Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid
Dolly Parton is one of the most legendary American performers, but despite a life lived in the public eye, she has kept her personal life close to her heart. Finally, Dolly has revealed the secrets and struggles she’s endured throughout her long marriage. There’s no doubt Dolly has and is leading a life full of accomplishments, but despite taking pride in being completely open with her fans, there’s one thing miss Parton has made sure to keep to herself – and it involved her husband.
Going For Half A Century
Dolly Parton is rarely seen with her husband by her side, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been behind the scenes for the majority of her career. Parton and her husband, Carl Dean have been married for more than 50 years, but getting to that milestone hasn’t always been an easy road to travel. In her recently released book,Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton, she shared some surprising revelations about her long-lasting relationship.
A Whirly-wind Romance
Dolly Parton moved to Nashville the moment she graduated high school, and it seemed fate was on her side. The day after she moved, she happened to meet and fall in love with a handsome stranger who spotted her doing laundry at the Wishy Washy Laundromat. He was concerned that she would get a sunburn in her revealing clothing and saw fit to tell her so. Dolly said she immediately noticed he was looking at her face first, and the couple quickly fell in love.
At First Glance
The notoriously private Carl Dean finally shared his side of the story with regards to what it was like to meet Dolly. He released a statement in honor of his anniversary last year that read, “My first thought was I’m gonna marry that girl. My second thought was, ‘Lord she’s good lookin’. And that was the day my life began.” Dean had been driving past the laundromat in his pickup truck when he saw Dolly, and just knew he had to speak to her.
Giving In To Surprise
Dolly Parton was enchanted by the tall, good-looking stranger who seemed so worried about her creamy skin. The attraction went more than skin deep, however, as Dolly found herself“surprised and delighted” that he was looking at her while they chatted, rather than just her body. The”a rare thing for me,” she said—and “seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.”
Puppy Love
Despite their youth, Dolly was only 18 and Carl 21, the young lovers became nearly inseparable after their happenstance introduction. At the same time, Dolly’s music career was quickly picking up, and it seemed like she was on the fast track to success. Dolly signed with her first label shortly after her arrival in Music City, but she didn’t realize just how much she would be asked to sacrifice by the executives in order to get her dreams off of the ground.
A Promise For The Ages
Dolly and Carl were ready to get engaged as Dolly’s career was beginning to ramp up. Parton toldCMT News about the moment they told Dean’s parents about their,“When Carl and I told his mother that we were getting married, she was so excited that she was finally gonna get to do a wedding. Because her only daughter had eloped. So she was so happy she would get to throw a big wedding party.”
Retreating To The Country
As excited as both the Partons and the Deans were for their children, Dolly would have to deflate their joy when her label called and gave her instructions as to how they wanted her wedding to play out. Given that she was on the verge of releasing her debut album, the executives didn’t want her wedding to be a distraction from the work they’d done cultivating their image. Dolly was eager to please, but wouldn’t be deterred just yet.
The Longest Wait
Dolly revealed,“Everyone at my label had invested money in me and in building my career, so they asked me if I’d wait a year to get married. And I didn’t want to not do what I was supposed to do. Carl’s mother was just heartbroken.” Dolly and Carl were eager to tie the knot, and in the end, decided that they couldn’t wait an entire year before they got married. Though the affair wasn’t what they’d envisaged, it became a fond memory.
Midnight Train To Georgia
Dolly and Carl weren’t going to be dissuaded from tying the knot so easily. The pair decided to head over to Georgia, in order to keep the local media in Tennessee at bay. Parton took only her mother with her, but once they arrived, she found she needed one extra touch to make the union feel real. It was Memorial Day 1966, and the pair had been together for two years. It seemed to be a now or never moment.
Her Mother’s Guidance
Dolly has finally divulged the details of her secret wedding toCMT, saying, “My mother made me a little white dress and a little bouquet. But I said, ‘I can’t get married in a courthouse because I’ll never feel married.'” She continued, “So we found a little Baptist church in town, and went up to Pastor Don Duvall and said, ‘Would you marry us?’ We got pictures on the steps right outside the church.” It wasn’t what she imagined, but then again, neither was marriage itself.
Star On The Rise
As Dolly’s profile in the country music world began to grow, she had to contend with how her husband felt about her professional goals. Shortly after their nuptials, Carl Dean joined Dolly for an event that included a red carpet. He suited up for the engagement, but on the way home, he supposedly told her, “Dolly, I want you to have everything you want, and I’m happy for you, but don’t you ever ask me to go to another one of them dang things again!”
Self Made Woman
Dolly Parton may have been a star in the making when she met her husband, but despite her long-held dreams of fame and fortune, there was a time in her life when her dreams seemed to be no more than a fantasy. The Southern beauty was born and raised in Tennessee. However, that’s about all her life today has in common with her past. Given her upbringing in the backwoods of the Smoky Mountains, her success couldn’t have been more surprising.
Cheaper By The Dozen
Dolly Parton had no illusions of living a charmed life. She was born the fourth child into a family of small-time farmers, who would go on to have 12 children total. In recent days, Dolly has been more forthright about just how difficult her childhood was. For starters, her parents were so poor, they allegedly paid the doctor for Dolly’s birth with a bag of cornmeal. She didn’t know it, but she would have a long road to travel.
Crammed Into The Cabin
Parton and her family lived together in a one-room cabin. Dolly has been candid about the difficulties they faced, given that their home not only had to accommodate 14 people, but they had no electricity or running water. Oftentimes, the only respite the family had from the crushing stone of poverty was music and religion. It was in church that Dolly first discovered her voice, like many other country stars, but breaking out of the backwoods would not be an easy task.
