Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel 'secretly ends marriage after 23 years'

By Jennifer Pearson

PUBLISHED: 18:10 EST, 19 September 2012 | UPDATED: 18:32 EST, 19 September 2012

Facts of Life star-turned-minister Lisa Whelchel has ended her marriage after 23 years, it has been claimed.

The actress, 49, who is about to star in the upcoming season of Survivor: Philippines, has three children with pastor Steve Cauble, 62.

Lisa waited until their youngest child, 19, went away to college before quietly filing for divorce in Denton County, Texas, in December 2011, according to the National Enquirer.

Single: Facts of Life star-turned-minister Lisa Whelchel, pictured at a CBS party in Hollywood earlier this week, has allegedly split from her husband

Cauble, who is 13 years Lisa's senior, didn't contest it.

Only a few family members and close friends even know about the split, but the couple has been living separate lives for months now, with Cauble buying a new bachelor pad in North Texas, according to the report.

The sitcom star was 25 and a born-again Christian when she wed Cauble in 1988.

Happier days: Lisa with husband Steve Cauble and their children, Tucker, Haven and Clancy in March 2004

The Facts of Life had just ended and, as she claimed in her 2001 autobiography, she was encouraged by her father to marry Steve, who was one of the pastors at her church.

She did marry him and they lived in Sherman Oaks, CA for many years before moving to Lantana, Texas in 2006.

Lisa can now be seen on the 25th season of Survivor.

On Survivor: Phillippines, which starts airing Wednesday night on CBS, Lisa is a member of the Tandang tribe.

Lisa must compete against 17 other castaways while stranded in an isolated area  in the Camamoan Islands, in humid, uncomfortable conditions.

Tribe member: The star will return to TV screen Wednesday night on Survivor: Philippines

This was a challenge for Lisa, who has authored several Christian-themed books and runs the women's support group Momtime Ministries which she founded in 2000.

Then again, Lisa had to face the hard facts of reality as a teen growing up in front of the camera.

Behind the scenes on The Facts of Life, TV bosses pressured her to shed excess pounds and sent her to a weight loss center, 'three of them,' she says.

None of them worked and producers finally decided to let the girls just be the size nature intended them to be.

Sitcom star: The Facts of Life made Lisa a household name in the 1980s.

'I'm so grateful that it turned out the way it did,' Whelchel said. 'I looked like a normal teenage girl. We looked like normal teenage girls. You didn't have to be a size two.'

The years have been kind to Lisa.

Appearing at the CBS's Survivor fall premiere party in West Hollywood Tuesday night, Lisa looked glowing and youthful in a belted black dress and cowboy boots.