Trisha Yearwood is a beloved country music singer who has captivated thousands of fans with her music.
However, there is one thing the star does not have. She has found a way to fill that space in her life.
Garth Brooks was married to Sandy Mahl on May 24, 1986, and the couple spent over 15 years together. They met in a bar near the campus of Oklahoma State University, the college they both attended. Brooks was acting as a bouncer at the bar, and he was introduced to Mahl when breaking up a fight she was involved in.
In 2001, Brooks and Mahl decided to seperate. The parents of three claimed that Brooks’ busy career was to blame for the divorce. Mahl explained that her former husband would often be gone for eight to ten weeks at a time, and then would be overrun with various shows, parties, award ceremonies, and other events that kept him away from home.
Despite the divorce and distance between the former couple, they remain good friends. Brooks even labels Mahl as “phenomenal” in his documentary, “The Road I’m On.” As recently as 2019, the star told Us Weekly,
“What really surprised me was Sandy, the girls’ mom. She was phenomenal.”
Brooks has acknowledged that his absence during their marriage likely meant that he missed a lot that Mahl was trying to tell him.
“It’s rare you get to hear the other side. I just saw her, and I think I hugged her harder than I ever have now that I know things that either I didn’t hear or that she didn’t say until now,” he continued in his US Weekly interview.