Both Justin Bieber and wife Hailey Baldwin were raised devout Christians. But the pair wanted the experience of going through the rite of baptism as a married couple. The 26-year-old singer shared a series of photos to his Instagram account on Aug. 5, showing he and his 23-year-old bride in a pool while holding on to their pastor’s hand. It’s unclear when the ceremony took place, but the two have been legally married since Sept. 13, 2018, with a formal wedding coming just over a year later on Sept. 30, 2019.
Hailey was seen in an orange bikini with her blonde hair pulled back in a black hair clip. It is the same tangerine two-piece by Triangl that she donned in a June 27 Instagram photo during the couple’s road trip through the Utah desert. Justin was wearing tan trunks with a black and white waistband and stripe down the sides. The “Yummy” singer wrote in the caption, “The moment @haileybieber my wife and I got baptized together! This was one of most special moments of my life. Confessing our love and trust in Jesus publicly with our friends and family.”
At least one of the friends present praised the ceremony. E! News and Today Show entertainment journalist Jason Kennedy, 38, wrote in the comments, “One of the top moments of my life doing this with you.” The baptism appeared to take place in an outdoor pool, as sunlight bathed everyone’s skin and bounced off the water.
Justin’s former Pastor Carl Lentz sent his best wishes, writing “Amazing. Love you,” in the comments. Carl detailed in a Dec. 2015 profile by GQ how he baptized the then-troubled pop star in 2014 in NBA player Tyson Chandler’s bathtub. At the time Justin was living with Carl and his wife outside NYC when one day the enormity of his bad boy ways took over and he sobbed, “I want to know Jesus,” to Pastor Carl. Justin asked to be baptized, but couldn’t wait another minute for it to be properly scheduled, pleading “I want to do it now.”
Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin take a romantic stroll on the beach in Santa Monica on Jan. 5, 2019. Photo credit: MEGA.
They arrived at= a location in Manhattan where Hillsong Church rented a pool for baptisms, only to be met by hundreds of screaming fans. So they needed somewhere more private. Carl called up then NBA Kicks player Tyson at 2 a.m. after he’d returned home from a game at Madison Square Garden. The athlete agreed they could do the baptism in his apartment building’s private pool. But it turned out to be locked, so Justin fit into the 7ft tall athlete’s home bathtub, which was fortunately built for his large size. Then and there, Justin was reborn, and looked to rebuild his life from his troubled pop star ways.
Obviously his baptism with Hailey was much more sentimental and meaningful, having his loving wife, family and friends by his side this time around instead of his pastor and an NBA player. Justin and Hailey are currently on a cross country road trip, but the singer has been feeling very spiritual lately. He shared an Instagram post on July 30, reading “Jesus is our hope,” along with a lengthy caption about what the savior meant to him.