Michael Gambino Was Jana Kramer's First Husband She Married When She Was Just 19

Country star and actress Jana Kramer is brutally honest about her past relationships, not just in her chart-topping hits. The barefoot singer gave a vulnerable interview about her abusive first husband, Michael Gambino, who she wed as a teenager in Las Vegas.

Jana Kramer knew she would marry former NFL player Mike Caussin when they met on a tour bus in 2014. Their six-year marriage was rocky, and Caussin was admitted to rehab for sex addiction. The singer, a confessed love addict, took him back after multiple relapses.

The couple shared their struggles on their podcast "Whine Down" and a memoir, but ultimately could not make it work. Their divorce was granted in 2021. They have two children, daughter Jolie Rae and son Jace Joseph.

Who Was Jana Kramer's Ex-Husband Michael Gambino?

Kramer met her first husband in 2004 at a Los Angeles coffee shop when she was 19. After two weeks of dating, the teenager got hitched to Gambino, 17 years her senior, in a quickie Las Vegas wedding. Kramer revealed details of the relationship to PEOPLE:

"He was a smooth-talker, very charming, intriguing, and obviously older. At the time, I liked that. I felt protected."

While her career took off with roles in Adam Sandler's "Click" and "Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis," she was experiencing physical and mental abuse at the hands of her jealous husband, who had a short temper.

When Did Jana Kramer Divorce Michael Gambino?

To escape her toxic home life, Kramer often slept in her car. She told "Good Morning America" that she did not feel that she deserved help from friends and family:

"The verbal and the mental abuse they give you is almost more painful than the physical because it tears you down even more with the words."

Her first husband frequently came home late drunk and high from clubs and threatened to kill her. On the night of August 6, 2005, Gambino came close to making good on the threat and left her for dead in the driveway. The actress finally left him after the incident and filed for a divorce.

Jana Kramer's Feelings About Ex-Husband Michael Gambino's Death

Gambino was convicted of attempted murder and received a six-year sentence, of which he served five. The singer lived in fear after his 2010 release until his death by suicide two years later. She spoke to Kayna Whitworth about her complicated feelings about the news:

"I felt bad because my first feeling was relief that he was gone. That I didn't have to worry about him anymore."

But she confessed that she was also sad because she "couldn't change his life." In the interview during domestic abuse week, she revealed that she has PTSD from this time. The actress also still has scars from the night she almost died.

Jana Kramer Wants to Inspire Other Survivors

The birth of her daughter, Jolie, helped Kramer uncover the strength within herself. She told PEOPLE that she wants to be a voice for women who have experienced abuse, "I want women to take away, that are still in abusive relationships, they can have a beautiful life."

The father of her children was unfaithful to her with over 13 women.

After Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, she tweeted that it was like observing the inside of an abusive or addicted home. "When we start to rationalize, justify and defend this behavior, we will have consequences that we can't even begin to fathom," she added.

12-Day Marriage to Johnathon Schaech

Kramer found romance in the arms of so-star Johnathon Schaech on the set of the 2008 horror flick "Prom Night." The couple married in Michigan in July 2010 and announced their split less than two weeks later. The country singer gave full custody of their dog Sophie to him.

Schaech, previously married to Christina Applegate, married his third wife, influencer Julie Solomon, in July 2013. The couple has two children. The "Blue Ridge" actor made a sweet parenting moment awkward by tweeting about an exchange with his son about a photo of his second wedding.

In the tweet, along with the photo, he confessed to his son that he had been married to three different women, but he got it right the third time. The singer, who was tagged, reportedly liked the tweet. According to her podcast, she asked him over text why he was being mean.

Exes That Can Inspire a Hundred Country Songs

After a broken engagement to musician Brantley Gilbert in 2013, she married Former NFL player Mike Caussin in May 2015. Kramer called herself a "love addict" in 2018 on Becca Tilley and Tanya Rad's podcast:

"We were both unhealthy, which is why we moved so fast. If you don’t tell me you love me within two weeks, if I didn’t make you fall in love with me in a couple weeks, I was out. [...] Like, love addiction is a real thing (sic)."

The relationship was fraught with reports of infidelity from his side, and the "One Tree Hill" alum finally filed for divorce in April 2021. She revealed to Jada Pinkett Smith on "Red Table Talk" in October 2022 that the father of her children was unfaithful to her with over 13 women.

Sources told Us Magazine in May 2022 that she was once the other woman. During her 2016 separation from Caussin, she reportedly slept with her married "Dancing With The Stars" partner, Gleb Savchenko. The duo danced into the fourth spot of season 23.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org.