Doting On Daddy
In 2015, Dolly wrote a tribute to her late father, who had passed in 2000, in celebration of the ways he influenced her life. She explained how though they were poor, and her father nearly broke his back trying to provide for the family, the children never lacked for gratitude. In fact, they easily recognized just how hard he was working, and she said they’d fight over the opportunity to wash his feet and rub them with corn silk lotion.
Pass The Bucket
Dolly also recalled the important of her father’s ‘dinner bucket.’ Lee Parton would leave the house every day with a green tin lunchbox in hand every single day, but no matter how hard he was working, she said he would always save a portion of his lunch for his hungry children back at home. She shared that it may have only been a bite of pie or a sandwich, or sometimes even just a piece of bologna, but the kids all cherished those morsels.
A Magical Elixar
Without modern comforts that were afforded to more affluent areas, even in the 1950s when Dolly was growing up, the family had to make do with whatever they could find. There was no such thing as television in the Parton household, but the children and their parents, Robert and Avie, managed to entertain themselves. Most exciting of all was when Dolly’s father came into a battery, which allowed the family to huddle together and listen to country music on the radio now and again.
Winter Winds
Though Dolly has made light of her poverty-stricken childhood, some of her stories are no laughing matter. She shared that in order to bathe, they’d use the river in the summer, but in the winter, it was simply too cold, and they’d have to heat a pan over the fire. Dolly shared that her siblings often wet the bed, which she learned to appreciate when it was the only source of warmth they had, though it caused her to bathe often in the winter.
Out Of The Picture
As Dolly’s 53rd wedding anniversary creeps ever nearer, she’s continued to expand on how to keep the spark alive after all that time. In a recent interview, she exclaimed,“I always joke and laugh when people ask me what’s the key to my long marriage and lasting love. I always say ‘Stay gone!’ and there’s a lot of truth to that.” All of the time they spend apart makes them appreciate theirquiet moments together even more.
Untapped Potential
It was Bill Owens, one of Dolly’s uncles on her mother’s side who began to push for the young songwriter to consider a professional career. Dolly recalled the time he drove her in his rickety car all the way to Louisiana so they could record a song they wrote together, called “Puppy Love” for a local radio station. Dolly reminisced about having to sleep in his car, but it seems the experience would all be worth it in the end.
First Time Thrill
There’s nothing quite like the thrill of hearing your first single on the radio, and the experience was no different for Dolly. She was only 12 when “Puppy Love” was released, and couldn’t have been more excited when she finally heard her voice ringing out over the radio waves. She revealed in an interview toThe Guardian, “The radio was across the room and I almost killed myself, slipping in the mop water, trying to turn the volume up.”
Hoping To Cash In
Before Dolly made it as a big star, she had the chance to sing on the hallowed stage of the Grand Ole Opry. At that time, Dolly finally had an opportunity to hear some of the biggest country stars sing live, and there was one who she found particularly impressive. In those early years, the impressionable girl found herself quite taken by Johnny Cash. “He had this tick when he moved his shoulder,” she said, “and it was still sexy. It still got to me.”
Wishing On The Books
It seems unsurprising that Dolly’s favors her famed over the top looks given the kind of deprivation she experienced in her youth, though some of her grandiose style seems to have been inherited by her mother. She shared that her mother’s guilty pleasure was looking at catalogs. She would say that these “wishbooks” as they called them “[m]ade you wish you had things you didn’t have. I wanted fancy clothes, I wanted jewelry, I wanted to be pretty.”
A Lighter History
Despite the hardships Dolly endured as a child, her sense of humor always seems to shine through, even when discussing just how little they had. “You know they always talk about two rooms and a bath?” Parton joked about her childhood. “We had two rooms and a path.” She continued to add, “We’d have running water when we’d run to get it. We didn’t have any electricity. If fireflies were out, we’d catch them in a mason jar and put them in our bedroom.”
Scraping By
Long after Dolly Parton had become a household name, she wrote about some of the experiences she had as a child in some of her songs. One of the best known perhaps is ‘Coat of Many Colors.’ It might sound like an homage to Joseph’s famously vibrant coat in the bible, which it is, but Dolly shared that it was also a reference to how her mom would make clothes for the kids out of rags and other fabric scraps.
Tousled And Teased
Despite the adversity, Dolly made do with what she could, painting her lips red with a chemical that couldn’t be rubbed off as a young child. By high school, she had climbed her way to the top of the social pyramid, given that she didn’t look all that different than she does now. With the help of hairspray and some money earned through radio performances, Dolly was already sporting a tall bouffant, which she paired with “clothes so tight she could hardly wiggle in them.”
Backwoods Barbie
When Dolly Parton met Carl Dean, she was dressed no differently than she did in high school, and it seemed her loud personality, the very same that drove her towards show business in the first place, impressed him. Shortly after their marriage, Dolly became a regular onThe Porter Wagoner Show. Marriage seemed to be going as well as her career, a rarity in show business, but things were going to start getting rocky in a way the couple never expected.
Settling Into Home
While Dolly Parton began touring the country as an acclaimed and popular musician, her husband was content to stay in Tennessee and build a decidedly unglamorous business as a road paver. Dean never minded staying home to mind his business while Dolly was off living the glamorous life. She had told him from the start she wasn’t going to be content living life as a homemaker, which Dean happily accepted. He liked the country life, but he would show his support in different ways.
