Jen Hatmaker has offered a supportive response to former contemporary Christian music singer Kim Hill's account of falling in love with Paulette Wooten and stepping away from the industry that shaped their careers.
During the October 23 episode of her For the Love podcast, Hatmaker welcomed the women-who now perform as Wooten Hill-for a conversation about their relationship, the losses they experienced and their return to music.
"I find that kind of faith the most faithful kind of faith," Hatmaker said, according to the episode's official highlights. She also told them, "Your story has made you softer, not harder."
Those remarks give the conversation a particular significance: Hatmaker's response recognises faith within the story Hill and Wooten are telling about their lives together. Her comments frame their experience as a continuing spiritual journey, offering encouragement as they revisit a painful departure from Christian music.
In a separate interview with PEOPLE, Hill said the couple understood that pursuing their relationship would mean leaving the genre. She described consequences involving careers, longstanding friendships and family relationships. Sixteen years later, they are sharing their experiences through their new album, How Did We Get Here.
Hatmaker's interview explores how the pair moved from friendship into love, rebuilt their lives and eventually returned to recording. The episode presents that return as part of a longer process of becoming willing to tell their story publicly.
Her involvement also extends to their songwriting. Hatmaker is credited alongside Wooten on "Gold Stars," the opening track on the new album. Meanwhile, "Rise" features guest vocals from Vicki Hampton, Robert Bailey, Kim Keyes and Shelly Fairchild. Those contributions document artistic collaboration; they do not, by themselves, establish each participant's position on the couple's relationship.
For listeners who remember Hill from Christian radio and women's ministry events, the interview brings her present life into view alongside her earlier public ministry. Hatmaker's response offers one clear example of a Christian author publicly welcoming that account and speaking affirmatively about the faith expressed within it.
Listen to the full conversation: Kim Hill and Paulette Wooten: We Fell in Love and Lost Our Whole World.
