reunion of “RHOP” in her binder of “receipts.”
During her time on the show, Samuels alleged that Jamal was still “paying bills for” Gizelle and that she was given information about one woman he allegedly had an affair with.
“She’s a pastor, and she reached out to me along time ago. She sent a bunch of screenshots, pictures of him in her bed and everything else. But he’s definitely been talking to another woman, and it’s clear conversations, and if you’d like to see them I got it in my little receipt book here,” said Samuels.
Host Andy Cohen asked if those texts were from Jamal’s phone after Samuels read the number aloud, and she said, “Yeah, that’s his number.”
She later added, “Your pastor boyfriend is slinging his big d all around his congregation, even in Atlanta as we speak, and you know it. You know it. You’re a fraud.”
Samuels’ claims have not been confirmed.
At the time, both Gizelle and Pastor Bryant, who have always called each other “great friends,” denied the allegations. He previously has confessed on his talk show “The Preachers” in 2016 that one of his biggest regrets in life is accepting he was responsible for “singlehandedly destroying my marriage and the impact it has had on my daughters.”
While many tried to make a stir of rumors about the cheating and regarding the engagement, Gizelle was one of the first to wish well the couple. In the middle of a post on her ex’s Instagram, she wrote, “Congratulations! Very happy for you!”
Bryant replied, “means the world to me! Thank you,” while Turner added, “Thank you so much Gorgeous!”
Turner’s Relationship with Bryant’s Four Children
Though Turner is not a mother herself, she has built a ministry on working with young people and is apparently loved by Pastor Bryant’s four children. His oldest daughter, Topaz (Naomi) Bryant, a 26-year-old, whose mother is Bryant’s former girlfriend Crystal Madison, recently graduated with her masters degree. Grace Bryant (19) and twin sisters Adore and Angel (18) are children he fathered with Gizelle during their seven-year marriage.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am, how happy my family is, how happy my children are, and I hope my church is happy for me,” the divorced father said to his congregation on Sunday, receiving a round of applause.
The First and Last Lady
This is not the first woman that Bryant has announced he was engaged to in the past few years.
While preaching at Baltimore-based mega church Empowerment Temple AME Church, and hosting “The Preachers,” he introduced singer/songwriter Tweet as the love of his life. He said, “I call her my last lady.”
When talking about how they met, he said, “A year ago I was walking through Times Square going to an Oprah Winfrey movie premiere and I bumped into R&B Singer Tweet, who is my absolute favorite female singer in the world and, I pulled an Orrick move and asked for a picture. We have grown into an incredible friendship; I call her my ‘Last Lady.’”
The two dated from 2016 to around 2017. He asked her during the episode what was the hardest thing about dating him, and she alluded to Bryant being a desirable man.
“I guess its dealing with the women that said ‘God said’ that they were your girlfriend,” Tweet explained.
She later said one of the lessons she learned from that relationship is not to be public with her love life.
Bryant said before his church that Turner is the actually his last first lady.
“I am so grateful to God that she has consented to be my wife,” he said to the crowd. “For five years you’ve just had a pastor, but going forward for the rest of my days you’re going to have a first lady.”
God willing, this time is the charm, but time will surely tell.
