Garth Brooks’s Ex-Wife Thought Marrying Trisha Yearwood Was a “Good Move” For Him

From Woman's Day

If you watched Garth Brooks's 2019 A&E documentary Garth Books: The Road I'm On, you likely came to the conclusion that the country music singer and his ex-wife, Sandy Mahl, are on pretty good terms.

Even though both admitted that their 15-year marriage had its fair share of challenges, Sandy spoke very highly of Garth's musical talent during the A&E special. But perhaps the most telling part of the entire documentary is that Sandy was supportive of her ex-husband marrying Trisha Yearwood.

Following their divorce in 2001, Sandy and Garth worked hard to co-parent their three daughters — Taylor, 27, August, 25, and Allie, 23.

Photo credit: Ron Galella
Photo credit: Ron Galella

"They saw both their parents in the morning and both their parents in the evening, and for 14 years," Garth told the Tennessean. "That was how we ran it, because we knew it was right for those kids. If you did what was right for the kids, you were going to do what was right for you. It was simple."

Around then, the "The River" singer began seeing Trisha, who he had first met back in 1987 while recording a demo. According to Garth's eldest daughter, when it was Garth's turn to cook, his dinners would frequently include frozen chicken and boxed macaroni and cheese, adding "he could not cook to save his life." So when Trisha came along, Taylor said that she and her sisters were "real excited."

But it wasn't only Taylor who saw the positivity Trisha brought to their family. As revealed in the documentary, when Garth asked Trisha to marry him, Sandy would supposedly tell him, “I think this is a really good move for you, and I think this is a really good move for our children.”

Photo credit: Larry Busacca/ACM2015
Photo credit: Larry Busacca/ACM2015

Back in the late '80s and early '90s, Sandy and Garth struggled to make ends meet while living in Nashville, Tennessee. But as Garth's success grew, their challenges took on a new form, according to Sandy.

"He'd be gone eight to 10 weeks at a time. He'd come home, [and] there would be number-one parties, or shows, or CMAs, or ACMs, American Music Awards, so it was constantly going," Sandy said during the documentary. "But we both grew apart really, really quickly."

After hearing Sandy's comments about their marriage during the '90s, Garth told Us Weekly that he was "really surprised" to hear how she felt.

"She was phenomenal,” he said. "[I was] gone so much on the road [during our marriage], there were things I guess she was [trying to tell] me that I didn’t hear until this biography. It’s rare you get to hear the other side. I just saw her and I think I hugged her harder than I ever have now that I know things that either I didn’t hear or that she didn’t say until now.”

Trisha and Garth tied the knot in 2005 and have been together ever since.


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