At one point in time, Kel Mitchell was the man.
He was one of the stars of the Nickelodeon hit Kenan & Kel. He was in the uber-popular film Good Burger. He was a regular in the sketch series All That. He made regular guest appearances on beloved ’90s teen shows, and you couldn’t think of orange soda without thinking of him.
But after four seasons of Kenan & Kel, the show came to a surprising end in 2000. After that, regular TV and film roles for Mitchell were hard to come by, and his first wife (whom he married in 1999) wanted out of their marriage in 2005 after having two kids together.
Kel admitted recently to People that during that time, “I felt like I hit a wall.”
A hard wall complete with drugs and alcohol, “all types of sin” as well as “debt, hurt” and “pain.”
But Mitchell said he finally realized that he needed to return to his faith to find his healing.
“I was trying to figure it all out on my own. But what I needed to do was turn to Him,” Mitchell said. “Once I found that clarity with Christ, I knew everything would work out.”
So Mitchell focused solely on God, becoming a stage manager at a non-denominational Christian church in L.A. Mitchell said once he did, his life changed for the better. He elaborated about that change on his personal blog:
“I let him in and Life is GOOD now, my eyes have been opened. I have always known God but now I have a true understanding of who he is and why I am here and why God has kept me safe and sinful ways are no longer around me because I am surrounded with the love of Jesus and I have allowed him to make the decisions in my life. I study the word I worship his name with praying and song. I’M GOOD AND HAVE BEEN FEELING GREAT!”
And he’s also found love again as well as new opportunities. Mitchell married a young woman named Asia Lee in 2012. He was the voice of Jay Jay on the popular Nicktoons show Wild Grinders from 2012 to 2015, and he is one of the stars of the new Nickelodeon show, Game Shakers (which airs Saturdays at 8:30 p.m.). He also reconnected with Kenan Thompson recently after reuniting for a Good Burger sketch on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and they’re working together again. And he’s also back on the stand-up comedy circuit and does his fair share of motivational speaking.
But more important than renewed success, is his renewed relationship with God (and with his kids Lyric and Allure). He’s filled with peace and prosperity.
“I enjoy living this life. I don’t let things frustrate or worry me anymore. I don’t do that because I have peace in my heart. I have God.”
