In less than a month, two similar stories about female pastors endorsing and acting in pornography have surfaced. This time it’s Crystal DiGregorio, a former pastor of New Beginnings Christian Life Church in New York.
Crystal DiGregorio (30) married pentecostal minister David Bassette (23) in January 2015. The two started dating after DiGregorio’s sister secretly set them up to meet each other. Bassette’s father was the pastor of the church DiGregorio was attending, so she was familiar with David, having seen him occasionally help his father with baptisms.
David caught DiGregorio’s eye, but never thought the two would have a romantic relationship because he was eight years younger than her. DiGregorio was a single mother of two at the time.
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Nevertheless, the pair hit it off at a card game set up by DiGregorio’s sister. Their relationship moved quickly, and Bassette proposed to DiGregorio after only two months of dating. They walked down the aisle of his father’s church less than three months later.
DiGregorio’s Story
DiGregorio’s past was anything but typical. Prior to giving her life to Jesus in 2014, she had worked in the adult entertainment industry for 10 years, appearing in over 100 pornographic films and making over $300,000 per year.
Describing her life as a porn star, DiGregorio told ABC Nightline’s Diane Macedo in 2017 that she was “shocked” that making adult movies became a “normal” and “routine” thing to her.
An honor-roll student in high school, DiGregorio became a single mother to a son at the age of 16. A few years after her son was born, DiGregorio said she started stripping to make money. She later moved to California, where her life in pornography began after her agent suggested she give it a try. DiGregorio said the experience after her first pornographic shoot felt similar to abuse, and described how she sat in the shower crying for hours afterward feeling gross and dirty.
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