Garth Brooks on Trisha Yearwood: ‘I’d Marry Her in a Heartbeat Again’

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have been happily married since 2005, after knowing each other for more than a decade before that. But according to Brooks, he is still as infatuated with Yearwood as the day he met her – maybe more.

“Being on stage with her is the same as being off stage,” an emotional Brooks shared on the Today Show. “On stage, she makes you want to be a better singer. She makes you want to be a better entertainer. Off stage, she makes you want to be a better man, a better husband, a better friend. Sitting here listening to this, I’m going, ‘Man, you ought to marry that woman.’ I’d marry her in a heartbeat again if it came down to it.’”

Brooks might be married to one of music’s greatest singers, but he was also the son of one. Brooks’ own mother, Colleen, was also a talented vocalist, but chose to stay home and raise Brooks and his siblings instead.

“Mom was a phenomenal singer, and for some reason, I got to swing the bats,” said Brooks. “I think all the kids kind of feel like she gave it up for all of us, to raise kids. And so, when the chance came that we got to get a record deal, I think all the kids were pulling for Mom to come out with us. She was a pistol, and you know the saying, ‘She was a pistol. I’m so happy to be a son of a gun.’”

Brooks just broke the internet with the announcement of the release of the vinyl Legacy collection, but the word means much more than just an album title. As one of the most successful artists in history, of any genre, Brooks hopes his legacy is one of gratitude.

“I would say, ‘Thank you, thank you. Thank you thank you thank you,’ a million times,” Brooks said. “I think if anybody says, ‘I don’t know about Garth Brooks, I do think he thought he was the luckiest guy on the planet, and he felt like he was always grateful that the gig we gave him as people; he worshipped that gift.’ That would be a legacy of mine that I’d want people to know how lucky I am to get to do this for a living.”

Both Legacy and his new album, Fun, will be out later this year. Find more information, and upcoming tour dates, at his official website.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Tony Barson