Picture Perfect
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are still going strong after more than 20 years in the spotlight.
Professional success. Marital success. Financial success. It’s a powerful show-business trifecta for country music power couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Married over 20 years and still going strong, these parents of three daughters are clearly stashing a secret we all want to know: how their romance stays steamy. Seems as if money, fame, and fortune times two does, in fact, buy happiness.
It’s hard not to be infatuated with the power couple that first met at a Nashville radio station event. Clearly sparks flew because their relationship blossomed when Hill, who was engaged at the time, opened for McGraw’s 1996 tour. They quickly fell in love and married that October.
But let’s separate the two for a second and provide a briefing on their individual selves. Starting with Faith, 49, a Mississippi-born girl adopted as an infant.
You Gotta Have Faith
Hill was raised with brothers, both biological to her devout Christian adoptive parents. Her talent shone early on, first performing at a 4-H luncheon at 7 years old, but it was the king who ultimately blessed her with the love of song.
Elvis Presley, to be exact.
For her 9th birthday, Hill attended an Elvis concert and immediately fell in love with music. By 17, she was a regular performer at area churches, even forming a band that performed at local rodeos. At 19, she realized school wasn’t her thing and instead moved to Nashville to pursue her dream of being a country singer. While she didn’t get chosen to sing backup for Reba McEntire, she did score a job at McDonalds. But selling fries and burgers didn’t wet her whistle.
In 1988, she married music-publishing exec Daniel Hill, and later, as luck would have it, her voice was heard by a head honcho from Warner Bros. Records who eventually signed sweet Faith.
Shortly after the release of her first album, Hill’s marriage fell apart and she divorced Daniel in 1994.
Her debut album, Take Me As I Am (1993) was strong, and she became the first female country singer in 30 years to hold Billboard’s number one position for four consecutive weeks. Her 1995 album was yet another success, only to be followed by more good luck––hooking up with Tim McGraw.
Even though Hill was engaged to a former producer, the power of love reigned strong. In spring of 1996, she opened for Tim McGraw and the rest was history. They married after finding out they were expecting their first daughter.
Now to Tim
Samuel Timothy “Tim” McGraw, 49, has released numerous albums topping number one on country album charts. He has also won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 CMA awards, 10 American Music Awards, and three People’s Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II Tour with Faith Hill is the highest grossing tour in country music history.
Born in Louisiana, McGraw was an only child, being raised by his mother and stepfather, Horace Smith. In fact, Tim’s last name was Smith until age 11, after discovering Tug McGraw was his biological father. For years, Tug, a baseball player, denied he was Tim’s dad, but when Tim turned 18, he acknowledged paternity, and the two remained close until Tug’s death in 2004.
Even though Tim didn’t know his dad was an all-star, athleticism ran in his blood. McGraw grew up loving playing America’s Favorite Pastime, and even gained a baseball scholarship for college. However, a knee injury later prevented him pursuing a career in sports, and so he dropped out of college and moved to Nashville, as he had a growing interest for playing the guitar.
In 1990, McGraw came to the attention of Curb Records, after his father passed along his single to one of the executives. While the single didn’t score a Billboard hot spot, Tim’s second album, Not a Moment Too Soon, became the best selling country album in 1994.
And in 1996, he married Faith, and eventually fathered three girls with the blond-haired bombshell.
Fast Facts
So let’s talk couple stats––things you might not know about the couple.
Faith Hill, independent from Tim McGraw, has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Her hits Breathe and The Way You Love Me garnered her three Grammys. Hill has also won 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, six American Music Awards, and was one of the 30 Most Powerful Women in America in 2001.
Tim, on the other hand, is not only a singer and performer, but also an actor. His first role was in The Jeff Foxworthy Show in 1997, followed by scoring parts in The Blind Side and Friday Night Lights.
In 2015, Forbes estimated McGraw’s annual income at $38 million. Faith Hill’s current estimated net worth (2015) is $80 million.
What’s Next
The two absolutely know how to put on a show with three renditions of the Soul 2 Soul Tour, one in 2000, one in 2006, and a new tour coming in 2017. The first tour grossed $50 million with nearly a million fans in attendance. The 2000 tour was the fifth biggest tour in America that year, and the 2006 tour once again made millions––$89 million to be exact. In fact, that tour saw over one million fans and was the third-highest grossing tour in North America, and the highest grossing tour of all time.
And good news if you want to witness the two in action; the couple is gearing up for another highly anticipated version of the Soul 2 Soul World Tour in 2017 this spring.
Final Thoughts
Even celebrating two decades of marriage, the two seemingly act like love-struck teens rather than an aged married couple. According to an interview with The Boot, Hill says: “My husband and I have made the choice that our marriage is the most important thing to us. We respect what we have and understand how we need to feed it.”
Touché, Faith, touché.
