Meet Darius Rucker’s Wife Who Helped Him Switch To Country Genre

Darius Rucker’s wife, Beth Leonard, quickly stole the “It Won’t Be Like This For Long” singer’s heart the first time they met in New York City. The couple has been happily married since 2000 and is still going strong.

Learn more about the gorgeous brunette beauty below!

Darius Rucker Fell in Love With Her At First Sight

It was in 1998 when Darius Rucker first met Beth Leonard. During that time, the musician was enjoying the height of Hootie & the Blowfish’s success while Beth Leonard was working at VH1 in New York.

When Rucker first laid eyes on his future wife, he knew right there and there that she was the one. “I don’t know what it was about her,” Rucker said. “I mean, it was everything about her. I told her I was going to marry her on our first date.”

But Rucker had to spend the following year trying to convince Beth Leonard to date him. When she finally agreed, he immediately knew they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. “I was in New York, and it was one of those rare nights off. I didn’t have anything to do — we always had something to do when we were in New York.” Rucker said.

Darius Rucker and Beth Leonard at the 51st CMA Awards

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“We had the night off, and I was just in my hotel room. She called me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to go see this play?’ I was like, ‘Sure!'”

After the pair watched the play, Rucker knew he needed to do something. “She was walking up the stairs [to her apartment], and I said, ‘Well, you know that I’m going to marry you, right?’ She just laughed. Her roommate or her boyfriend was up there in their apartment, and I yelled, ‘To whoever’s up there in Beth Leonard’s apartment, you can just leave because I just want you to know that I’m going to marry her!'”

The Couple Tied The Knot Two Years After

In 2000, Darius Rucker and Beth Leonard finally tied the knot, right before Rucker launched his solo career and decided he was really meant for country music. Beth Leonard was actually the one who encouraged Rucker to make the big leap into the country music genre as a solo artist. She believed that the country genre was where Rucker really belonged.

Thanks to her confidence and Rucker’s undeniable talent, the “Let Her Cry” singer is one of the most successful country singers today with several number one singles under his belt. “You know, her and country music saved my life,” Rucker concluded. 

Darius Rucker’s song “Alright” was inspired by his marriage. With lyrics, “Cause I’ve got a roof over my head, the woman I love laying in my bed, and it’s alright, alright,” isn’t it the sweetest? Beth Leonard gave birth to their first child, Daniella Rose, a year after their wedding. Their son Jack came along in 2005. Rucker also has daughter, Carolyn Pearl Phillips, from a previous relationship. 

She is A Strong Woman

Everyone knows how tough it is to be married to a traveling musician. Rucker even once admitted that he struggles in keeping his marriage alive, just like everyone else. “It really comes down to two people deciding to stay together or not,” he said.

Yet, the pair made managed to see their marriage through. “Beth’s a strong woman. It takes a strong woman to be married to a musician, especially a musician who was drinking and partying as hard as I was, and I think life for us is where we are now,” Rucker said. “It took a long time for us to get to where we are now, and we say to each other all the time, ‘I love us. I love our family. I love us.'”

She Launched An Organization to Help Teens 

Together with Darius Rucker, Beth Leonard launched an organization called Just Be You. This aims to help teenagers feel confident about themselves. The couple organizes motivational speaking events as well as workshops to improve the emotional well-being of teens.

Indeed, Darius Rucker definitely got one fine woman in his life. With his career on the upswing and Beth Leonard at the helm, this relationship will absolutely keep getting better with time.