Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood Grieve Good Friend Rosalynn Carter: 'It's Gonna Be Tough'

Brooks reflects on the lessons he learned from the former first lady after years of bonding over their shared love for Habitat for Humanity

Garth Brooks expressed his grief on Monday over the death of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, but the country superstar said the loss is hitting his wife, Georgia native Trisha Yearwood, even harder.

"They were inseparable. It’s gonna be tough," Brooks, 61, said during a press conference to promote his new Nashville venue, Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk. "President Carter calls Miss Yearwood his ‘second favorite Georgia peach.'"

Rosalynn Carter died, at age 96, on Sunday at her Plains, Georgia, home two days after she entered hospice care.

Related: Jimmy Carter Calls Late Wife Rosalynn His 'Equal Partner in Everything' After Her Death at 96

Over the years, Brooks, Yearwood and the Carters bonded through their shared participation in Habitat for Humanity building projects. In October, Brooks and Yearwood took over hosting duties from the former first couple for the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, leading more than 1,000 volunteers to build 27 affordable homes in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"Miss Yearwood called [Rosalynn Carter] her 'quiet warrior,'" Brooks recounted. "What she says is very quiet, yet very powerful. And what she taught Miss Yearwood — what she teaches us all — is the lion doesn't have to roar. And the statement doesn’t have to be more than a few words to get your point across. She was great at that, and everyone loved her for that."

He added: "A light has gone out that kind of shines on how we should treat each other. But if we all pick that light up, maybe that light can grow."

Later, in an interview with PEOPLE, Brooks said her death has caused him to reflect on love, loss, and what he's grateful for the most.

"Right now, all eyes are on Miss Rosalynn and especially President Carter, so I'm just thankful that I have 'the Queen,'" he said, using a favorite nickname for Yearwood. "Forgive me for saying this, but I see a lot of our future in the way [the Carters] acted with each other … I can't imagine living life without Miss Yearwood, so I don't know how President Carter is gonna do it."

Brooks and Yearwood famously honored the Carters’ lengthy marriage at their 75th wedding anniversary in 2021, giving them a fully restored red 1946 Ford Super Deluxe convertible — manufactured the same year the Carters were married.

Related: Trisha Yearwood Shares the Story Behind Her and Garth Brooks' 75th Anniversary Gift for the Carters

"They've been such role models to us ever since we met them probably 12 or 13 years ago when we started doing Habitat builds with them," Yearwood said at the time. "And they're just the example of who you want to be."

Brooks explained earlier this year: “They’ve inspired us in a lot of ways, in the ways you expect: humanity, humbleness, work ethic. But they’ve also inspired us by their example as husband and wife.”

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