A marriage counselor charged with sexual assault is on trial in Texas accused of using her position of authority to have sex with a patient.

Sheila Loven counseled a couple in 2009 and allegedly used her counseling influence to encourage the wife to file for divorce, then had an affair with her husband.

Assistant District Attorneys Betty Arvin and Sean Colston are prosecuting the case.

The wife took the stand at the Tarrant County courthouse on Thursday and testified about her relationship with Loven, which she described as "visiting her best friend once a week to talk."

The wife said Loven spoke unfavorably about her husband for months and encouraged the two to divorce.

"It wasn't marriage counseling, it was divorce counseling," the wife said in court.

In Sept. 2009, after the wife filed for divorce, she met Loven at Flip's in Grapevine, Texas. Throughout lunch she disclosed to Loven suspicions she had about her husband seeing someone. She testified that after a possible girlfriend was mentioned, Loven admitted her involvement.

"It's me, it's me," the wife said Loven told her. "She had developed an interest in my husband and wanted to seek a relationship with him," she said in court.

The wife added that she was numb after the conversation with Loven and eventually got up and left the restaurant.

The Fort Worth Star Telegram reports that Loven and the husband had an affair for two months in 2009 before the couple reconciled after realizing that Loven had been deceiving them during their separate counseling sessions.

"I thought she was my friend, I thought she cared," the wife testified.

After the couple’s reconciliation, they started receiving sexually graphic, threatening and insulting text messages in Jan. 2010, allegedly from Loven.

The defense argued in court that the messages could not be authenticated. Judge Ruben Gonzalez over ruled the objections.

Prosecutor Betty Arvin quoted in court a text message to the husband that read: "When are you going to figure out that you are nothing without me? I made you a man."

A text sent to the wife read: "I want you to suffer."

The couple is now divorced.

Loven could face two to 20 years in prison if convicted. If convicted, as a first-time offender, she could get probation.

The trial is expected to resume on Thursday.

NBC News file

The same-name couple whose whirlwind, heart-warming romance drew headlines in the United States and abroad has divorced, the male Hildebrandt, Kelly Carl Hildebrandt, told NBC 6 on Friday.

Kelly Hildebrandt is no longer married to Kelly Hildebrandt.

Nope, that is not a typo.

The same-name couple whose whirlwind, heart-warming romance drew headlines in the United States and abroad has divorced, the male Hildebrandt, Kelly Carl Hildebrandt, told NBC 6 on Friday.

“How do they term it at the courthouse? Irreconcilable differences, that is what I would say,” Hildebrandt said. “We gave it our best shot.”

After the couple separated, male Kelly returned in March to his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, where family and friends live and where his tree-service business is situated, he said.

“She’s a Florida girl, and I’m a Texas guy,” he said. “We really did come from pretty different worlds.”

For the first time since the couple separated, male Kelly returned to South Florida for a visit this week, he said. He met with female Kelly a few days ago and there were “no hard feelings,” he said.

The tale of the two Kellys began in February 2009, when Kelly Katrina Hildebrandt, of Coral Springs, found the Facebook profile of her future spouse. She saw that they had the exact same first and last name and sent him a friendly greeting to note their shared name.  

Same Name Couple Celebrates 1st Anniversary

They started having online exchanges and three weeks later, male Kelly, then 24, traveled from Texas to South Florida to meet female Kelly, then 20. They hit it off immediately and got engaged.

NBC 6 first reported about the Kellys in July 2009, and their story soon after went worldwide. They appeared on the “Today Show,” “Inside Edition,” Fox News, the front page of Yahoo.com, their wedding picture made People Magazine and they were mentioned in the monologue of late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien.

On Oct. 11, 2009, Kelly and Kelly tied the knot in Lighthouse Point. Things were going well for the newlyweds: they lived together in Coconut Creek and celebrated their first anniversary with a trip to Key West.

Then last year, the pair filed for divorce. The court case is still listed as pending, Broward County court records show.

A Tale of Two Kellys

Male Kelly said he has been happy back in Texas. “That’s where all my connections are. It’s been really great since I got back,” he said.

When he moved, he didn’t have to travel back to Texas alone. “Kelly let me keep my dog,” he said.

Female Kelly couldn’t be reached for comment Friday. But in a statement, her mother told NBC 6: “Yes, I am sorry to say they have separated. I am happy to say they have remained good friends and are both doing well.”

Male Kelly said he would be reluctant to marry anyone with the same name again. He said he suspected there would be another spotlight if that were to happen.

“I wouldn’t want my future spouse to have to deal with everything from before,” he said. “That wouldn’t be a fair situation, given the media coverage.”

Asked whether the media spotlight affected his marriage, Kelly said he didn’t have an answer. “You know, I really don’t know on that,” he replied.

He was sure, however, that having the same name didn’t impede their love. That just happened to be the “cutesy side” of a real relationship, he said.  

Female Kelly has since removed her Facebook account.

John Amis / AP

Bishop Eddie Long walks to the pulpit with his wife, Vanessa Long, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010, at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta.

The wife of Bishop Eddie Long, the Georgia megachurch pastor once accused of coercing four young men into having sex, has told her lawyers to file for divorce, according to a statement issued Friday.

In the statement, Vanessa Long said she had decided to "terminate my marriage" after "a great deal of deliberation and prayer."

"It is my sincere hope that this matter can be resolved expeditiously, harmoniously, and fairly," she said in the statement.

"I ask that you respect my privacy and that of my family, as my attorneys and I have agreed that we will not try this case in the media, and I do not intend to make any further statements concerning this matter," she added. "I also ask that the public pray for my entire family during this difficult period of transition."

In May this year, Bishop Long settled lawsuits filed by the four men who once attended the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, in suburban Atlanta.

Days later the congregation cheered Long as he took the pulpit, while the choir opened the service with the hymn "Moving Forward," which began: "I'm not going back, I'm moving ahead. Here to declare to you my past is over."

Opposition to gay marriage
Long gained a reputation as a spiritual leader after turning his 150-member congregation into a following of 25,000 people and a televangelist empire, partly based on the idea that God would give wealth to the faithful.

He has been a vocal opponent of gay marriage.

The allegations by the men were not investigated criminally because Georgia's age of consent is 16. The young men were 17 and 18 when the alleged sexual contact occurred.

After the out-of-court settlement, Jessica Gabel, a Georgia State University law professor who specializes in trial strategy, told The Associated Press, "Nobody wants their dirty laundry aired in court. Every day there would be fanfare. This is not something you want in the media."

Gabel said that attorneys try to keep the terms of any agreement confidential, but added that it was noteworthy that Long was not required to apologize or acknowledge any wrongdoing.

The dismissal of the lawsuits was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It said the men alleged that the bishop used his influence, trips, gifts and jobs to coerce them into sexual relations.

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