Traditions are forever! That’s the case for Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks, especially during the holidays. In a new interview with Good Morning America, the “Walkaway Joe” singer, 55, revealed that while everyone travels as they’ve gotten older, there’s one thing the family always does.
“We decorate the tree together. Now that they’re grown and living in different places, we still make it that the tree doesn’t get decorated until we’re together,” she said, referencing Brooks’ daughters Taylor, 27, August, 25, and Allie, 23, whom he shares with ex-wife Sandy Mahl. “So, it might go up and be bare for a week or two until we can get everybody together, and we’ll make sure to do that.”
Brooks, 57, and Yearwood married in 2005 and she quickly took on the role of stepmother to Brooks’ daughters.
While promoting his recent documentary, The Road I’m On, the “Longneck Bottle” singer detailed his split from Mahl, 54, in the ’90s and how they made coparenting work.
“I got divorced, moved back to Oklahoma and left Nashville. I was living with three strange women that I did not know. They were 8, 6 and 4, and I was about to get a crash course in females,” the Country Music Hall of Fame member said during a Q&A in New York City in November. “And [then] my best friend showed up. It was good, [Trisha] helped me out a lot. She didn’t have children either, so we were kind of the blind leading the blind. But I will say, I’d never wished divorce on anybody, but [for us,] three children and three parents worked really well, especially since the three girls were all tomboys. So they were all at soccer, track and field, softball and never ever did one of those kids take the field where at least one parent wasn’t in the stands.”
In addition to spending the holidays with family, Yearwood noted that she really just loves to spend one-on-one time with her husband — no matter what time of year it is.
“You have to make it a conscious effort to make sure that you put each other first, and we do that, and sometimes it’s not easy,” the three-time Grammy winner said. “We have to compromise, and that’s really what it’s about. We’re friends at the end of the day, and we enjoy each other’s company and like being together.”
The feeling is definitely mutual. In October, the pair worked on Habitat and Humanity and Brooks was completely blown away by Yearwood.
“You can come out here and watch her swing a hammer, you can go home and watch her cook something that’s incredible. She’s got many gifts,” the 22-time ACM winner told Us at the time. “The crazy thing is, again, I think it’s the service inside of her because she calls it therapy and she calls it ‘feeling good’ when she cooks. She calls it ‘feeling good’ when she works. … You can’t outwork her!”
