She married him thinking to change his ways, and for a while he got religion, but he was ever a backslider; she soon began finding bottles stashed about the house.
a recidivist; one who backslides, especially in a religious sense; an apostate
Hyphenation
a recidivist; one who backslides, es·pe·cial·ly in a re·li·gious sense; an a·pos·tate