South African megachurch Pastor At Boshoff divorces wife after more than 30 years of marriage

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Despite historically preaching that marriage is a lifelong, permanent union based on God's original design, influential South African megachurch pastor, At Boshoff, has quietly divorced his wife, Nyretta, after more than 30 years of marriage.

Boshoff is the founder and senior pastor of Christian Revival Church headquartered in South Africa. The megachurch boasts more than 90 churches and 120,000 members spread across Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. He also sits on the Global Council of Empowered21 — the world's largest relational network for Spirit-empowered Christians — chaired by Billy Wilson, president of Oral Roberts University.

Court documents cited by the Press Council Fair said Boshoff’s unopposed divorce was finalized in the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court in Johannesburg on Oct. 18, 2024. At least two months after his divorce was final, however, some international CRC congregations were reportedly celebrating what would have been the couple’s 37th wedding anniversary on Dec. 5 that year. The church has yet to acknowledge Boshoff’s split from his wife.

Boshoff’s divorce also comes years after Zimbabwean-born self-styled prophet and religious leader King Jay Israel claimed in May 2022 that Boshoff committed adultery and he and Nyretta had split three years prior.

Christian Revival Church did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Christian Post on Wednesday about Boshoff’s divorce or Israel’s allegations.

When it comes to divorce, conservative Christians generally point to Malachi 2:16, where God states, "I hate divorce," as well as Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 19:6, which states: "What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."

Divorce is allowed in cases of abuse (physical or emotional), adultery and abandonment. 

During a relationship conference in 2012, Boshoff, 61, warned a large group of young Christians about marriage, citing U.S. statistics showing that 50% of couples divorced in the first two years.

More recent data shows that the U.S. divorce rate has declined to its lowest level in decades, with some 40%-45% of marriages projected to end in divorce. Divorce among adults 50 and older, known as Gray divorce, rose from 1990 to 2008 and only recently leveled off, according to Pew Research.

“Some possible reasons for gray divorce are because of our increased longevity. People are less willing to endure unhappy marriages for so long and are more optimistic that they will find another partner. And so older adults are more willing to divorce than they were in the past,” Rosie Shrout, assistant professor in the Purdue University Department of Human Development and Family Science, explained in a recent discussion on the subject.

“Because people are living longer, there are more opportunities to develop new romantic relationships across adulthood, including after a divorce or widowhood,” Shrout said. 

While it remains unclear what triggered the Boshoffs’ divorce, Shrout stated that modern women are more comfortable with getting divorced today than women decades ago because many are also financially independent.

"Compared to decades ago, women couldn’t own their own bank accounts; they couldn’t have their own credit cards. They were admitted to college at much lower rates, and they were having kids and getting married at a younger age,” Shrout explained.

“Today, we have a generation of older women who have been able to attend college, have careers, and make their own money. If they are unhappy, they now have the economic independence and autonomy to divorce in older age rather than previous generations of women who might not have had the same opportunities.”