A Grander Return
After Dolly hit it big, there was one thing she really wanted to do, which was purchase her childhood home. Though she wanted to preserve the rustic charm it held when the family lived in deep poverty, she also still thought it should have an update. “I spent a couple million dollars making it look like I spent $50 on it,” she explained. “Like in the bathroom, I made the bathroom so it looked like an outdoor toilet.”
Shy From Dollywood
Dolly’s success has spanned countless hit records and singles, but it also gave her the ability to branch out from just focusing on music. She’s quite possibly the only star, in the United States at least, who has their own theme park. The park itself is situated not too far from her hometown. There’s just one little problem….Dolly is afraid of riding on rollercoasters.“I’ve got too much to lose—like my hair!” she once told USA Today.
Covering The Art
As Dolly’s career progressed, many rumors began to spring up about the different sort of work she had done to her body, namely that she was absolutely covered with ink. Dolly hasn’t been shy about her surgical procedures, so it seems just a little weird that she would go to great lengths to hide tattoos from the public. In truth, Dolly finally divulged that she did have some tattoos in hidden places, which she had gotten done to cover scars.
Emerging From The Shadows
Though Carl Dean kept his profile low, Dolly and her sister Stella have been vocal about the fact that he’s always there when it matters. He was rarely if ever photographed with his wife, but there was one incident the pair still laugh about. Parton was doing a concert at a rodeo, and during Carl’s favorite song, “Higher and Higher,” she spotted him onstage, singing with her backup vocalists. As a joke, Dolly alerted security, who almost removed Dean, until they realized who he was.
Bringing The Bombshell
One of Dolly’s most recognizable characteristics is her shapely silhouette. When she was asked about being teased for the size and shape of her assets, Dolly answered that in the beginning, she was somewhat uncomfortable on what people were focusing their attention on, Then, she added, “I realized that it was me showing it off with tight clothes and stuff. So, it don’t bother me as long as it’s in good taste. If it gets tacky, I don’t respond and that makes them look worse…”
Flipped On Its Head
There’s one thing that Dolly has never made a secret of, and that’s her love of surgical fixes. “I try to make positives out of negatives. I did whatever I needed to build my confidence, and when people don’t believe I had plastic surgery, I say “Yeah, I don’t look old but I have aged my plastic surgeons.” She continued by adding that all of the work she does is to make sure how much she really works doesn’t show.
Back To The Grind
Dolly’s 1980 film, 9 to 5, which starred the singer along with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda was a massive hit, but surprisingly, they never made a sequel. Now, she’s revealed why.”I was never willing to do a sequel, because they never came up with anything that was as good as the original. I don’t like to mess with history, you know? But this would be addressing the same issues, and they need to be addressed again and some more, in different ways.”
In The Name Of Love
Dolly may have no plans to stop working, even at 72, but she did say there was one thing that would make her slow down, even just a little bit. She shared withPeople, “If my husband needed me, or someone in my family, I would put him first,” she says about her longtime love. “I’ve always put myself first and my career first, but if something were to happen to him, I would pull back on that.”
The Hardest Moment
In the early 1980s, however, Dolly began to struggle with her marriage. While it isn’t clear whether or not their marriage is open, she has recently revealed that she had an emotional affair with another man, which almost drove her off the deep end. Though Parton hasn’t indicated that she was considering leaving her marriage, she said she was in such personal turmoil, that she found herself in a moment of sheer desperation considering ending her life.
Bringing It All Back
It wasn’t just Dolly’s marriage that was giving her trouble around that time. She also found her normally steady career just wasn’t holding up as well as it once had. She needed to find a way to reinvigorate her music, which meant turning back to her roots. She brought it all home with “Little Sparrow,” which marked Dolly’s return to the bluegrass sound of her childhood growing up in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee.
Popeye Saves The Day
Dolly recounts how she was holding the weapon she kept for home safety, when she heard her dog, a little French bulldog named Popeye come pattering into the room. “The tap-tap-tap of his paws jolted me back to reality I suddenly froze. I put the gun down. Then I prayed. I kinda believe Popeye was a spiritual messenger from God” she discloses in her new book. That moment might have been her lowest point, but she wasn’t ready to let go of Dean just yet.
How Long Is Forever?
Surprisingly, Dolly’s big hit song, “I Will Always Love You” wasn’t actually written about her husband, which begs the question, who will Dolly always love? The truth is, the song had no illusion to Dean or the state of their marriage, Dolly simply wrote it as a goodbye to the Porter Wagoner Show. The song has had three record-setting releases, making it the only song to debut at number one on the charts more than once.
Allegations Pile Up
Dolly has always been beset by rumors about possible romances that occurred with her costars. When she was working on Best Littler whor*house In Texas, whispers floated around that she had gotten involved with Burt Reynolds, despite her later accounts of how horrible he was to work with. Other famous men she was linked to include Sylvester Stallone, Billy Ray Cyrus, whose daughter Miley is her goddaughter, and Kenny Rogers. Dolly hasn’t confirmed any of the romances, and often states that they were simply platonic.
Open Or Closed
With all of the rumors swirling, it can be hard to tell if Dolly and Carl are in an open and closed relationship. She has said, “People always ask me if I’ve had extramarital affairs, and you can draw your own conclusions.” She continued, “He seems to know that I’ll be back, and that love affairs and relationships are just part of my dealings with people.” To add to the confusion, however, she has also said that she only means flirting, not true affairs.
Only He Sees
Dolly has another secret that she reserves only for her husband: her tattoos. She has explained that while she is not secretly covered in ink, she has received a couple of tattoos over the years, but in hidden places where only her husband will see them. Given her flashy sense of style, it’s a little bit surprising that Dolly would be so surreptitious about her body art, especially considering how open she otherwise is about her bodily modifications.
