Jen Hatmaker spent more than two decades building a public life around faith, family, writing and podcasting. For many years, her husband Brandon Hatmaker was an important part of that story. The couple raised five children, worked together in ministry and appeared on HGTV before their marriage eventually came to an end.
Their divorce became one of the most significant personal chapters in Jen’s life. Years later, her 2025 memoir Awake provided a much more detailed account of what happened, while Brandon separately acknowledged his role in the breakdown of the marriage.
Today, the former couple have built separate lives, although their five children remain a lasting connection.
Who Is Brandon Hatmaker?
Brandon Hatmaker is an author, speaker and former pastor who spent years working alongside Jen in Christian ministry.
The couple became known nationally through Jen’s writing and television appearances. Brandon also gained recognition through his own books and ministry work, making them a prominent husband-and-wife team within Christian media.
Together, they became associated with community-focused projects, including the Austin New Church and the nonprofit organization The Legacy Collective.
Their Marriage
Jen and Brandon married in 1993.
Their relationship lasted roughly 26 years before the couple’s eventual separation. During their marriage, they built a large family and raised five children: Gavin, Sydney, Caleb, Ben and Remy.
Family was a central part of the Hatmakers’ public identity. Jen frequently wrote about parenting, faith and everyday family experiences, while Brandon participated in their ministry and community work.
For many followers, the couple represented a long-standing Christian marriage and partnership.
Their TV Show
Brandon also became familiar to a wider audience through television.
He appeared alongside Jen on HGTV’s My Big Family Renovation, a 2014 reality series that followed the family as they transformed their home.
The program offered viewers a glimpse into the Hatmakers’ busy household while highlighting their approach to family, faith and renovation.
At the time, there was little indication to the public that the marriage would eventually end.
The 2020 Divorce
Jen Hatmaker announced in September 2020 that she had filed for divorce.
The announcement came as a shock to many of her followers because the couple had been married for more than 25 years.
At the time, Jen described the circumstances as unexpected and did not immediately provide a detailed explanation for the decision.
For several years, much of the specific story remained private.
The lack of detail also meant that numerous theories circulated online, but Jen largely avoided discussing the most painful aspects of the breakup publicly.
What She Revealed
That changed with the publication of Jen’s memoir Awake in September 2025.
In the book, she described discovering that Brandon had been unfaithful. According to Jen’s account, she woke at approximately 2:30 a.m. and overheard Brandon sending an intimate message to another woman.
The discovery became a turning point in her understanding of the marriage and ultimately contributed to the end of their relationship.
Jen’s account also explored the emotional consequences of realizing that the marriage she believed she understood had been affected by a betrayal she had not previously known about.
Brandon Responds
After Awake was published, Brandon addressed the subject publicly through his Substack.
He acknowledged the affair and described his behavior as one of the lowest points of his life. He said that he had taken responsibility for his actions and worked to make amends.
Brandon also discussed completing rehabilitation and attempting to deal with the consequences of his choices.
However, he later indicated that he did not intend to continue discussing the divorce publicly.
His response provided his perspective while also making clear that he wanted the public conversation about the marriage to end.
Their Five Children
Jen and Brandon’s five children remain the most enduring connection between them.
The children were raised during a period when their parents were increasingly visible through books, television, church work and social media. Following the divorce, both parents have continued their lives separately.
As adults and young people, the children have largely been allowed to maintain their own privacy rather than becoming central figures in the public discussion surrounding their parents’ breakup.
Life After Jen
Brandon eventually remarried.
He is now married to Tina Hatmaker and lives in Texas. His professional life has become considerably quieter compared with the period when he was working in public ministry alongside Jen.
He continues to write and work as a consultant, but has largely stepped away from the highly visible role he once occupied in Christian media.
That change has given him a lower-profile life following one of the most public personal transitions of his career.
Jen’s New Chapter
Jen Hatmaker has also built a new chapter following the divorce.
She remains active as an author, podcaster and public speaker. Her work has increasingly explored relationships, personal growth, identity, faith and the process of rebuilding after major life changes.
The publication of Awake represented a particularly significant moment because it allowed Jen to revisit an experience she had previously discussed only in broad terms.
Rather than simply documenting the end of a marriage, the memoir examines the emotional process of waking up to difficult truths and finding a way forward.
Where Is Brandon Now?
As of 2026, Brandon Hatmaker is no longer married to Jen Hatmaker.
The former couple were married in 1993, raised five children together and worked side by side in ministry and media before their relationship ended. Jen later revealed the infidelity that contributed to the divorce in her 2025 memoir, while Brandon acknowledged the affair and said he had taken responsibility for his actions.
Brandon has since remarried Tina and maintains a much quieter public profile.
For anyone searching “Jen Hatmaker ex-husband,” the answer is Brandon Hatmaker. Their marriage lasted more than two decades and shaped a significant portion of Jen’s public story, but both have since moved into separate chapters of their lives.
Their experience also illustrates how a long relationship can look very different behind closed doors from the image presented to the public—and how difficult personal circumstances can eventually become the starting point for an entirely new life.
