Garth Brooks is still blissfully in love with wife Trisha Yearwood after 17 years of marriage — but his dependence on her can be a problem at times.
“I was telling somebody the other day, I feel so helpless because there’s nothing I can’t do without her,” Brooks, 61, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting the launch of his and TuneIn’s newest station, Tailgate Radio. “There’s nothing I can’t do with her and there’s nothing I can do without her.”
The country singer joked: “It’s a blessing and a curse that you feel so free and independent when she’s there and you’re so dependent when she’s not there.” Brooks confessed, “I don’t think she feels this way at all, but I know I do.”
Brooks and Yearwood, 58, met in the ‘80s but it wasn’t until their respective splits from Sandy Mahl and Bobby Reynolds in 1999 that they got together. (Brooks officially divorced Mahl in 2001. The exes share daughters Taylor, 31, August Anna, 29, and Allie, 27.)
It’s been nearly two decades since Brooks and Yearwood tied the knot in December 2005 and Brooks told Us he still likes being around his wife.
“It’s just being together. That’s it,” he said of the couple’s date nights. “Just being in the same room with a woman breathing the same air. We don’t have to be doing anything together, but just knowing she’s there [is nice].”
Brooks loves to gush about his partner, but he played coy when asked what nicknames Yearwood has for him at home. “[There’s] none that I could repeat,” he teased.
Brooks, however, wasn’t shy about the newest lady in his life … NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor, who is the host of Tailgate Radio. The newest channel comes from Brooks’ SEVENS Radio Network and will be part of the TuneIn family, focusing on getting football fans ready to tailgate before the big game as well as give them songs to listen to after the event is over.
“Anybody and Maria Taylor is a match made in heaven. So this is an easy thing for me,” Brooks told Us of the new venture. “I know it sounds really corny, but this radio station can unite us. We can be at odds from the time the kickoff goes to the time the end whistle blows, but [at the end of the day] we’re all on the same team. And I think that’s what this station is promoting.”
The Grammy winner further explained: “Tailgate is going to be your radio station when you’re sitting out by the pool or you got the kids over for a soccer party with all their other guys barbecues. It doesn’t have to be just game day. And the game day so many times is in your own fricking house.”
Taylor, 36, agreed with the musician, telling Us in a joint interview, “Tailgate radio is a feeling. It’s everyone coming together. It’s finally being like, ‘Oh, we’re all off of work. We can all celebrate this one team or hate each other because we’re going for different teams.’”
She added: “It’s an idea that it brings people together and that’s what college football Saturdays are [about]. It’s like a family reunion every single Saturday, and now we get to share that vibe consistently. That’s what the radio version of it is.”
Tailgate Radio will feature a weekly Tailgate Top 20 With Maria show, the Block Party segment on Saturday nights and Tailgate Takeover, which begins with Brooks himself and will later have guest celebrities and athletes on to set the “vibe” for each college football Saturday.
To listen to Tailgate Radio, download the TuneIn App on iTunes or Google Play. Listeners can also visit TuneIn for more details.
With reporting by Mandie DeCamp