Bank Of Auburn
Given Carl Dean’s preference for staying in the shadows, there have always been rumors swirling as to the nature of his and Dolly’s private relationship. While Dolly is known for her outgoing charm, it was her jealousy over the attention she perceived her husband to be getting that likely inspired one of her best-known songs, “Jolene.” She explained how she’d tease him for going to the bank so often, where a leggy, red-headed teller had a very obvious crush on Dean.
Bubbling Between Them
As the years passed, the public never knew what to think about Dolly and her ever elusive husband. New information has surfaced recently that Dolly may have had another dalliance with a different man who was in her close circle in the early 1990s. According to theDaily Mail, Dean is still angry with his wife about the alleged affair, which supposedly was carried out for six years. Dolly has never confirmed the rumor, but supposedly the tryst ended when she refused to leave Carl.
Getting Cozy
Given the demands of Dolly’s career, it’s not unusual for her to rely on a trusted assistant in order to get through her day to day life. Dolly’s assistant, Judy Ogle, has been a close friend since the girls were children, however, their closeness has caused tongues to wag. Some suspect the two women at one point carried out an affair, especially after Dolly revealed that they often shared a bed. “Why scream across the room when you don’t have to?” Dolly explained.
Slight Of Home
Talk of marital spats are few and far between when it comes to Dolly and Carl, most likely because Carl is so rarely seen in public. However, there was one incident that came up when Dolly purchased houses in both Hawaii and Los Angeles during the 1980s. Dolly allegedly became upset that Carl refused to visit her new purchases, accusing him that his refusal was a sign he was no longer in love with her. Somehow though, the conflict was smoothed over.
The Lonely Ranch
Parton and Dean never had any children of their own, but that wasn’t for a lack of trying. In the 1980s, Dolly Parton had to undergo a partial hysterectomy, which caused her to have to reckon with the fact that she and Dean, who had been married for nearly 20 years at that point, would never have children of their own. It was a tough blow to the couple, but Dolly shared that there was one thing that had gotten them through the storm.
Faith At Fifty
Dolly Parton’s career was started in the church, so it’s no surprise that she still considers herself to be a very religious person. She opened up that it was her belief that helped her and Dean through those rocky years in the 80s. For a woman who supposedly awakes in the middle of the night to pray and meditate, she claims her husband is even more religious than she is. However, that’s not the thing that they credit for keeping their marriage alive.
Keeping To Himself
As loud as her husband is shy, Dolly has made no secret of his distaste for the glamorous life. “My husband is a loner,” she explained of Dean. “He doesn’t particularly care about being around anybody but me. He’s just always asked me to leave him out of all this. He does not like all the hullabaloo.” In fact, she shared that her assistant Judy is one of the few people other than Dolly herself that Carl can stand to be around.
Music Of The Soul
Dolly’s early talent was recognized by both her parents and her uncle, who noticed the youngster was already composing music on a homemade guitar. Her first song was written about her corncob doll, the only toy she could muster in such harsh economic conditions. Dolly’s uncle could see her passion and kickstarted her career by buying her a real guitar a few years later. If not for him, she may never have had the opportunity to become the star she is now.
Smallest Of Gestures
Carl Dean might not be much a traditional romantic, but he certainly knows how to show his love to Dolly in the smallest of ways. She recounts that for one of their earliest Christmases, he gave his wife a stove as a gift, which seems more practical, but is certainly to be appreciated. She also admitted that he will often leave her little bundles of wildflowers that he collected, along with a poem he wrote for her.
Hitting A Century
After 50 years of marriage, Parton and Dean decided to renew their vows in the gaudy ceremony they never had. In honor of the occasion, Dolly finally revealed that the secret to their marriage is all the time they spend apart. He’s as quiet and private as she is outgoing and over the top. She added, “If I had it to do all over, I’d do it all over again, and we did. I’m dragging him kicking and screaming into the next 50 years.” Parton’s husband has chosen to stay out of the spotlight throughout the years, stating that it was better for their relationship.
By Kelsey Snee –
Private Announcement
Over the last 21 years, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have been staples not only in country music but in each other’s lives. They just celebrated their anniversary and used the occasion to share some information on their relationship. Their relationship has never been ordinary, but their newest bit of news came unexpectedly and fans are responding.
Back On Top
Fame and fortune usually do not go hand in hand with maintaining a healthy, stable and supportive romantic relationship, but it seems McGraw and Hill accomplished the unachievable. While both are balancing successful careers, they also make the time and effort to spend time with the other, which could contribute to the fact they are happily married. When McGraw appeared in the film The Blind Side, wife Hill also contributed to the Oscar-nominated project by providing the soundtrack, Country Strong. However, after 21 years, the famous duo are making an announcement.
Fans Didn’t See It Coming
Before they took over country music, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were just two musicians trying to make it in the business. They first met in 1994 at the New Faces Show in Nashville, Tennessee. At the time of their introduction, Faith was coming off her divorce from Daniel Hill, a music publishing executive. They had married six years earlier. Tim, on the other hand, was dating Kristine Donahue. They only met briefly, but it certainly left an impression on both of them.
Teaming Up On Tour
Two years went by since their first meeting, but they would soon spend plenty of time together. Hill and McGraw were the headliners on a joint tour titled ‘Spontaneous Combustion’ in 1996. The stars, however, were still not aligned. McGraw’s relationship with Kristine Donahue seemed strong, but he called off their engagement. Unfortunately, this time, Faith was engaged to Scott Hendricks, a record producer. It seemed like it wouldn’t work out, but something changed on the first night of the tour.
