Dad-Of-3 Garth Brooks Stopped Career for Daughters & Found Bliss with Wife Who Became Their Doting Stepmom

• Garth Brooks is the father of three children and the grandfather of two.

• He had to pause his career for his children's sake.

• He raised children with his ex and current wife.

While many know Garth Brooks as a famous country singer-songwriter, there is more to the beloved musician than meets the eye. His life hasn't always been rosy, and he has made difficult sacrifices along the way.

Brooks was born into musicality. His mother was a recording artist with Capitol Records in the 1950s. However, Brooks did not always show an interest in music. Instead, he was focused on athletics. It was only after graduating college that he began pursuing his music career.

The musician studied advertising at Oklahoma State University. He met Ty England, a guitarist, while he was there. The pair began doing shows together in area nightclubs, and Brooks then traveled to Nashville after graduating to pursue his career in music.

He went for only one day and then went back to Oklahoma. He married his college girlfriend, Sandy Mahl, in 1986, and a year later, the couple moved to Nashville together. By 1988 he had signed with Capitol Records, like his mother before him.

Many people know of Brooks being a successful country musician who is known worldwide. However, not many people know just how much Brooks loves his family and what he would do to keep them happy.

Brooks' First Marriage and Three Daughters

Sandy and Brooks met in college and fell in love before they graduated. By the time they had moved back to Nashville, they were getting ready to build their lives together and start a family, just as Brooks' career was taking off.

Brooks and Sandy welcomed three daughters together. Taylor, August, and Allie Brooks became Brooks' pride and joy, and he made a significant career move that showed just how vital his daughters were to him.

Taylor was born in 1992, seven years after her mother and father exchanged wedding vows. Taylor's full name is Taylor Mayne Pearl Brooks, and she was named after James Taylor and Minnie Pearl.

While her father lives the life of a typical famous person, Taylor, who earned a Master's degree in Theology, prefers to spend her time primarily out of the public eye. Yet she has been seen out with her family on occasion.

August was welcomed into the family two years after her sister. She worked in a law firm after finishing high school and started her own family at just 19 years old. Talking about what it was like to accept his daughter would be a young mother, Brooks said:

"It always turns out that the baby is the glue that holds the family together."

August gave birth to her daughter, Karalynn, and then she and the child's father, Chance Michael Russel, tied the knot. They remained together and welcomed their second daughter, Gwendolynn, together in 2016.

Allie was born in 1996 and has been the child that has followed most closely in her father's musical footsteps. However, Brooks made her promise that she wouldn't pursue a music career until she had a college degree.

She did as her father asked and obtained a degree. Now, she is focusing on expanding her musical career. She released her first single in 2019 and then her debut album in April 2021. She is married to Jonathan Roberts.

Although Brooks and Sandy welcomed their daughters together, the pair could not go the distance with one another. By 1999, three years after Allie's birth, Brooks and Sandy separated and eventually divorced.

Brooks Paused His Career, Got Remarried, and Raised the Children

1999 was a year of change for Brooks as his mother passed away, and he separated from his wife. However, the most significant change that Brooks made was regarding his career. He decided to take a break from music.

He announced that he would no longer be part of the music industry until his youngest daughter left for college. Fans were shocked, and when asked how he could walk away from his career, Brooks admitted:

"Being a dad — there's nothing that can touch that."

Brooks then began raising his daughters, who were still very young at the time, the youngest being only three. He admitted that initially, he didn't truly know his daughters, only their dispositions.

However, as the months progressed, Brooks began to build bonds with his daughters by having fun with them, disciplining them, and taking care of them. He carried out all the parental duties he could, including packing lunches, driving them to after-school activities, and doing chores with them.

He also admitted that after a while, people stopped seeing him as a famous man and began seeing him as part of their community. He said:

"The dads across the soccer field looked at me as a dad just like them. I was very grateful."

Garth also shared that his children had taught him valuable lessons. They taught him that he could deal with anything else they threw at him as long as they were healthy. He also said he learned to accept his children for who they are.

Brooks' Second Wife's Relationship with His Daughters

Brooks and Trisha Yearwood met 36 years ago when they were both married to other people. However, Brooks knew that there was something between them. He mused that he felt he had just met his wife, even though he had been married for 13 months.

The pair didn't pursue anything romantic and instead worked together professionally. They wrote songs and performed together for many years before their friendship ever turned into anything more than that.

Both their marriages ended in divorce, and Brooks and Yearwood found their way back to one another. Their first public appearance together was in 2002, a year after Brooks' divorce from Sandy was finalized.

The pair quickly became serious and often gushed about one another. Yearwood believed their relationship was strong because they had built a foundation of friendship first. By 2005, Brooks had proposed to Yearwood.

The couple tied the knot six months after the proposal, and Yearwood revealed that Brooks' daughters were very much involved in the process. Brooks' second wife said his daughters had to accept her, and they all exchanged vows at the wedding.

Before Brooks and Yearwood married, Brooks told her not to try and be their mother nor to try and be their best friend. He told her they would all find their way, and now she says that she and the girls consider her a "bonus mom."

She also said that the family prioritized eating their meals together when the girls lived with them. Yearwood confessed that she had some of the best conversations with the girls when seated around the dinner table.