John Crist on sobriety, faith, and finding love after scandal

The past few years of comedian John Crist's life have been a rollercoaster — from a stint in rehab to his recent engagement.

"The best thing that’s ever happened to me in my entire life by far, I love you so much @lyfeoflyd," says Crist on social media. 

Crist's fiancée, Lydia Fielder, is a co-anchor for Nashville TV station WSMV-TV.

"God wrote it from the start—my first love is now my forever love," said Fielder on Instagram. "I do, John B. Crist."

The 41-year-old comedian grew up in Atlanta, GA, as the son of a pastor who was homeschooled. When Crist started his career in comedy, it was these aspects that he made fun of for laughs, including the topics of southern culture and Chick-fil-A. 

Rising quickly in fame, Crist confessed to a time in 2019 when he made "poor choices." He was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women and had his show cancelled from Netflix. Following this, Crist went to rehab for four months. 

"The only thing worse is if that had never happened to me," Crist said. "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."

In 2022, during an interview, Crist shared that after all of this happened, he was contemplating suicide, and it was a very hard time in which he believed he might never enter comedy again. 

"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. He's been a guest on multiple Christian podcasts to talk about it, among other things, like Sadie Robertson Huff and The Dr. John Delony Show. 

While being cancelled was a horrible time in his life, Crist says, "I don't agree with the way it was done, but it did save my life. I've been sober since that day."

Crist's comedy continues to poke fun at Christians over the "ancillary things that have divided us since day one." He shares that he's come to a place that he understands his satire may not be for everyone.