Sparks Fly
Predictably, the two charming individuals had undeniable chemistry. Anyone could see how well they interacted as they shared the stage. The time spent together on tour brought them closer, and things became more intense as the tour progressed. How could they deny their attraction to each other? Unfortunately, Faith was engaged which complicated things. She couldn’t contain her wandering eye but had a major decision to make. Faith had to decide to stay true to her man or see where things with Tim could go.
UnFaithful
Faith would not have long to make up her mind. After the show one evening, Faith accepted an invitation to come back to Tim’s dressing room. They clearly had some unresolved tension and had grown very close to each other over the tour. While in the dressing room, Tim decided to go for it and made his move. They had their first kiss and could tell that something real was brewing. Faith realized what she wanted to do and called off her engagement.
Falling In Love
It did not take long for them to develop into a true power couple. Their relationship was getting stronger every day due to touring together, and their feelings for one another continued to develop. Soon enough fans would be in on the big secret, lapping up every second of their public romance. After a few months together, Faith and Tim made their first public appearance together at Andre Agassi’s Grand Slam for Children event in September 1996.
Unapologeticly In Love
Due to the way Faith had left her previous relationship for Tim, many fans treated her quite poorly. She received plenty of negative remarks from her fans putting their two cents into her love life. She openly responded, “If someone is going to judge my character because I was engaged to somebody and then I left him for somebody else, I can’t control that.” She added, “But I wasn’t about to let Tim slip through my hands. And I had more self-worth and self-respect to not.”
The Unexpected News
Their relationship was moving quickly, and the couple received some great news in late 1996 – Faith was pregnant and expecting a child. Her pregnancy came as a bit of a shock, especially to their fans. However, everyone loved catching a glimpse of the couple at red carpet events with Faith showing off her baby bump. Everyone expected Faith to be a great mom, but one thing was still missing. Tim wanted to make their love official and wanted to get married before they welcomed the child.
Popping The Question
McGraw knew he had to make Faith his wife. He told of the moment, “It was raining and stuff, and we’d been on tour for a while together, and I joked around with her about getting married. And so I said… I looked at her, grabbed her by the hand, and dropped forward onstage. She had already done her show. And I said, ‘I’m really serious. I want you to marry me.” When Tim came off stage, Faith had written ‘Yes!’ into the mirror.
The Wedding
Surprise celebrity weddings are all the hype now, but Faith and Tim were two of the earliest examples. They tricked their friends and family into coming to Tim’s hometown of Rayville, Louisiana for a softball game and a concert. Instead, they surprisingly arrived for Tim and Faith’s wedding ceremony. Faith was three months pregnant at the time and said ‘I Do’ to Tim under an oak tree while wearing a white dress and no shoes. Tim rocked a black coat and blue jeans.
Newlyweds
In 1997, Hill and McGraw appeared at the American Music Awards and amazingly, it was one of the first times they appeared in public together. Hill was heavily pregnant at the time and despite her white dress, there was an evident bump. One thing was for sure though, the couple was deeply in love and proud to share the news with the public. Also it was undeniable that they couldn’t wait to share their arrival with friends, family and the rest of the world.
Indescribable Feeling
It was only after their wedding that the couple made their feelings public. In short, they mutually felt the same way about each other. “I mean I think we had a pretty instant knowledge that we were going to be together forever,” McGraw said. Although there have been so many celebrity couples who haven’t lasted, these seem to break that mold, being renowned for being one of the most special couples out there, making what they had last up until the present day.
Indescribable Feeling
Faith Hill had been open about the fact she was adopted at a young age, but later gave insights as to how she felt when meeting her biological mother. She said “The first time I met (my birth mother), I just stared at her. I’d never seen anyone that looked anything like me. It was the awe of seeing someone you came from. It fills something.” Although Faith was unsure how she would feel at the meeting, this emotion was unexpected for her.
Thankful For Adoption
Faith explained how she had an amazing relationship with her adopted parents, but couldn’t help but thank her birth mother for giving her that opportunity to live with them. She said “I can’t imagine the choice to do that and how thankful I am that she was able to give me the opportunity that I had because I was placed into an incredible home that I mean basically is responsible for the way I am today and the backbone that I have.”
Baby On Board
The nine months had passed, and fans were just so excited to finally be introduced the Hill and McGraw’s bundle of joy. The time had finally come, and in May 1997, they welcomed their first child into the world, a little girl called Gracie Katherine. As a result, Hill took some much needed time off to focus on family life. However, it wouldn’t take long before the couple planned on having their second child. Not only was their family growing, but so was their love.
What Happens On Tour…
On a professional and a personal level, Hill and McGraw were inseparable. They spent all their time together both at home, in the studio and backstage. They got so comfortable being together all the time that they ended up calling their tour bus the love bus. “A lot goes on in that bus,” Hill cheekily said. But whatever happened on that bus was between Faith, Tim and no one else. Throughout their career, groupies haven’t been an option.
Protective Parent
Being a caregiver came very naturally to Faith. She treated her family life extremely seriously and was giving her daughter the best upbringing imaginable, despite her fame. She would always express her excitement as being a mother in interviews and she would be incredibly homesick whenever away from her family. “I can’t even say what my greatest fear is because I, I can’t even imagine,” she said. “Being without my family … I can’t even say it because it makes me cry.”
Making Sweet Music
After four intense years on the road, Hill took a much needed three-year break from the music game, and also had her second child, Mary Elizabeth. However, her comeback ended up being a duet with her beloved husband, Tim. “It’s Your Love” was the name of the duet and was an instant smash. Their individual success simply meant that their work together could be even more successful. Alone they were strong, but together? They were even stronger.
