Many of the ugly details of Benny Hinn’s divorce were made very public. And many were not. Much the same, many of the beautiful details of his reconciliation with Suzanne were made public. And many were not. In this exclusive interview, Hinn tells Charisma News parts of the story that few people know.
Charisma: Tell me what life is like with your wife now that your marriage is restored.
Hinn: We have lot of peace and joy. Suzanne just talked to me this morning, and she never ever says hello to me anymore. She says, “Hello, my love!” I like that. She used to say, “Hey, Benny!” Now she says, “Hello, my love,” and she did that this morning. And I say, “Hey, my baby, my darling!” We are calling each other names, sweet names, like “baby,” “darling,” “honey,” “sweetheart,” “You’re my treasure.” When we started that, my kids said, “Daddy, are you OK?” They’re wondering, like, “Are you guys all right?”
We were married for 30 years, and we didn’t have time for each other most of those 30. Then we were divorced for three years. I think during the three years, we both woke up to the reality of life without each other, the horrible things you go through when you’re divorced—the anger, the pain, the bitterness, all that crazy stuff that happens to you. And then you say, “You know what? It’s a much happier life going back to the person you really care for.” That’s what happened to us. We cling to each other like there’s nowhere to go except stay together.
Charisma: We couldn’t be more thrilled for you and your wife. So there’s total forgiveness?
Hinn: Suzanne has forgiven me, and I have forgiven her, too, for some of the things that happened during our divorce, because we were nasty to each other. It was not a nice time for us. It was one of the worst experiences of my life because there was just a lot of anger that was coming out, and it was not nice. And that’s why I say to people, “If you think your problem is big, you don’t know what we’ve gone through.” Sue and I were just vicious at each other, which was really sad.
You know, what’s amazing is how close love and hate are. That’s what I’ve learned going through this—that love and hate have a very thin line. A very thin line. You can slip into one so quick, it’s almost scary. I heard that years ago from a friend of mine named Fred Brown, and I thought he was lying to me. [But it] is true. Love and hate have a very thin border, so we have to protect our love because we can easily, easily slip back into hating that same person.
Charisma: Any closing advice for couples having marriage trouble?
Hinn: Number one is invite Jesus back into your marriage. You’ve got to bring Him back, and that’s one thing I resisted. Because [Reinhard] Bonnke told me two years before I was healed, “You must get back to your wife,Benny.” I said, “No!” Because, I said, “I don’t want to go back to the madness.” And I knew the minute I would say, “Lord, come back into my marriage,” He would heal it because that’s just the Lord. But I did not want to do it.
Number two is to spend time together. Sue and I had lost our friendship. This is funny, but I took her to one movie in all the 30 years we were married. I took her to one movie, The Raiders of the Lost Ark, and that was, like, in the ’80s, when it came out. I took her to a drive-in in Orlando.
Third is to pray with each other. Sue and I do that every day. Even when she’s not with me, I call her and we pray on the phone. That really has brought peace into our life, which is precious. And then you don’t want to lose it because you cherish that.
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