Divorce stories have always been on the unpleasant side of things, but not for Garth Brooks and Sandy Mahl, who maintained an amicable relationship after their divorce in 2001. While Mahl never remarried, Brooks did in 2005 with Trisha Yearwood, and Sandy was definitely supportive of the two.
Garth Brooks and Sandy Mahl married in 1986 and had three daughters – Taylor Mayne Pearl, 28, August Anna, 26, and their youngest Allie Colleen, 24. Sandy moved with Garth from Oklahoma to Nashville, Tennessee. When they were just starting out with their married life in the late ‘80s to early ‘90s, the two struggled to make ends meet until 1989.
That year, Garth Brooks started his country music career and had his breakthrough success with his debut eponymous album. It ranked No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart and even made its way to the second spot on the Billboard Top Country albums chart.
But with success came another problem. In the documentary Garth Brooks: The Road I’m On, Sandy revealed how it was like to be married to a famous country music artist. She said that he would be out for as long as 10 weeks at a time. When he was home, he would be in parties, shows, and awards nights. And the two of them just grew apart really quickly.
The two finally split in 2001 and have since then co-parented the three children. Every day, he and Sandy exchanged their daughters at 6 p.m. When they stayed with Sandy’s the night before, Garth would pick them up and take them to school the next day. That way, the girls saw both their parents in the morning and evening. And for 14 years, that was how they ran it. Garth explained that if they did what was right for the kids, then they were doing right for themselves.
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Around that time, Brooks was also seeing Trisha Yearwood, who he had been friends with for many years. They first met in 1987 during a demo recording. According to Taylor, Garth’s eldest daughter, when it was her dad’s turn to make dinner, the menu would always be frozen chicken and boxed macaroni and cheese. That was why they were so excited whenever Trisha came into the house.
Even Sandy saw the positivity of having Trisha by Brooks’ side. She thought it was a good move not only for her ex-husband but for their children as well.
It was only in 2019 when Brooks really understood how Sandy felt during their marriage. He was really surprised to hear about it, and he guessed that she might have really been trying to tell him that. Though he only got to hear it in the documentary. He mentioned how rare it was to get to hear the other side. That was why when he saw her, he just hugged her real tight.
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