Faith’s Strength
Faith and Tim had such a strong relationship that in interview after interview they would talk about how wonderful the other was. Faith opened up in 2000 about just how much Tim had brought to her life. She said, “Tim has given me confidence and strength and my foundation. He makes me feel like I can conquer the world.” Their love resulted in another child, whom Faith gave birth to in 2001, who they named Audrey. They were on top of the world, but it couldn’t last.
Purpose
McGraw realized that even though he loved his family dearly, his life as a musician changed drastically after becoming a family man. “It gives everything a focus,” he said. “You feel like you got your arms around everything, and you know where your life’s headed. You just find a peace you never had before.” It was a sentiment that every loving dad and husband could relate to. It seemed like, after having children, Faith and Tim had so much more purpose in their lives.
Green Eyed Girlfriend
Even when McGraw was with somebody else, it was clear that his feelings for Hill were deep and serious. He knew that she was going to change his life forever. “For me, there was an intense physical attraction,” he said. “I guess my girlfriend saw it in my eyes. She said, ‘I don’t want you around her.'” But this only sparked bad things for his ex, who knew that something didn’t feel right and that ultimately, she was on her way out.
Award Winning Couple
Their duet hit “It’s Your Love” was so successful that it stayed at number one for six straight weeks. Eventually, it even garnered awards, winning many at the Academy of Country Music Awards. But for Faith, it’s so much more than just a song, it means so much more. “It [doesn’t] feel like anybody else was really watching,” she said. One amazing pledge that the couple made was never to be away from each other for more than three days.
Working Marriage
Towards the turn of the millennium, Hill eventually returned to her solo career. She released a self-titled album and the record exhibited her raw singing talent, while at the same time creating a pop sound never usually associated with her. McGraw ended up on songs such as “Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me,” “Let Me Let Go,” and “The Secret of Life.” After the album struck a chord with many fans, the couple announced a new tour.
Expanding The Brood
With two busy careers to manage on top of their two children, many fans expected by 1999 that the couple would stop focusing on growing their family. Faith and Tim bucked all expectation when they shared their plans publicly. Tim told reporters, “Ideally, we’d love five kids.” Naturally, they followed up by asking if he wanted a son, to which he responded, “I always wanted boys, but in a way I want it to stay this way. Just keep having girls. That way I’ll always dress good.”
Together We Tour
Prior to 2000, the two country stars had never headlined a tour together. They changed that with their Soul2Soul tour, and were accompanied by one of their daughters. The two enjoyed touring together, as they got to split the profits and didn’t have to take any time away from one another. Tim and Faith seemed to be happily in love throughout the tour, but that never stopped the rumor mill from constantly trying to suggest that they were days away from an imminent separation.
Hitting Back At Rumors
The constant fairytales the press would tell regarding instability in their marriage deeply upset the couple. Faith fired back, saying “I’ve had an affair with my makeup artist, a female; an affair with my hairstylist; my marriage is on the rocks; Maggie is not Tim’s child, the naysayers. I don’t need their approval. I have too much going on. If that’s their entertainment, fine.” Celebrity marriages may be difficult to hold together, but this was not the case for Faith and Tim.
Finding Comfort
Tim knew that he was a product of his father, Tug McGraw’s legacy, but he had never grappled with what that truly meant for his life before he knew Faith. Tim eventually opened up about his self doubts, sharing “I knew I had that instability and dysfunction in me, from the way I grew up. And when I met Faith, I knew I needed her in my life–to keep me stable, solid and on track.” However, he needed her more than he knew.
Standing Up For Faith
Anyone who is in the public eye will be subject to bizarre or over the top criticism, and Faith Hill was not immune. Tim McGraw, however, is her biggest champion, always at the ready to defend her honor. Tim may even get more upset about the insults Faith receives than she is herself. He said, “Critics who attack my wife bug me.” He added, “It makes me want to pay ’em a visit so I could give ’em a good punch in the nose.”
Patriotic Family
The superstar country singers have never been shy about their love for their country, often displaying their patriotism publicly. They are also ardent supporters of the United States Armed Forces, so when they had the opportunity in 2003, they decided to perform at the Army base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After praising the troops, Tim told the audience of military personnel, “Faith is just cool, she’s really a smart, smart lady that has got everything together and knows her priorities.”
Battling Addiction
Tim, had some secrets he had been holding onto for many years. It wasn’t until 2008 that he was ready to open about his inability to perform without having a couple of drinks first. Tim knew it was time to get help. He later said, “Faith saved my life in a lot of ways—from myself more than anything. I can go down a dark road sometimes, when you’re not feeling good about yourself, and she pulls me out. My wife makes me a better man.”
Ultimatum
Tim knew that even though Faith’s presence had been steadfast until then, she would not remain by his side forever if he didn’t start making drastic changes to his lifestyle. Faith was at her breaking point, and as much as she loved her husband, she knew he would also benefit from some tough love. She finally told Tim that if he didn’t improve his coping mechanisms, she would be leaving along with all three of their daughters. Tim turned to martial arts to fill the hole alcohol left.
Talking It Out
Even after many years together, Tim and Faith love each other as much as they did when they first began their romance. Tim has shared one of their secrets to success is their easy communication. He has revealed, “She [Faith] would be perfectly happy if I told her, ‘Let’s get in the car and ride for two hours and talk.’ That would be as big a gift to her as anything.” They both know that expressing themselves to one another is the bedrock of their marriage.
