Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | August 31, 2026
If you’re into seriously disturbing true crime, Netflix’s The Pastor’s Wife depicts one seriously messed-up relationship between an evangelical woman, Mica Miller, and her dangerously controlling pastor husband, JP Miller. The series kicks off with the unfortunate death of Miller, dead of what is eventually ruled a self-inflicted gunshot, in a national forest 70 miles from her home. JP Miller is never charged in her death, but even if he did not directly pull the trigger, it’s clear from the evidence laid out in the three episodes of The Pastor’s Wife that he created the circumstances that led to her decision to take her life. (Reddit sleuths, meanwhile, are not convinced that JP Miller didn’t have a more direct hand in it.)
The gist is this: Mica Miller began attending the evangelical Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, when she was 13. She was incredibly devout. When she was 18, she was married in the church in a ceremony that JP Miller officiated. Three years later, however, Mica and JP began having an affair, a controversial relationship between two married people with a 15-year age gap that nearly led to the demise of the church.
But Mica and JP eventually married, the congregation forgave them, and they resurrected the church. Soon, however, cracks began forming in their relationship. JP gave sermons about how wives were “helpmates” whose sole purpose in life was apparently to serve their husbands, both in their lives and in bed. He appeared to be a sex addict who used the Bible to compel his wife to have sex with him multiple times a day and allegedly paid unhoused people to have sex with her in front of him. He also forced her to take testosterone shots so that she could feed his sexual appetite. When she couldn’t, he had an affair with another church member. He compelled his wife to undergo breast augmentation surgery, and he had Mica institutionalized on a couple of occasions, refusing to allow Mica or her family to have any say in the matter.
It was a terribly abusive relationship in which JP weaponized the church against his devout wife, but when she finally got fed up with it and insisted on a divorce, things went from bad to worse. He attached trackers to her car. He slashed her tires. He texted and called her more than 50 times in one day. He drove to her house with a gun, threatening to kill her. He threatened to post nude photos of her online if she did not acquiesce — and, at one point, actually did post a nude.
He was horrible. Mica felt trapped. She died way too young. And apparently, because the divorce was not final, her husband — who remarried the woman with whom he had an affair a year after Mica’s death — appears to have written the obituary, because it’s not the kind of obituary that anyone in Mica’s family—who loathed JP—would have written. Somehow, he managed to make her obituary about him.
Mica Acacia Miller, 30, of Myrtle Beach, SC, passed away on Saturday, April 27, 2024. She was born March 7, 1994, in Wichita, Kansas, a daughter of Michael Francis and Angelita Ramirez.She is survived by her husband, Pastor John-Paul Miller of Myrtle Beach, SC; stepchildren, Logan, Zachary, Eli, Asher, and Selah; one brother, Nate Francis and his wife, Victoria; four sisters, Anna Francis, Sierra Brown and husband, Matt, Abi Francis and Destinee Barrientos and husband, Nicholas.
Mica was energetic, affirming, adventurous, faithful, loving, giving, forgiving, talented, joyous, creative, assertive, bold, determined, authoritative, passionate, hardworking, a risk taker, and so much more. She and JP have been friends since 2009 [when she was 15], married in 2017, and spent almost every single day and night together. Mica loved her little dog, Loki. She loved doing outdoor activities like waterfall repelling, hiking, skydiving, running, and going to the beach. Mica would take on any challenge, even if it was being a vegan for an entire year. Mica was a great stepmother, and an amazing wife and helpmate. She helped Pastor JP with the church in every way. Mica was the worship leader, graphics designer, youth leader, women’s ministry leader, and Pastor’s assistant. And she did all of this with the upmost integrity and faithfulness. Mica made the greatest of efforts to always be the best wife she could be. She truly served Jesus and her husband with all of her heart. She would praise her husband after every church service telling him he was the best preacher in the world (even if it wasn’t true). She also told him he was the funniest preacher in the world (even though that wasn’t true either). Mica loved her family soooooooo much. She looked forward to every text from her father or brother. She sought every opportunity to pour into her sisters. There were thousands of nights that she would pray out loud for God to always bless and take care of her family. They were constantly on her mind. Mica wanted more than ANYTHING for each member of her family to serve Jesus continually. Mica loved her ice bath, nice car, sauna, house, etc. but more than anything on earth, was her desire to see people come to Jesus!
Yes, I’m sure that Mica — desperately attempting to divorce JP — would want her obituary to be about how faithful she was to her husband, who was “the funniest preacher in the world.” This guy is completely unreal.
The Pastor’s Wife is a three-part docuseries currently streaming on Netflix. It’s a hard watch but, in a way, illustrates the ease with which men can control their wives with religion.
