ICYDK, Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks are country music’s “It” couple—for all the aww-worthy reasons. Case in point: The man told Parade in 2016, “I just want to be wherever she’s at. I love breathing the same air she’s breathing.” I mean, if that’s not true love and yearning then I don’t know what is. (“God, I see what you have done for others.”)
While the pair has been married for a whopping 18 years (!!), they’ve been friends for nearly as long. The “Friends in Low Places” crooner and “How Do I Live” singer first met in 1988, and became huge catalysts for each other’s careers. In 1991, Garth introduced Trisha to his producer, scoring her a record deal at MCA Records, per Taste of Country. That same year, she sang on his second album, No Fences, and opened for him with her breakout hit, “She’s in Love With the Boy,” according to Us Weekly.
But, while these two kept it strictly platonic throughout their 17 years of friendship, according to Garth, sparks were flying from the very beginning. Ahead of the release of his A&E documentary in 2019, the two-time Grammy award winner said, “I felt like I just met my wife,” regarding their first meeting. Nevertheless, because both were married to other people at the time, they didn’t pursue any romantic feelings. Trisha was married to music producer Christopher Latham from 1987 to 1991 and country singer Bobby Reynolds from 1994 to 1999, while Garth was married to Sandy Mahl—with whom he shares three children—from 1986 to 2001, per Us Weekly.
It wasn’t until Garth’s divorce from his ex-wife was finalized in 2001 that these two finally became ~more than friends~, and they’ve been stuck together like glue ever since.
In May 2005, the country music star proposed to his sweetheart in the only way a star can (and, uh, should)—on stage…in front of 7,000 people. Trisha, unsurprisingly, freaked out, per a Us Weekly exclusive. Then, in December of that year, the two officially said their “I Dos” at their home in Owasso, Oklahoma.
If this pair of country music royalty seems like they’re off the deep end in love, á la “Shallow,” it’s because they are, according to body language expert Karen Donaldson. She analyzed the couple’s hand placements and gestures throughout their 18-year marriage. Ahead, she shares her insight on what Trisha and Garth’s body language reveals about their fairytale romance.