Kenny Rogers Was Buried a Year after Death — Until the End, He Was with Twins & Wife He Fell for after $60M Divorce

• Kenny Rogers found his true love at 59 years old when he met and married his fifth wife, Wanda Miller.
• After going through four marriages, with the fourth marriage ending in a $60 million divorce, Kenny became a father again, albeit against his wishes.
• The singer-songwriter died in 2020 but was only buried a year later. Today, his adult twin sons miss him every day.

Kenny Rogers was a country music legend who had a successful career and sold over 125 million albums. The singer even had one movie, "The Gambler," based on his hit song with the same title.

The singer, whose passion was music, said he chose this career path because his mother told him to find a job he loved and would never work a day in his life. He added that music was his calling.

Kenny had a fulfilling life, not only in music, but his love life was eventful as he married five times. The singer's first marriage was to Janice Gordon when he was only 19. Kenny admitted to getting Janice pregnant the very first time he had sex.

When his first wife got pregnant, Kenny married her in 1958 because he felt it was the right thing to do. However, the marriage didn't last, as they divorced in 1960. The two had a daughter together, Carole Lynne.

Kenny said he did not play an active role in Carole's life as he made an arrangement with Janice and her second husband. The agreement stipulated that the singer would remain the girl's father, but Janice's second husband would be her dad.

According to the singer, his first marriage did not last because his first wife's mother didn't believe in marriage and came and took her daughter away. This marriage made Kenny realize he loved being married, which motivated him to marry again almost immediately.

The "I Can't Unlove You" singer's second marriage was to Jean Rogers in 1960, but the duo divorced in 1963 and had no child together. The country music star said this marriage did not last because the pair realized it wasn't right and were bored by the union.

Kenny's third marriage was a result of an exciting relationship. The songwriter married Margo Anderson in 1963, and they had a son Kenny Rogers Jr, but like his two previous marriages, this one ended in divorce in 1975. Kenny admitted that he loved the marriage:

"In real sense, the first nine years were as good as it gets. It was only the last few that got ugly as I was touring a lot. And that is one segment of what killed the marriage."

"The Gambler" singer got married for the fourth time in 1977 to American actress Marianne Gordon. The two welcomed their son Christopher Cody in 1982 before divorcing in 1993. Kenny revealed that after Christopher was born, he and his first wife disconnected:

"Marianne stopped touring and stayed home to take care of Christopher, and then when I came home from touring, I found that our lifestyles were clashing."

The ex-couple decided that life was too short to remain unhappy together, so they decided to part ways, leading to the end of their marriage.

The actress also opened up about her marriage to Kenny. She acknowledged that the singer loved her, but when he turned 50, his focus went to his music, and she didn't have his attention anymore:

"I think that when he reached 50, I did not have his full attention as usual, but it seemed like he still wanted me here… he felt this craving. He said he was having a mid-life crisis. He felt like his career was fading."

Kenny's marriage to his fourth wife ended in a $60 million settlement. The singer said his ex-wife deserved the $60 million because she was a great girl, and they had a perfect marriage for 15 years.

The "Lady" singer also added that when he met his fourth wife, he was owed $60,000 as his band "First Edition" had broken up, and he didn't have a dime. Regardless, his ex-wife stood by him, which made the singer say she deserved the huge settlement.

Despite his failed marriages, Kenny maintained a positive attitude toward love and marriage. He said he loved being married to every woman he was in a union with and did not blame them for the marriages falling apart:

"I blame myself and my chosen career of music. That's why I say that music is a mistress, since you can't wait to get out there to it, and mostly, the mistress wins in a situation like that. But you can't say I'm afraid of commitment. I've been married five times."

The singer also said that marriage showed him how much he loved being in love and the high that comes from caring about someone and having someone care about him.

His Happy and Loving Marriage to Wanda Miller

Kenny's fifth marriage was to Wanda Miller, a former American restaurant hostess. The couple met Wanda was hosting at a restaurant in Atlanta. The singer had come for a blind date in the restaurant, but his heart was immediately smitten by Wanda.

The "You and I" singer called the restaurant later to ask for Wanda's number. When Wanda heard this, she did not believe it and felt like her co-workers were playing a joke on her. However, the co-workers eventually convinced the former restaurant hostess to call Kenny.

Kenny and Wanda had a 28-year age gap. Also, Wanda's parents were only two years younger than Kenny. The former restaurant hostess's parents were against the relationship because of this age gap. However, Wanda's parents eventually gave in when they realized the pair were in love.

Wanda was hit hard by Kenny's death, considering the actor had said she was his soulmate even after being together for over twenty years.

Kenny also promised them Wanda's parents that he would never lie to their daughter. The singer said he and his wife's parents later became best friends. Eventually, the couple tied the knot on June 1, 1997, at Roger's ranch in Georgia.

