These Beloved Country Music Couples Have Been Together for an Impressively Long Time

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November 19, 2024 at 10:58am EST

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 its fair share of dramatic splits, there are also some incredible love stories that span decades.

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So, of course, with each year’s country music award shows, we can’t wait to see all our favorite country music couples on the red carpet. Luckily, some of them have been together for over a decade too! Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, for example, have been together since 1994, marrying two years later in 1996. Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins, on the other hand, while they only officially tied the knot in 2012, their love story dates back to first grade. And yes, you read that right!

With so many country couples we know and love, we thought there’s no better time to look at some couples who continue to stay country-strong. Which country music couples are still going strong after decades together? Keep on clicking and find out.

A version of this article was originally published in June 2018.

Catherine Shepherd & Brandi Carlile

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Brandi Carlile has tried her hand at a range of genres 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,” she said.
Dolly Parton & Carl Dean

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Country legend Dolly Parton has been married for over five decades! 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

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Country sensations Chris and Morgane Stapleton met when they were working at publishing houses close to one another, marrying soon after in 2007. They now share five beautiful children together.

“The key to a successful marriage, I’d say communication,” Stapleton told Fox News Digital in 2023. “We’re always working on that … love and kindness and patience. I think you have those things in play, hopefully, you can overcome whatever obstacles.”
Kristen O’Connor & Jordan Davis

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Attorney Kristen O’Connor and country star Jordan Davis met completely by chance when they stayed at the same New Orleans hotel in 2014, per People. Sparks flew immediately and they ended up marrying years later in 2017. They have two children together named Eloise and Locklan.

Of course, Davis has dedicated his love songs over the years to his wife. “She doesn’t even pick up on the lyrics anymore,” Davis told ABC Audio. “She’s just kind of like, ‘Oh, that could be a cool follow-up to ‘Buy Dirt.’’ I was like, ‘Babe, did you even listen to the lyrics?’”
Carrie Underwood & Mike Fisher

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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, someday 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

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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.

Rhett and Akins are parents to four daughters: Willa Gray, who they adopted in 2017, Ada James, who they welcomed in 2017, Lennon Love, who they welcomed in 2020 and Lillie Carolina, who they welcomed in 2021.
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

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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

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Brad Paisley and actor Kimberly Williams-Paisley have been husband and wife since 2003.

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

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Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman always look so smitten with one another, which is even more admirable considering that they’ve been married for over a decade and a half! 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.
Vince Gill & Amy Grant

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Vince Gill has been married to fellow crooner Amy Grant since 2000.

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

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Clint Black has been married to Lisa Hartman Black since 1991, which means they’ve been together for over three decades.

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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

“I think there was always something underlying there that we were trying to ignore,” Westbrook said in an interview with Great American Country, per Country Living. “Then when the opportunity came, when all of us ended up single at the same time—a very strange turn of events for the band in a lot of different ways—those feelings, you were able to come out with them finally,” he continued. “It was like, ‘We’re single. Let’s get together.'”

“She has a beautiful heart and she’s absolutely gorgeous and I just love her dearly,” he added.

The couple got married in 2006. They share one son, Elijah, who was born in 2010.
Willie Nelson & Annie D’Angelo

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Rebel country rocker Willie Nelson has been married four times in his life, but his most recent marriage, to Annie D’Angelo, has lasted over 33 long, happy years and counting.

“She’s my lover, my wife, nurse, doctor, bodyguard,” Nelson gushed about his wife to People in 2023.
Dierks Bentley & Cassidy Black

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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.

“We go way back,” he joked to Access Online in 2020. “We met in eighth grade… Yeah, it’s an amazing story. We met in eighth grade and we made a beautiful life together.”

They have three children.
Kix & Barbara Brooks

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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

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“King of Country” George Strait has been married to his high school sweetheart, Norma, for over half a century!

“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.