Kayce Smith Clears Boyfriend Rumors With Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz

Sportscaster Kayce Smith was linked to former Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz after rumors about the latter having an affair with "a popular New York City-based podcaster" circulated online.

The gossip came amidst his firing from Hillsong church, reportedly on the grounds of "moral failure," and him revealing that he was unfaithful in his marriage with his wife, Laura Lentz.

The uncontrollable gossips led Kayce to her blog, where she addressed the gossips and denied any immoral relations between her and Carl.

Kayce's Dating Rumors Originated from Her Friendship with Lentz

The rumors of Kayce and Carl dating began to arise in November 2020 when Carl Lentz, a former pastor of Manhattan-based church Hillsong NYC, admitted to cheating on his wife. The event had unfolded after he was spotted having "a tense conversation" with his wife of 18 years in November 2020, according to DailyMail.

Previously, a gossip Instagram blog called Deux Moi had also alleged in a post that he was seeing a "popular New York-based podcaster who’s written stories about Lentz."

Now, this is where Kayce just got dragged in: she was a member of Hillsong NYC, and she had talked about Carl in her blogs and used his speeches in her social media handles. So, her association with Carl let many speculate that she was the rumored "podcaster."

Carl Lentz was spotted having "a tense conversation" with his wife. (Photo: Dailymail)

Redditors further began sleuthing of their own investigations into the nature of their relationship. One wrote on Reddit, "It's gotta be Kayce, right? Isn't she a member of his church?" to which another Reddit user replied with, "Yes and writes about him all of the time."

However, the podcaster was having none of it; she took it upon herself to quash the rumors.

She Denies Dating Carl through a Blog Article

When the rumors of Kayce, age 33, dating the pastor started making noise, she couldn't wait but address it through a blog article on the Barstool Sports website.

Kayce began the blog addressing her relationship with Carl was never her boyfriend and they were only limited to friendship. She cleared that their relationship was platonic, and it was not for everybody to understand their friendship. In her own words:

"I know I catch a lot of shit about my connection to Hillsong and relationship with my pastor and friend Carl Lentz. While it means everything to me, I don't expect people to always understand it," she wrote.

With that, she stood her ground. The TV host then focused the rest of the blog on her take on BLM's importance and how she became a victim of rumors just by sharing Carl's four-year-old passionate rant about BLM.

She wrote, "But after I shared Carl's passionate rant about BLM on my social platforms, I had SO many people - black, white, believers, non-believers - reach out to me about how powerful this 1:24 minute clip was to them."

"So I decided to share it here too. You don't have to be slightly religious to resonate with what he said in this video from 2016. It's the most rational take on "Black Lives Matter" from a white person I've ever seen."

Kayce Smith's full statement. (Photo: Barstool Sports)

It is not unheard of to have someone as beautiful as Kayce in media with her dating life as the focal point of attention. However, this whole ordeal seems to have affected her more than a normal dating rumor.

She even set her Instagram account to private following the backlash and, according to The Sun, has also unfollowed Carl on social profiles.

Kayce Also Responded to Criticisms of 'Not Being Barstool Enough'

 In 2019, she was criticized by many for being unfit for her current workplace, Barstool Sports, and was deemed "not Barstool Enough."

Kayce Smith at a Barstool Sports event. (Photo: Radio)

Before joining Barstool Sports in 2018, she worked as a sideline reporter for Fox Sports and appeared on the Boston Sports Tonight for NBC Sports. Her most popular ex-stint was hosting her own radio show, The Kayce Smith Show.

Later, her shift from network shows to Barstool, a site that focused most of its contents towards unabashed commentary, didn't sit right with many.

Due to that, Barstool fans had a hard time digesting a network reporter as a new hire. One fan on Reddit even wrote that she wasn't funny enough and didn't have much to bring to the table.

To be honest, she doesn't seem to bring much to the table. I've just heard her on the rundown a few times, so it's not the biggest sample size, but she doesn't really say anything funny. She also doesn't seem to be on the same page as pres at all. She's just meh.

However, Kayce took to a Barstool Sports Facebook video to respond to the criticisms. She asserted that she never claimed to be a standup comedian and was only there as a result of her love and passion for sports, which was not the first time she stood by the statement.

According to her LinkedIn profile, she has "a passion for and an extensive background in sports talk radio."

It seems that regardless of negative comments, Kayce has found her career haven with Barstool. She has proclaimed that she never had this much freedom in her entire career and has even extended her contract with Barstool Sports in 2020.

Beginning her sportscaster career at the age of 24 as a radio host on the TexAgs station in 2012, Kayce sure has come a long way.