Family Man
McGraw was referred to as a natural, taking upon himself the role of Sean Tuohy, the father of Collins and S.J. and husband of Leigh Anne Tuohy, played by Sandra Bullock. He explained that it was somewhat simple fitting himself into the role, saying: “I’m very family-oriented. I’ve always been family-oriented. I came from a disoriented, dysfunctional family growing up. That probably instilled in me the need and want to have a strong family and a great foundation. That’s something I naturally gravitate towards.”
Inspiring One Another
Faith Hill was not shy when speaking of her husband, explaining the reason she still looks up to him after all this time. “Tim inspires me every day in many, many ways.” She noted, adding: “I draw inspiration from his assertiveness and from watching him being a father and a husband.” The dynamic duo was not short on critics, however, in spite of projecting a strong front to all. They have stuck together through the good times and the bad, but not everyone saw it that way.
Negative Attention
Two Lanes of Freedom, Tim McGraw’s album, was released in 2013, but seemed to drag the wrong sort of attention with it. Rumors started flying that there might be trouble in paradise, to which Hill responded by saying “[Rumors] seem to be running like crazy right now for some reason. It’s perplexing. I don’t know why ‘happy’ can’t be a story.” Equally frustrated Tim added, “We’ve been married 17 years, and since the first week we were married those things were out, we don’t even think about it.”
College Calling
When it was time for Tim and Faith’s daughter Maggie to go to college, they had a hard time dealing with the fact their baby girl is all grown up. “It’s beautiful, and it’s sad all at one time,” said Tim. “You know, you can’t wait for them to sort of see what they make of themselves and do with themselves when they get out from under your umbrella, but you’re also nervous and sad because you’re gonna miss ’em.”
Supermom
Tim gave Oprah Winfrey an interview, in which he explained that what gets the marriage going is that “we close our door at home; we are husband and wife and a mother and a father.” As for Faith as a mother, he explained: “I think about the fact that we’re married and the fact that we raised these three beautiful daughters. And then I think about having three daughters and having [Hill] for their mom. It’s a pretty cool thing for those girls to have her.”
Oh, Brother
In 2013, Faith Hill came forward with her brother Zachary White’s addiction to illegal substances. Although at a dark point in his life, White later elaborated on his situation, saying: “I made my share of mistakes in the past, but Faith showed me that I could be a better person, I turned my life around, and I owe much of that to Faith and Tim. If it weren’t for them, there’s no telling where I’d be now.”
Daughter Dreams
As for parenting strategies, Hill and McGraw had to inevitably accept the fact that their daughters would want to follow in their footsteps and break into the music industry. “The one thing we stress is that you don’t get things handed to you on a silver platter — you have to work for the things you want, they know it takes hard work.” Hill added, saying that “As a parent, you don’t want to stand in the way of their dreams.”
A New Duet
Both Hill and McGraw’s large fanbases are used to the fact that the two occasionally merge powers (and voices) to bring harmonious, loving onto the stage. However, come 2015, Tim decided to switch things up a bit and invite his talented 18-year-old daughter Gracie to join him on stage. The two sang “Here Tonight,” and were so tremendously successful, the proud mother hen Hill could not help but join the daddy-daughter duet on stage, which left the crowd roaring.
Enjoying The Moment
The two have performed together on stage for over 20 years, but as Tim explained, some things simply never change. McGraw shyly confessed that his wife still takes his breath away: “It amazes me every night, every chance I get to sing with her.” The country star might put out a certain tough-guy image, but the truth is that, “When you see somebody you love up there, it’s a lot more.” As nerve-wracking as it may be, Tim’s stress is unnoticeable to the crowd.
Channeling Beyoncé
It is common for artists to draw inspiration from one another and Faith admitted that there is one particular pop star she looks up to when performing. She stated “The truth is, I want to be Beyoncé every single freaking night of my life, so I go out there thinking, ‘I am Beyoncé!'” Although they sing in completely different genres, Beyonce and Faith have more in common than you’d think as they both have high-profile marriages to musicians, and both went on a couples tour.
Keeping The Family Together
One of the great things about Tim as a husband, is that he notices and gives thanks to his wife for being so good to him and the family. McGraw gushed that “She’s the light of our whole family’s life. She keeps everything going for us. We all strive to be like my wife, everybody in our family. If your wife holds the example for everybody in your family, that’s a good thing.” Tim also gave her a compliment on her appearance, calling her his “hot wife.”
Writing For His Women
In March 2017, Faith and Tim released a single together titled “Speak to a Girl.” Tim added that it was particularly special for his family as he drew inspiration for it through the women in his life. He said, “It’s special for us, having three daughters—me being a husband and Faith being a mom of three daughters and growing up in a world of all women like I did, I think it’s just a really special song.”
Meet The Parents
One of the scary moments for a guy in a relationship is meeting the parents. McGraw might have accidentally scared off his daughter’s boyfriend in their first meeting. When Gracie’s boyfriend walked in the middle of a barbeque, he was shocked by the image he saw. Tim says he was “in the kitchen and I forget that he’s coming. I have a white apron on and a knife and I’m trimming meat up, so I’ve got chunks of meat all over this white apron, blood everywhere.”
Pushing Each Other’s Buttons
Tim and Faith have a seemingly flawless marriage. However, if you pay close attention to their lyrics, they reveal that they have their issues here and there. “I know that sometimes you hate me/We spend most of our days together with you trying to change me,” their duet goes. This was shocking to many, but Faith revealed that sometimes she, “like[s] a good fight,” and she “know[s] how to press those buttons. And if [she’s] a little angry, [she] can press those buttons big time.”
