12 Surprising Country Star Splits

When you’re in the spotlight as much as celebrities are, marriage can be tough — so tough that it often leads to divorce. Trouble navigating the murky water of holy matrimony isn’t limited to Hollywood either — many country music couples have learned the split lesson the hard way.

In the summer of 2015 alone, there were three high-profile relationships that called it quits and they all happened within just a few weeks of one another.

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert announced their split on July 20. Then, on Aug. 3, Reba McEntire and Narvel Blackstock revealed that they had also separated.

Finally, a few days later on Aug. 7, country singer Jake Owen and his wife, Lacey Buchanan, announced that they were divorcing after being married for three years.

Below, you’ll find a list of the some of the saddest and most shocking country music couple splits.

Scroll down to read about 12 surprising country star splits.

Reba McEntire and Narvel Blackstock

Reba McEntire and Narvel Blackstock got married in 1989 and divorced in 2015.

Blackstock was a member of McEntire’s band before the two became an item. During their nearly three decades together they had one child, a son.

When they split, they released a joint statement that read in-part, “Despite this being the end of their marriage, they continue to support each other. They have worked together for 35 years and will continue to do so.”

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert married in 2011 and divorced in 2015.

Shelton was married when the two first met in 2005. The next year he would divorce his then-wife.

When Shelton and Lambert ultimately divorced they released a statement saying, “This is not the future we envisioned and it is with heavy heart that we move forward separately. We are real people, with real lives, with real family, friends and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compassion concerning this very personal matter.”

Garth Brooks and Sandy Mahl

Garth Brooks and Sandy Mahl married in 1986 and divorced in 2000.

They had been married since before his legendary rise to fame in the country music industry, and they had three daughters together.

When they split, Brooks said, “Sandy and I both agree that we need to get divorced,” and then added that his temporary retirement from country music didn’t help save his marriage, but it did bring him closer to his children.

He would go on to marry fellow country superstar Trisha Yearwood in 2005.

George Jones and Tammy Wynette

George Jones and Tammy Wynette married in 1969 and divorced in 1975.

While they made incredible duets together, Jones and Wynette’s personal life was decidedly less glamorous. The final straw for Wynette was when she claimed that Jones got drunk on whiskey and chased her around their home with a loaded shotgun.

They had one child together, a daughter, and eventually made up in the 1990s.

Shania Twain and Robert John “Mutt” Lange

Shania Twain and Robert John “Mutt” Lange married in 1993 and divorced in 2010.

Twain and Lange’s split is very bittersweet. Twain found out in 2008 that Lange had been having an affair with her close friend Marie-Anne Thiébaud. That was shocking enough, but the next twist was really surprising.

After they divorced, Twain married Frédéric Thiébaud, Marie-Anne’s ex-husband, in 2011. They are very happy and Twain was once quoted as saying, “I’m not even really confused because it’s obvious life just has to play out the way it’s meant to, and how can I complain with the way it ended up?”

Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger

Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger married in May of 2005 and then had their marriage annulled in September of that same year.

Their relationship moved very quickly. The couple met in January of 2005, and before the end of the year they married and split up.

Afterward, Chesney opened up about the relationship.

“I panicked, there’s no doubt about it. I did the only thing I knew to do — I ran. I pushed her away … I didn’t have any clue as to what true marriage meant. I was so used to committing to one thing — music — and then I had to totally commit to a second thing, marriage. I didn’t know how to commit to both of them,” he said.

Randy Travis and Lib Hatcher

Randy Travis and Lib Hatcher married in 1985 and divorced in 2010.

They may have married in the mid-1980s, but Travis and Hatcher’s relationship goes back much further than that. They first met in 1975 when Travis won a talent contest that Hatcher hosted at a nightclub she owned.

When they split several years ago, the plan was for Hatcher to remain Travis’ manager, but, eventually, that relationship dissipated as well.

LeAnn Rimes and Dean Sheremet

LeAnn Rimes and Dean Sheremet married in 2002 and divorced in 2009.

When they married, Rimes was 19 and Sheremet was 21. Shortly after rumors emerged that Rimes was having an affair with Eddie Cibrian, the couple announced their plans to separate.

They released a joint statement that read, “This decision was amicable, and we remain committed and caring friends with great admiration for one another.”

Rimes would go on to marry Cibrian, who also divorced around the same time.

Trisha Yearwood and Robert Reynolds

Trisha Yearwood and Robert Reynolds married in 1994 and divorced in 1999.

Yearwood had previously been married but Reynolds had not. When they divorced, tabloids began speculating that Yearwood and her future husband Garth Brooks were having an affair.

In an interview after the divorce, Yearwood opened up, saying, “Since I do hang on to the past with my fingernails, divorce was difficult. It’s a serious decision involving someone you’re tied to emotionally, so it’s hard to move on. And it’s easy to drag things out so you don’t have to face people talking about you. Then, after the marriage is over, you question yourself. You wonder if something’s wrong with you — which is pretty much where I’ve been. But I know I’m a good person. Even though I have no clue what my future holds on a personal level, I’m feeling good about things.”

Trace and Rhonda Adkins

Trace and Rhonda Adkins married in 1997 and divorced in 2014.

The couple met when Rhonda was working in the publicity department of Arista records and hit it off. Their subsequent divorce in 2014 came after Trace entered rehab in January of that year and his father passed away in February.

After the announcement of their split, Trace’s lawyer released a statement:

“The Adkins have settled their divorce amicably. Rhonda and Trace made this decision together in the best interest of their family. All that remains is for the court to approve the agreements that have been executed by them both.”

Jake Owen and Lacey Buchanan

Jake Owen and Lacey Buchanan married in 2012 and divorced in 2015.

Owen and Buchanan met on the set of his music video for “Barefoot Blue Jean Night.” They later married and had one child, a daughter, together.

In July of 2005, Owen reportedly revealed that the couple had been having problems, and then a few weeks later it was announced that they were divorcing.

Alan and Denise Jackson

Alan and Denise Jackson married in 1979 and briefly split in 1997, but stayed together!

Jackson was revealed to have been unfaithful in the marriage, which caused an understandable amount of difficulty, but they worked on the issues facing them and came through the hard time much stronger.

In an interview, Denise once said, “The greatest blessings in my life have come out of my worst shattering. His betrayal and our separation were what led to this new, passionate love relationship with God and also led to us being able to have the kind of marriage that we both always wanted but just didn’t know how to have.”