Favorite Country Music Couples Who Have Been Together for Decades
Holding down a relationship when you’re a major star is no easy feat, but some beloved country music stars have managed to balance successful careers with lasting love stories. While the country music industry has had their fair share of dramatic splits, there are also some incredible love stories that span decades.
With each year’s country music award shows, we can’t wait to see all our favorite country music couples on the red carpet. It’s not exactly a stretch to say that, in show business, finding couples who’ve been together for a decade or more is tough.
Being a celebrity comes with its own unique set of challenges, and finding your special person amid all the highs and lows that come with fame can be difficult. But, interestingly, one area of showbiz seems to have a higher proportion of happily partnered and married couples, and it’s country music. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, for example, have been together since 2005. So, we thought it was the perfect time to look at some couples who continue to stay country strong.
There must be something in the water in Nashville, or maybe it’s just the vibe of the country music ecosystem. Yep, despite all of those sad songs! Whatever the reason, we couldn’t help but notice that there are so many country music couples that have been together forever. And for celebs, a decade or more counts as “forever.”
Which country music couples are still going strong? Keep on clicking and find out.
A version of this article was originally published in June 2018.
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Catherine Shepherd & Brandi Carlile
Brandi Carlile has tried her hand at a range of genre but we always love her alternative country dabblings! The singer married longtime love Catherine Shepherd in 2012 after meeting in 2009. They share two daughters, born in 2014 and 2018.
Carlile gushed about Shepherd in a 2021 interview with Howard Stern, saying, “She’s my best friend.”
“Absolute best friend, and arch-rival, and the person that I love to be around the most, and the person I hate to leave a room, and the person I argue with late into the night.”
Dolly Parton & Carl Dean
Country legend Dolly Parton has been married for an impressive 57 years! She wed hubby Carl Dean in 1966, just two years after they first met, and 50+ years later, they’re happier than ever. Parton has guarded her relationship pretty closely, and in 2020 revealed that some people don’t even believe Dean exists because of how rarely he’s seen out in the open.
“A lot of people have thought that through the years because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all,” Parton told Entertainment Tonight. “It’s just not who he is…he figured if he ever got out there in that, he’d never get a minute’s peace and he’s right about that.”
Chris & Morgane Stapleton
Country sensations Chris and Morgane Stapleton met when they were working at publishing houses close by to one another, marrying soon after in 2007. They now share five beautiful children together.
Kristen O’Connor & Jordan Davis
Attorney Kristen O’Connor and country star Jordan Davis met while at the same New Orleans hotel in 2014, meeting completely by chance, per People. Sparks flew immediately and they ended up marrying years later in 2017. They have two children together named Eloise and Locklan.
Carrie Underwood & Mike Fisher
Carrie Underwood and her husband Mike Fisher are basically a golden couple in Nashville. Underwood has been crooning her way into the hearts of millions of fans ever since she made her debut on American Idol — which she won! Fisher, however, has made the city proud as a former member of the Nashville Predators NHL team.
The couple have been married since 2010, and have two little boys together! On their 10th wedding anniversary in 2020, Underwood shared the sweetest throwback photos of the two when they were young along with a photo of them as adults. “Hey you two crazy kids. Believe it or not, some day you both will become (slightly) less awkward, you’ll grow up to have pretty cool jobs, you’ll meet backstage at some girl’s concert, fall in love, get married, have two amazing boys, and live happily ever after,” she wrote.
Thomas Rhett & Lauren Akins
Don’t be fooled by the fact that Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins are a young couple because they’ve been together for over a decade. In fact, as Country Living notes, the couple first met when they were in the first grade. Sure, they waited until 2012 to get married but we think it counts for something that these best friends-turned-sweethearts have made a lasting relationship out of a grade school meeting.
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
Country music royalty Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have been married since 1996 — the couple attributes their longevity in part to their shared passion.
“It’s such a rare thing to be able to experience what we do for a living, and to do it together, really feels like all the moments are special,” McGraw told PopSugar in June 2018, with Hill adding, “I watch him perform and still to this day I’m awed by it.”
Brad Paisley & Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Brad Paisley and actor Kimberly Williams-Paisley have been husband and wife since 2003 — can you believe it?