Fighting With Faith
One thing that is unavoidable in a relationship is arguments. Whether we want to believe it or not, Tim and Faith also get into arguments. However, it is not as bad as it sounds. Their arguments are the sort of disputes that you envy, because are not digging at each others’ deepest insecurities or sending each other on guilt trips. Rather, McGraw admitted that “the last [argument] we got [into], [he] didn’t load the dishwasher or something.” We bet Tim loaded the dishwasher the next time it came up.
Healthy Hill?
Many people started to get concerned about Faith’s health in 2017. This was due to the fact that she was looking like she was shedding too many pounds. Fans worried that she would become gaunt, and they were also concerned she was ill. Medical professionals believed that she was simply overworked with touring, perhaps dehydrated, and maybe even had a heart issue. However, a source close to Hill simply explained she sometimes skipped meals when busy, and she had increased her workouts.
The Best Memories
Things get stale after being together for over 20 years, but somehow, the spark is still there between McGraw and Hill. Part of how they do so is by performing together, which bonds them together in a unique way. Of the performances, Tim relates that “The memories we have created every time we have gone out have been the best memories of our career.” Plus, very practically, he adds that they have “two kids in college, what else are we gonna do?”
Making It Last
Some couples struggle with keeping that original spark alive, but somehow Faith and Tim seem to be as in love as ever. When asked how they have stuck together for so long, McGraw gave a tongue-in-cheek answer: “Well, she tolerates a lot, I think that’s probably the main reason.” Faith chuckled, but also admitted that Tim “tolerate[s] a lot too.” and that she is “not the easiest person.” At the core, she said the secret is simple: “we do actually like one another.”
Fame In The Family
Little did Tim McGraw know, but his birth father wasn’t just some backwoods nobody. His mother was only in high school when she met Tug McGraw, who lived in the apartment directly above hers in Jacksonville, Florida. At the time, Tug was pitching for the Jacksonville Suns, which was then a triple A international team. When Betty, Tim’s mother became pregnant, however, she was shipped off to hide with relatives in Louisiana. Unburdened by the unplanned pregnancy, Tug McGraw continued on to the major leagues.
Caught Unawares
Tim McGraw wasn’t raised with the same last name as his father, however. In fact, he didn’t know until he was 11 that his stepfather, Horace Smith, wasn’t his biological father, as his mother never bothered to tell him, and McGraw donned the last name of ‘Smith’ at the time. When he happened to stumble upon his birth certificate, he knew he had to understand the legacy that would follow him for the rest of his life, including into his marriage with Faith.
In Denial
Tim could never forget the first time he met Tug McGraw, the pitcher was already well known, having played for the New York Mets for a number of years, including the 1969 season, in which the Mets won the World Series. Tug, for his part, however, refused to acknowledge that Tim was his son after their introduction. It took until Tim was nearly 18 before Tug recognized just how similar his son’s appearance was to his at the same age.
In His Father’s Footsteps
Without knowing about his dad’s legacy, Tim found himself drawn to the world of team sports, eventually earning himself a baseball scholarship to Northeast Louisiana University. Unfortunately for Tim though, he ended up injuring his knee during a game and was forced to give up any dreams he had of going pro. It was his luck then that he’d also picked up guitar while in college, which ended up earning him an equally high profile career.
Cooking From The Heart
In a joint interview withSouthern Living magazine, Faith revealed just how Tim attempted to win her heart at the beginning of the relationship.“[Tim]brought me chicken and dumplings.” Faith revealed. “[He]came to my house [unannounced]. He knocked on my door, and he had a bowl of homemade chicken dumplings.” Tim added that he’d also made her cornbread. He knew his immense effort to make these comfort foods from scratch would demonstrate just how much he cared for her.
Out Of Place
One of the things that Faith and Tim were able to bond over the most deeply was their unanchored upbringing. Faith was raised by adopted parents with an inkling that she was an outsider. She toldSouthern Living, “I used to think there was some kind of conspiracy, that I must be the daughter of one of my aunts. And of course I used to dream I was Elvis’ daughter….I’m a gypsy at heart. I had a spirit that was completely outside what my family was.”
Declined By Reba
Faith Hill knew from an early age that she had a powerful voice, as she was a regular performer at area churches by the time she was a teenager. She took the initiative to form her own band, which added rodeos to their list of performance venues. When she was finally ready to bite the bullet and become a country singer, she moved straight to Nashville at the tender age of 19 and auditioned to sing with Reba. It would not be Faith’s lucky break.
Shattering Her World
Faith has kept fairly quiet about her first marriage to Daniel Hill, whom she met upon moving to Nashville. When she did finally open up about that marriage, she revealed that it was meeting her birth mother for the first time that shook her so deeply, she had to leave almost everything from her past behind, including Daniel. She said of the marriage,“I was going through so much. I was like a flower trying to bud. Marriage wasn’t what I needed. It was a disguise
Number One
In winter 2017, Faith and Tim did something they surprisingly had never done before. They got together and recorded a collaborative album. This was their first LP that they recorded together, which was titled “The Rest Of Our Life.” The album debuted on the Top Country Albums chart at number one! They expressed their gratitude, saying: “We are especially grateful for our amazing fans and the talented folks who worked on the album with us, we are blessed to get to do this and, even more so, together.”
Return To Tour
For a long while, Faith and Tim performed solo. However, in 2017, they made an announcement that many were happy to hear: they would be working together again for another Soul2Soul tour! Both McGraw and Hill were ecstatic to reunite and collaborate again. Tim praised Faith using an analogy to racing: “when I’m on stage with her, it’s like NASCAR trying to keep up with an Indy car. She’s just that good. So, to watch her sing and see what she does is pretty inspiring.”
