Pastor Steven Cauble is best known as the first husband of actress Lisa Whelchel, star of the classic sitcom The Facts of Life. But unlike his famous ex-wife, Cauble built his adult life almost entirely outside the entertainment world, working for years as an associate pastor at one of Southern California’s most influential megachurches before the couple’s 23-year marriage ended in divorce.
Quick Bio of Steven Cauble
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | Steven Cauble |
| Known As | Pastor Steven Cauble |
| Profession | Associate pastor, church leader |
| Known For | First husband of actress Lisa Whelchel |
| Church | The Church On The Way, Van Nuys, California |
| Denomination | International Church of the Foursquare Gospel |
| Wife | Lisa Whelchel (married July 9, 1988; divorced March 2012) |
| Marriage Length | Approximately 23–24 years |
| Children | Three: Tucker, Haven, and Clancy Cauble |
| Public Profile | Very private; no public statements about the divorce |
Who Is Pastor Steven Cauble?
Steven Cauble is a Christian pastor who became publicly known through his marriage to Lisa Whelchel, the actress who played Blair Warner on The Facts of Life. Public records and reliable reporting confirm the basic shape of his story — his role as an associate pastor at a major Van Nuys church, his marriage to Whelchel, and their three children — but Cauble himself has never given interviews or made public statements about his life, career, or divorce. Nearly everything written about him online comes either from Whelchel’s own occasional public remarks or from a cluster of celebrity-profile websites that repeat the same unsourced biographical claims about his childhood, exact ministry duties, and current whereabouts. This profile sticks to what can actually be verified.
His Ministry Career at The Church On The Way
According to Lisa Whelchel’s own Wikipedia page and her publisher-provided author biography, Cauble served as an associate pastor at The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, California — the church Whelchel was attending when the two met. The Church On The Way was, at the time, one of the largest congregations in the country: under senior pastor Jack Hayford’s three-decade leadership (1969–1999), it grew from a small, aging congregation of 18 members into an early American megachurch that reportedly surpassed 10,000 members at its peak, and it was formally affiliated with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. Notable attendees over the years included actors Dean Jones and Pat Boone, and the church’s services were broadcast for a time by Trinity Broadcasting Network, founded by congregants Paul and Jan Crouch.
Beyond confirming that Cauble held an associate-pastor role there, no reliable public source details his specific day-to-day responsibilities, how long he served in that position, or whether he held any other ministry roles before or after it.
How He Met Lisa Whelchel
Whelchel has said publicly that she met her first husband through church — consistent with Cauble’s role as an associate pastor at the congregation she attended. Beyond that general account, no independently verifiable record documents the specific circumstances of how the two were introduced or how long they dated before marrying.
Their Marriage and Family Life
Steven Cauble and Lisa Whelchel married on July 9, 1988, a date confirmed on Whelchel’s Wikipedia page. Whelchel has described the marriage simply and without rancor in recent interviews, telling Fox News Digital in 2024 that she was “married for 23 years to my first husband” and expressing gratitude for the life they built together — particularly their three children.
The couple had three children together, whose first names — Tucker, Haven, and Clancy — are confirmed via Whelchel’s own publisher author biography, which describes her as a “busy homeschooling mother” of three. That same biography and Whelchel’s bestselling book So You’re Thinking About Homeschooling confirm that she educated her children at home for at least part of their upbringing, consistent with reports that the family generally avoided media attention around their children. Full legal middle and surnames for the children, along with their exact birth years, circulate on several celebrity-profile sites but aren’t confirmed by any primary source, so they’re best treated as unverified.
Their Divorce After 23 Years
Lisa Whelchel and Steven Cauble’s marriage ended in divorce, finalized in March 2012 according to Whelchel’s Wikipedia page — consistent with a September 2012 Christian Post report (citing a National Enquirer story) that described the split as having been finalized quietly, with Whelchel reportedly having filed paperwork in December 2011 and waited to make it public. That same report included claims from unnamed sources characterizing the marriage as troubled, but those characterizations were never confirmed by Whelchel or Cauble directly and should be read as secondhand speculation rather than established fact.
In her own public comments, Whelchel has not detailed the specific reasons for the divorce. She has instead spoken about it in general, reflective terms — telling Fox News Digital that she and her current husband, Pete Harris, “worked out a lot in our first marriage,” and that those earlier experiences helped both of them approach their second marriages more deliberately. Neither Whelchel nor Cauble has given a detailed public account of what led to the split.
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Lisa Whelchel’s Life After the Marriage
Lisa Whelchel remained a public figure after her divorce, continuing her writing and speaking career and periodically appearing in television projects tied to her Facts of Life fame. In 2019, she married Pete Harris, a psychologist based in Nashville. Whelchel has spoken about how the lessons of her first marriage shaped her approach to her second, describing a relationship in which she and Harris plan difficult conversations ahead of time and are clearer about what they each want and need.
Steven Cauble, by contrast, has not maintained any public profile since the divorce. No interviews, social media accounts, or verifiable public statements from him have surfaced.
What Isn’t Reliably Known
Several details commonly repeated about Steven Cauble aren’t backed by verifiable sources: his exact birth date, details of his childhood and parents, his specific ministry duties and title beyond “associate pastor,” his life and whereabouts since the 2012 divorce, and his current occupation or location. Celebrity-profile sites frequently present these as settled fact, often with suspiciously specific detail, but none trace back to a primary source or reliable reporting, so they should be read with caution.
Final Thoughts
Steven Cauble’s public story is almost entirely defined by two confirmed facts: his work as an associate pastor at a major Foursquare megachurch, and his 23-year marriage to Lisa Whelchel, with whom he raised three children before their 2012 divorce. Beyond that, Cauble has kept his life genuinely private — not through any dramatic effort to avoid attention, but simply by never stepping into the public eye the way his former wife did. What’s verifiable about him paints the picture of a private, consistent ministry career; what isn’t verifiable is best left that way rather than treated as fact.
FAQs About Steven Cauble
Who is Pastor Steven Cauble?
He’s a Christian pastor best known publicly as the first husband of actress Lisa Whelchel. He served as an associate pastor at The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, California.
When did Steven Cauble marry Lisa Whelchel?
They married on July 9, 1988, and divorced in March 2012, after roughly 23 years of marriage.
How many children do Steven Cauble and Lisa Whelchel have?
Three children, whose confirmed first names are Tucker, Haven, and Clancy.
Why did Steven Cauble and Lisa Whelchel divorce?
Neither has given a full public account. Whelchel has spoken generally about lessons learned from the marriage rather than specific reasons for the split.
What is Steven Cauble doing today?
There’s no reliable public information about his current activities, occupation, or location. He has not maintained any public profile since the divorce.
Is Steven Cauble still a pastor?
There’s no verified, current public information confirming or denying this. His past role as an associate pastor at The Church On The Way remains the most documented part of his ministry career.
Who is Lisa Whelchel married to now?
She married Pete Harris, a Nashville-based psychologist, in 2019.
