Alleigha Botner has become a central figure in the trial of former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn, who is accused of murdering his wife after allegedly having an affair with Botner.
But Sarah Reeves, a prospective church volunteer, claims the 24-year-old worship leader took a surprisingly judgmental stance toward her because she had a child outside marriage.
Botner has spent the past several days giving detailed testimony about her relationship with Flynn. Reeves said she first approached Botner about joining the music ministry at the Christian Life Center (CLC) in Troy, Ohio, in September 2025.
Reeves told Our News Outlet that Botner initially welcomed the idea.
According to Reeves, Botner soon offered her a position at the church, where Flynn was also working as a pastor.
Flynn has pleaded not guilty to shooting his wife, Ashley, at the couple’s home in Tipp City, Ohio, in February. He maintains that the mother of his two children was killed by an intruder.
Sarah Reeves (pictured) said Alleigha Botner judged her for being an unmarried mother, despite Botner’s alleged affair with former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn, who is on trial for his wife’s murder
Botner is pictured being sworn in earlier this week. She allegedly told Sarah Reeves that unmarried mothers were not welcome to join the Christian Life Center’s leadership team in Troy, Ohio
“We had a really good conversation,” Reeves said of her initial interview with Botner, who was working as a worship leader. “She shared a lot about her life and her family, and I was very open, as I always am, about my life.”
“I left there thinking I had made a new friend.”
Reeves said Botner appeared enthusiastic about her joining the ministry and sent a text the following day saying she “couldn’t wait for the upcoming journey.”
A week later, however, Botner allegedly withdrew the offer and said Reeves would first need to meet with the CLC’s male worship leader.
“I knew it was weird, but I agreed,” Reeves said. “I went in to have a meeting with him and Alleigha, and as soon as I sat down, I could just feel the weird judgment coming down on me.”
Reeves claimed the man immediately glanced at her left hand to determine whether she was wearing a wedding ring. She said he then told her that, because she and her son’s father were unmarried, she “didn’t meet the standards of the church.”
She further alleged that Botner and the man said they could not have “sexually immoral people on stage to lead the congregation.” Botner’s lawyer has been contacted for comment on Reeves’ claims.
The alleged comment, which Reeves says was made while Botner was involved with Flynn, is likely to draw renewed attention from those following Flynn’s murder trial.
Reeves, pictured, said she was always made to feel welcome as a worshipper at the CLC, but claimed difficulties began when she sought to join its music ministry
Alleigha Botner performs onstage at the CLC church in September 2023. Her married lover, Caleb Flynn, can be seen playing guitar behind her
Flynn is pictured with his late wife, Ashley, and their two daughters. Ashley was shot dead at the family’s home in Tipp City, Ohio, in February, while Flynn insists she was killed by an unknown intruder
Followers of the case have been captivated by the allegations surrounding Botner’s lengthy affair with Flynn.
Botner said she lost her virginity to Flynn and was forced to re-read a text she sent Flynn about his murdered wife saying saying: ‘I want to kill her, Caleb.’
Flynn maintains his wife was killed by an intruder.
Botner appeared ‘uncomfortable’ during the conversation about Reeves marital status, she said.
Reeves said she now wonders if Botner’s ongoing affair with Flynn was on her mind.
‘Looking back now, I understand why she felt so uncomfortable because she knew in her heart what she was doing,’ the mother-of-one told Our News Outlet. ‘She felt uncomfortable because she was having an affair with Caleb throughout this time.’
Reeves, who shared how she felt ‘destroyed’ and ‘publicly humiliated,’ went on to claim that Botner paid her a visit at her home a couple of weeks later to apologize.
She said Botner ‘prayed with me’ and was going ‘on and on about how beautiful marriage was.’
Botner wept in court when asked to re-read texts she sent Caleb Flynn where the pair fantasized about killing Flynn’s wife Ashley
Caleb Flynn is pictured in court Thursday. Jurors listened to two AI-generated love songs he ‘composed’ for his mistress
Reeves and her partner, who now have a three-year-old, were very involved in the CLC congregation and regularly volunteered at the church, she said.
She said that she had never felt judged at CLC in the many years she was a parishioner, but has ceased attending in the wake of the ‘disgusting’ way she was treated when she sought to become a member of its leadership.
She added that she was shocked when she learned about Botner’s affair with Flynn, claiming that ‘everybody [at the church] was so deceived.’
‘I don’t want it at all to come across as if I’m making this about myself because it is not about me,’ Reeves said. ‘But I did want to share just my experience in hopes that people will realize that this is a patterned behavior of hers.’
Botner and Flynn shared more than 100,000 texts over the course of their romance, which she told the court had begun in early 2024.
She was an honor roll student who performed in the marching band, competed in statewide choir competitions, acted in musicals, and was in the running for homecoming and prom queen before graduation from Graham High School in 2020.
The promising young woman went on to earn her associate’s degree in worship ministry at Highlands College, a premier Bible college in Birmingham, Alabama.
After graduation she returned to Ohio and worked at CLC, which is affiliated with the Assemblies of God denomination, as a worship leader at the church.
Flynn is pictured as a contestant in the 2013 season of American Idol. He passed initial auditions but was knocked out in the Hollywood round of the contest
Flynn and Ashley are pictured together in happier times. Botner said he spoke of hating his wife and her family and only remaining married for the sake of their two young daughters
Botner, pictured giving evidence on Thursday, has now moved to North Carolina
She was active in the young adults ministry, where she helped other youth to connect with her faith, and performed on stage during services alongside Flynn.
She and Flynn became romantically involved in early 2024 after she went through a breakup with another member of the church’s worship team.
Flynn showed interest in her first, Botner testified during his murder trial this week, which also saw her admit that she lost her virginity to him.
Flynn, who made it through to the Hollywood stages of American Idol in 2013, first met Botner when she was 20 and he was in his late 30s.
He regularly moaned about his wealthy in-laws to Botner, she testified and said Flynn told her he only stayed with Ashley because of their two pre-teen daughters.
Botner and Flynn got matching tattoos. Botner told the court that Flynn ignored her ultimatums to leave his wife for her – the final one allegedly given the month before Ashley was killed.
Botner, who now lives in North Carolina, concluded her time on the stand Thursday. Shortly afterwards, two AI-generated love songs Flynn ‘wrote’ for her were played to the court.
Flynn’s trial continues.
