Skip to main content

Fighting for Their Marriage and Winning

Share This article

“I had no business being, as a married man, I had no business being in there, none. I just fell to-to lust. And lust is heavy, I always used to judge David, until I became him,” says KC Miles. He was a champion high school wrestler with a rough past. During his junior year he fell in love with his classmate, Melissa, who was a devout Christian.

KC continues, “We became friends first. And at the same time, my Spanish teacher introduced to me the Bible. He started reading me scripture and asking me if I knew who Jesus was. So, I started doing Bible study with him, and Melissa saw that, and that gave her some confidence to date me. Those seeds that were planted in me by my Spanish teacher were important, very important.” 

They got married when they were 19 years old. KC wrestled in junior college, then began training for MMA cage fighting.

Melissa remembers, “When we were young and at that stage in our life, fighting was relatively new still. It wasn’t like as mainstream as it is today. So, I didn’t know really what to expect as far as lifestyle and how it would affect our marriage.”

KC reflects, “I wanted to win. I wanted to show people that the underdog can win, like the Rocky. I wanted to live that story. I wanted to get in that cage. And I wanted to fight. I was tapping pro fighters, you know. Once I seen that, was like this is me, I’m-I’m a fighter.”

In his hometown in California, KC poured himself into MMA training nearly every day. On the weekends he trained in Las Vegas with a goal of fighting in the UFC.

“My wrestling coach, Rocky, he warned me against training with certain people in MMA, and he told me how it’ll change you. And he meant morally. This is when the problem started for me,” says KC. “I didn’t know how professional athletes were - you know, I went to the strip clubs with them. And at first when I went, my hand shook violently. And it only did that three times. And after the third time, my hand didn’t shake anymore.”

KC continues, “I knew it was wrong being in there. But it was so exotic. Like my – like just seeing all that, I was like, 'What the heck.' I mean, there were all kinds of girls. Every shape and color and flesh is powerful, absolutely powerful. That temptation was heavy, heavy. And I did not like it, because I knew it was wrong. . . . every time I left, I literally looked up and said, 'I’m sorry, God.' I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I couldn’t stop. I kept going back to those strip clubs.”

Before long KC gave into temptation and began having an affair with a dancer. Melissa found out what was going on and was devastated. “I couldn’t bear it anymore,” said Melissa. “I was – at the end of my rope. I was constantly sad, depressed, and I just – I asked him to choose, you know. He was a fighter and I wanted him to fight for us.”

KC states, “I was trying to buy time, because I was trying to get on the Ultimate Fighters show. And she went to the bank and got half the money out of the bank account. And she comes home, and she divvies it out. And she says, 'No, you have a choice. And half of this is yours. If you want that life, you go. Take this money and leave your ring. I’m within my right to divorce you.' And when she said that it scared me, because Melissa is truly, in my mind, the only person that loved me unconditionally. And I – that’s when I called up my Spanish teacher and I asked him, 'What do I do?' And he says, 'You get down on your knees and you cry out to God.' And I was like, 'I don’t have time for this crap.' I had become so egotistical; I didn’t have time for God. I didn’t have time for Jesus. It was all about me. I was so selfish. I wanted to be in the UFC, and I wanted to be a champion. He came up and showed me who I was in the Bible. And I’m like, 'That’s not me.' He said, 'What are you gonna do?' And I picked Melissa. I picked my wife. And when she came home from work that day, I was still home. And she goes, 'Good. Now you’re moving.'"

KC moved in with his high school Spanish teacher and avoided outside influences from the MMA world. Instead, he began reading the Bible.

“When I started reading about Jesus, there is nothing else I wanted,” KC states sincerely. “I was hooked from the very second I opened that Bible. I had nothing else. There was nothing else I could do. I couldn’t go to the gym. I was working out at home, but I just went in the Bible and I’m like, 'What?' I would just look up and say, 'Why do you do this for us?' Like I know who I am. I’m selfish. And I just started falling in love with Jesus. I just started to miss my wife. And I spent six months alone without her. And that’s when I started to grow with the Lord.”

Melissa saw the changes taking place in KC’s heart and character. “He was turning the tables. He was thinking more about us as a couple and our marriage, and God’s plan than his plan, than his own plan,” says Melissa.

“As I got closer to Jesus, I was getting closer to Melissa,” says KC. “We would read Bibles together. We’d read scripture together and then go work out together. And she became my training partner. She became my best friend. I fell in love with Melissa differently. I fell in love with her soul.”

KC committed his life to Christ. They moved back in together and soon after started a family. Today their marriage is solid with Jesus as the foundation.

KC smiles, “Man, we were just too young people, it was real love, it really was, but I was in love with myself, too. Now I’m in love with her and not me. And that’s what picking up your cross and carrying it daily means, is pick Him and you pick your wife over yourself.”

With joyful tears Melissa says, “God came in. He came in – back into my life, back into my husband’s life, and we both had to really just trust and rely on Him and grow in Him. And I think that’s one of the most important things is how we both chose to stay together and grow towards God.” 

Warmly KC says, “I have a good life, and I don’t deserve it, but I’m grateful.”


 


Share Your Story

Share This article

About The Author

Karl Sutton
Karl
Sutton

Karl Sutton has worked in Christian media since 2009. He has filmed and edited over 200 TV episodes and three documentaries which have won numerous film festivals and Telly awards. He joined CBN in 2019 and resides outside Nashville with his wife and four kids. He loves cycling, playing music, and serving others.