The ups and downs of Garth Brooks over the years

Country singer Garth Brooks has experienced ups and downs throughout his career.

Brooks rose to fame in 1989 with the release of his self-titled debut album. Since then, he has won two Grammy Awards, 23 Academy of Country Music Awards, two CMT Awards, 10 CMA Awards and many more.

“It’s always fun (hearing my music on the radio) because you immediately think back to the faces in the crowd singing it and see the joy,” Brooks said exclusively Us weekly in November 2023.

In addition to his musical success, Brooks also survived a number of scandals. He admitted to cheating on his first wife, Sandy Mahlin 1989, nearly 35 years before an anonymous hairdresser accused him of sexual assault and battery. (Brooks denied the claims.)

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Keep scrolling to recap Brooks' highs and lows:

1986

Brooks married Mahl and they later had daughters Taylor, August and Allie.

1989

Three years later, Brooks released his debut album. Around the same time, he was accused of defrauding Mahl. In a 1993 interview, he confessed to infidelity Barbara Walters.

“After taking off a pair of jeans while on my knees begging her to take me back,” Brooks said, confirming that he and Mahl had reconciled.

1993

Brooks performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the Super Bowl but almost canceled it at the last minute. According to former NFL executive Don Weiss' Book The Making of the Super Bowl: The Inside Story of the World's Greatest Sporting EventBrooks wanted to introduce his video “We Shall Be Free” during the broadcast. The music video contained footage of riots and cross burnings, prompting the television station to remove the controversial clip from its programming. Weiss reported that Brooks then left the stadium less than an hour before kickoff.

Brooks and TV executives eventually reached a compromise and the country singer agreed to appear after they aired the video.

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1999

Brooks created a fictional persona named Chris Gaines and released a rock album entitled Garth Brooks in…the life of Chris Gaines. The project was originally intended to serve as the soundtrack for a film called The Lamb, in which Brooks was supposed to play a rock star, but the film was never made. Brooks hosted in November Saturday Night Live as himself, but appeared as Gaines in his musical number, without acknowledging that Gaines was really him.

2000

Brooks and Mahl separated and issued a statement billboard at the time.

“Sandy and I both agree that we need a divorce,” Brooks said in a statement. “Right now we're focused on the impact it will have on the children and how best to deal with it in order to remain parents, even if we don't remain husband and wife.”

Later that year, Brooks began dating Trisha Yearwood. They first met in 1987 when Yearwood was married to his first husband Christopher Latham. Brooks and Yearwood married in December 2005.

2013

Brooks was sued for fraud by a former business partner Lisa Sanderson, who claimed he hadn't paid her a salary for 20 years. Sanderson also accused Brooks of tax fraud. He denied the allegations. During the trial, Brooks argued that a $226,000 loan was not a gift, as Sanderson had claimed. A jury ruled in Brooks' favor.

2023

Brooks and Yearwood opened their own bar in Nashville in November, named after his popular song “Friends in Low Places.” Ahead of the bar's opening, Brooks made headlines when he confirmed the establishment would serve Bud Light after the brand faced backlash over its partnership with trans influencers Dylan Mulvaney.

“Everyone has their opinion, but inclusivity will always be me. I think diversity is the answer to the problems that exist and are still to come,” he said in a Facebook Live video in June. “If you want to come to Friends in Low Places, come in, but come in with love. Come in with tolerance and patience. Come along with an open mind, it's cool. If you're the kind of person who just can't do it, I understand. If you're ever the kind of person who wants to try it, come.”

That same year, Brooks said Us that he was “dependent” on his wife.

“I was telling someone the other day that I feel so helpless because there's nothing I couldn't do without her,” he said exclusively in August. “There's nothing I can't do with her and there's nothing I can do without her. It's both a blessing and a curse that you feel so free and independent when she's there and so dependent when she's not there. I don’t think she feels that way at all, but I know she does.”

2024

An anonymous woman sued Brooks for sexual assault and assault, claiming in October court documents obtained by CNN that the singer raped her in 2019 while she was employed as a hairdresser.

Before filing, Brooks filed his own complaint to stop the hairdresser from repeating her claims. In the application he rejected the representation.

“The defendant’s allegations are not true,” the filing states. “The defendant, however, recognizes the significant, irreparable harm that such false allegations would cause to the plaintiff’s well-deserved reputation as a decent and caring human being, along with the inevitable harm to his family and the irreparable harm to his career and livelihood.” This is what would happen if she followed through on her threat to “publicly file” her fabricated lawsuit.

Brooks did not immediately address the lawsuit. Us I asked for a comment.

If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, please reach out National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.