After they got married, the songwriter told Wanda that he did not want kids as he already had three, a daughter and two sons from his previous marriages. Wanda also agreed she did not want kids, but Kenny said he was skeptical:

"I told her; that may be your choice now, but when you turn 30, your body is going to say, have a baby now or miss it forever, and she said, not me."

As Kenny had speculated, when Wanda turned 31, she said she wanted children. The singer noted that he changed his mind as he felt his stand on no children was unfair to Wanda, who had no kids, unlike him:

"So, I did some soul-searching and realized it was not fair of me to take her childbearing years. I also didn't want her to wake up at 50, and I'd be dead, and for her to have to say, I wish I hadn't married Kenny; I could have had kids."

Kenny said that they made a decision to have one child together. Surprisingly, they discovered they were having twins. The songwriter said he and his wife were thrilled and overwhelmed by this news.

Despite being happy they were expecting twins, Kenny was also fearful of bringing children into this world as an aging parent who probably would not be there to celebrate with them their 21st birthday. He admitted:

"That bothers me on a daily basis. Someone will be talking about his or her child going to college, and it breaks my heart. And that was the reason I didn't want children again. Because I knew I wouldn't be there at the prime of their lives."

However, Kenny noted that this fear also came with a happy feeling because he enjoyed spending time with his children. The Grammy winner said his kids give him so much joy and have connected him with his wife in a way even sex could not.

The connection between Kenny and Wanda was strong that the singer shared only positive things about his wife after spending 20 years with her:

"She is truly my soul mate. She knows me better than anyone has ever known me before. We have identical twin boys who are eight years old. I have such great respect for her as a mother. She is the most phenomenal mother I have ever seen."

Kenny added that he and his twin sons were grateful to have Wanda in their lives. The couple had their twin sons, Justin Rogers, and Jordan Rogers, on July 6, 2004, in Atlanta, Georgia.

The "So Strong" singer became more focused on his family after the birth of his twin sons. He jokingly said, "I think being a father is what I'm best at. Even if it did take me five attempts to get here!"

Kenny added that anyone who doesn't become a great father after five marriages doesn't deserve to be one. The singer took his role as a father so seriously that he stopped touring and retired to spend time with his twin sons.

He went on his final tour in Southwest Asia in 2016, with a final concert in Taipei, Taiwan. Also, in his publicist's headquarters in Lebanon, Tennessee, the father of five said he hoped his fans would understand that his role as a father came first and his career as a singer second:

"As it turns out, I'm missing some very great parts of my boys' lives. I know how that time gets away from you. And I don't want to miss it. I just worry about how much longer I'm going to be here, and I want to have time to spend with them."

On this last tour, Kenny also chose to include his twin sons so that he could spend more time with them. The songwriter also revealed that he included his twin sons on the tour as he wanted them to feel new experiences and see new places:

"My goal is to spend some time with them and take them to places they might not have gone to without me. Someday they will look back and say; my dad took me there. That is my legacy to them."

This was not the first overseas travel Kenny would have with his twin sons, as he had previously taken them to Africa on a safari and bought them new cameras to capture the moments.

His Wife and Twin Sons Miss Him

The country music legend's family announced that Kenny had died due to natural causes on March 20, 2020, at 10:25 p.m., aged 81. According to his family, Kenny passed away peacefully under the care of hospice and was surrounded by his family.

At the time of his death, the songwriter, who was also an actor and producer, had a net worth of $250 million. The singer died when his twin sons were 15, Carole 51, Christopher, 38, and Kenny Jr, 55.

Kenny's family took his death so hard that they only buried the actor a year after he died. The "Goodbye" singer was buried at the Historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, where Kenny's family purchased a plot from another family.

Wanda was hit hard by Kenny's death, considering the actor had said she was his soulmate even after being together for twenty years:

"She's 28 years younger than me, and I say this from the bottom of my heart - she is my soul mate. She knows me better than anyone else has known me. She loves what I do, and I'm not as insensitive to her needs as I may have been in the past."

His children, especially the twin sons, have also shared on social media how much they miss their father. On July 6, 2022, the boys became adults when they turned 18.

Jordan shared on his Instagram a now-deleted picture of his dad carrying him when he was young. "Happy Father's Day. I miss you, Dad, every second of my life," he captioned the photo.

Jordan also posted on Instagram an now-deleted post where he said that he missed his father, especially when he passes through Chuck E Cheese, a family entertainment center they used to visit:

"I still miss him very much when I pass by a Chuck E Cheese; I always think of him taking us on the weekend. It was called Super Saturday."

Wanda also constantly shares pictures of her and the twin sons with Kenny, which she refers to as great memories with her late husband. She once shared in a now-deleted happy post on Instagram that Justin was now working a new job at Chuck E Cheese, where the boys used to visit as kids with their father.