The Truth About Remnant Fellowship Church Leader Gwen Shamblin Lara's Husband
Remnant Fellowship Church leader Gwen Shamblin Lara's husband, Joe Lara, was somewhat of a B actor who acted in more than 20 movies and films but was maybe best known for playing Tarzan in the series, "Tarzan: The Epic Adventures" in the 1990s. He certainly looked the part, with his chiseled features and romance-novel-hero's long, flowing hair.
According to his website, it was his good looks that got him into show business when, at 19 years old, he was approached by a model scout. He went for it and ended up working runways in Milan, Paris, and Geneva, as well as modeling for print ads. From there, he took acting classes and continually landed roles, including 20 leading roles in Tarzan films (have there been that many Tarzan movies?). He traveled the world making films and being studly.
According to his website, he was an athlete, a musician, an animal lover, and a licensed falconer, as well as being a licensed pilot since the age of 16. However, when a plane crashed into Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee on May 29, 2021, Lara was piloting. He and all six passengers died, including his wife and founder of the Weigh Down method of faith-based weight loss, Gwen Shamblin Lara, who then went on to found the Remnant Fellowship Church.
For as hardcore into God as Shamblin-Lara was, there is no mention of any religious affiliations on Lara's website. But that seemed to change when he married Shamblin in 2018.
Lara and Shamblin needed each other
According to NME, Lara switched from acting to trying to pursue a career in country music in 2002, and eventually moved to Nashville in 2011, per his website, Joe Lara. Tennessee is where Gwen Shamblin lived and built her enterprise. Bustle reported Shamblin met Lara while he was working as a handyman near Nashville. There is speculation that he sought out women who had money, and for Shamblin, she got the public support of Lara, which she didn't get from her previous husband.
According to Bustle, Lara had a daughter named Liana from a prior marriage to Natasha Pavlovich. The two were embroiled in a messy custody battle, with Lara filing a police report accusing Pavlovich of sexually abusing Liana, which Pavlovich said was proven to be a lie.
The Remnant Fellowship Church wrote of the seven people who died in the accident, saying "Gwen Shamblin Lara was one of the world's most kind, gentle, and selfless mother and wife [sic], and a loyal, caring, supportive best friend to all. She lived every day laying down her own life to ensure that others could find a relationship with God. Because of that, her memory will definitely remain for a long time as she has a place in millions of people's hearts around the world through her work with Weigh Down Ministries and Remnant Fellowship Church. "
Lara got an honorable mention as Shamblin's husband. "Her wonderful and supportive husband, Joe Lara, will also be greatly missed," the passage said.