In 2015, she told Closer Weekly that the key is keeping things light. “No matter what happens in our marriage, we try to find humor in it, even on the darkest day,” she explained. “If you can laugh about it one day, then why not start now? He always makes me laugh, so I am grateful for that.”
Keith Urban & Nicole Kidman
Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman always look so smitten with one another, which is even more admirable considering that they’ve been married 14 years. How is this even possible with one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors and one of country music’s biggest stars?
“Keith and I are very good at immediately clicking off because we have a really good life in Nashville that’s very simple, quiet and nourishing because we’ve made it like that,” Kidman explained to Harper’s Bazaar in October 2018.
Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood
How sweet are these two? Brooks and Yearwood are a blissfully married couple after tying the knot in 2005. And if you ask Yearwood, it’s not surprising that they’re still going strong because their love was built on a rock-hard foundation.
“We have been friends for such a long time,” Yearwood told HuffPost in 2017, touching on the fact that they had known each other for 15 years before becoming romantically involved. “Our relationship is based on a very deep friendship that we’ve had, so we were in the position of knowing each other as friends before we ever went on a date.”
Vince Gill & Amy Grant
Vince Gill has been married to fellow crooner Amy Grant for 23 years.
When they first met, they were both married to other people. Six years, two divorces and plenty of time to think about their connection later, the pair said their own “I do’s.” In 2010, Gill gushed to Good Housekeeping of his bride, “I’m just grateful [to spend time with her].”
Clint Black & Lisa Hartman Black
lint Black has been married to Lisa Hartman Black since 1991, which means they’ve been together a whopping 29 years.
The pair first met in the late ’70s, when she was starring in such hit TV shows as Knots Landing. When she attended one of his concerts in the ’90s, sparks flew… and they haven’t stopped since.
“As soon as she opens her mouth and starts singing, it does something to me,” Black told People in 2015.
Martina & John McBride
Martina and John McBride have been married since 1988.
During an interview with the Today show in 2015, Martina gave credit where credit is due, saying, “I married a man who is a great partner. He is thoughtful, kind, considerate, romantic, handsome and really funny.”
Luke Bryan & Caroline Boyer
Luke Bryan and his wife, Caroline Boyer, got married in 2006 and share two sons. The key to their longevity? Well, there’s more than one.
“We talk a lot, and as long as we stay on the same page and change together, I don’t have trouble sleeping,” Boyer told People in 2013. Bryan chimed in, “We want [our kids] to know Mom and Dad are happy, and that’s what a marriage should be.”
Keifer & Shawna Thompson
Thompson Square duo — and sweethearts! — Keifer and Shawna Thompson have been married for 23 years.
As Keifer tells it, he was a goner from the moment he laid eyes on Shawna in Music City circa ’96. Keifer explained the meeting in a 2017 interview with the Virginian-Pilot saying, “I walked in and saw her and started talking to her; we played pool. I heard her sing and was blown away and asked for her number that night. It was definitely personal before it was business.”
Jimi Westbrook & Karen Fairchild
Little Big Town bandmates Jimi Westbrook and Karen Fairchild met because they were performing in the band together, but they soon took their relationship to the next level. The couple got married 17 years ago, in 2006.
Willie Nelson & Annie D’Angelo
Rebel country rocker Willie Nelson has been married four times in his life, but his most recent marriage, to Annie D’Angelo, has lasted for 32 long, happy years and counting.
Dierks Bentley & Cassidy Black
Country crooner Dierks Bentley met his wife, Cassidy Black, back in middle school, if you can believe it. The pair dated off and on before tying the knot in 2005. They have three children.
Kix & Barbara Brooks
Brooks & Dunn’s Kix Brooks has been married to wife Barbara since 1981.
“Bring It On Home,” a 2012 song from hissolo album New in This Town, is a tribute to their lasting relationship.
“It kinda goes from how we met and where I was when we first got together to where we are now after all this runnin’ around and road work,” he told Taste of Country. “We’re getting settled down in a whole new way.”
George & Norma Strait
“King of Country” George Strait has been married to his high school sweetheart, Norma, for an impressive 49 years.
“We do almost everything together. She stayed home until Bubba [the couple’s son] got out of high school and went to college, but since then she’s come on the road with me too. We love each other and we still like each other. A lot!” Strait gushed to People in 2012.
