TLC didn't provide me a caption so I don't know who is who here but they are part of TLC's new "Sisterhood" series. CREDIT: TLC

Will this be heaven sent or a devil’s wish?

In the latest twist on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,”  a new TLC show focuses on a quintet of women whose husbands are preachers.

Dubbed “The Sisterhood,” TLC’s new show will debut Jan. 1 at 9 p.m. (Back in February, the original working title of the show was “Preacher Wives.”) The network shot eight episodes for the first season.

Conceptually, these women are known as “First Ladies” and are set to a higher standard because they are preachers’ wives. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t human with foibles and skeletons in their closet.

People.com received an exclusive teaser video you can watch here.

The publicity department only provided the first names of this diverse set of women so I did quick background checks on each one. Interestingly, two of the women don’t even have technical congregations to serve.

DOMONIQUE SCOTT

How the show describes her:

Brian and Domonique Scott will be on "The Sisterhood" on TLC.

Domonique is anything but your typical preacher’s wife. She’s bold, she’s brash, and she’s unapologetically honest. After moving to Atlanta, she met and married Brian, an Evangelical pastor, and they had two daughters together. After years of growing The Good Life Ministry, the couple fell on hard times and were forced to close the church’s doors. They are now looking for new opportunities to fulfill their calling and Domonique is hoping to repair the damage that losing the church caused to her marriage.

Their website goodlifechurch.org is still up. I did a Nexis search on her. She’s 45, her last known address is in Lawrenceville and she grew up in Miami. She filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2004. She had an eviction notice placed against her in 2010 in Lawrenceville and she’s had several tax liens placed against her in recent years by the IRS and the state of Georgia.

TARA Y. LEWIS

Tara Lewis calls herself a "passionista."

Here’s the publicist’s description:

When most people think of preacher’s wives, they think of demure ladies in big hats, conservative suits, and strands of pearls. So when people find out Tara is a First Lady, they usually do a double take. She’s fit and fabulous and her wardrobe leaves little to the imagination. Tara and her husband Brian recently relocated their family from Los Angeles to Atlanta so Brian could pastor a new church. However, Brian, who was actually raised Jewish, lost his position at the church after only six weeks. Now the two are struggling to find their footing in a city where new churches… and new friends…are hard to come by.

They have a website called Phenomenallife.org. (Apparently, this is bigger than just what Domonique has to offer since it’s “phenomenal.”) She describes herself immodestly as “TV Host, Published Author, Certified Fitness Instructor, Certified Sports Nutritionist, Pastor and Très Chic Passionista, best known for her radiant beauty and Southern charm, Lewis has managed to stay in great shape, excellent health, and look über hot for having four children.”

According to Nexis/Lexis, she’s 41 and has lived for many years in Los Angeles before coming to Atlanta just before the show was announced in February. She has also lived in Texas and Ohio. She filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 1997.

IVY COUCH

Most First Ladies do not have a colorful past like Ivy. As one of the members of girl group Xscape, Ivy lived the partying life of a pop star. But since meeting her husband Mark, pastor of the Emanuel Tabernacle Church, Ivy is singing a different tune. She is now a dutiful First Lady, wife, and mother to a one-year old son. However, her not-so-wholesome past helps Ivy relate to and connect with her inner city congregation.

Inevitably, they had to find an R&B singer to be part of this crew. While she says she’s a former member of Xscape, I couldn’t find any evidence online of her presence. The Xscape wikipedia page, for instance, does not list her as a member. (”Real Housewives of Atlanta” has a former member of Xscape in Kandi Burruss. Tameka “Tiny” Cottle is on VH1’s “T.I. and Tiny” after starring in a BET series “Tiny and Toya.”)

So I called her and she gave me the skinny on her Xscape connection: she joined the group around 2000 after Burruss had left but the group had lost its Jermaine Dupri label deal. She said she was already friends with Tamar Braxton and Tiny and lived with Tiny for a year.  In the end, she spent about a year with them, but they didn’t do much. She recalls one concert and participated in Dupri’s “Welcome to Atlanta” video but otherwise, it wasn’t all that fruitful and she left. She said she has one single Rolling Out article with a photo of her with the group and Ryan Cameron from 2001 as evidence of her brief time there.

A Nexis/Lexis background check says she’s 35 and lives in Fairburn. A Spelman graduate, she married her husband two and a half years ago and runs a music ministry.

CHRISTINA MURRAY

It’s rare that you’ll hear a first lady say, “I’m Dominican and I don’t play!” But Christina often makes it known that she’s a sassy Latina who you don’t want to mess with.
Christina and her husband Anthony run one of the largest and most successful churches in Atlanta called the Oasis Family Life Church. But the success of their church also means they struggle to meet the needs of their ever-growing congregation. And, if that weren’t stressful enough, Christina and Anthony also have to wrangle their two challenging teenage daughters who are just as sassy as their mother.

I love how the publicists call a church based in Dallas in Paulding County as “Atlanta.” I guess that’s metro Atlanta, loosely speaking.

According to Nexis/Lexis, she’s 34 and lives in Douglasville.

DELANA RUTHERFORD

Delana and Myles Rutherford

One look at DeLana singing on stage in her leather pants and spiked heels and you’ll definitely think she’s a rock star. But don’t let her rocker chick exterior fool you – she’s a First Lady through and through. DeLana and her husband Myles pastor the Worship with Wonders Church where music plays a big part in their ministry. They write their own music and perform original songs at every Sunday service. In addition to music, DeLana is passionate about helping children. She has two children of her own and often acts as a surrogate mother to young members of her congregation in need.

Their church is based in Kennesaw. It describes itself as “a non-denominational spirit-filled and on-fire church.” According to Nexis/Lexis, she’s 37 and lives in Acworth.

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