Inside Garth Brooks' shocking, record-shattering divorce from first wife

Garth Brooks, one of the most popular and successful country stars of all time, has been married to fellow Nashville legend Trisha Yearwood for 17 years. But Garth had been married once before to songwriter Sandy Mahl; when their marriage ended after 15 years, it ended up being one of the most expensive celebrity settlements in history.

In 2000, after many happy years and three children together, Garth and Sandy made the difficult decision to split.

They cited irreconcilable differences in court, and Sandy later confessed that all the time they spent apart due to his career damaged their relationship beyond repair.

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“People constantly wanting your attention and yanking and pulling on him,” she explained in the documentary Garth Brooks: The Road I’m On.

“He’d be gone eight to 10 weeks at a time. He’d come home, and there would be number-one parties, or shows, or CMAs, or ACMs, American Music Awards, so it was constantly going. But we both grew apart really, really quickly.

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“I don’t think either of us had stopped to think about how this would change our lives,” she later added.

Garth has three children with Sandy

When the divorce was finalized on December 17, 2001, Sandy received a whopping $125 million as a settlement. They had joint custody of their girls, Taylor, August and Allie – who are now grown women.

Sandy played a pivotal role in Garth’s career and she was even credited in two of his songs from his first album. Despite their divorce, they remained amicable and Garth has since confessed that he didn’t realize how hard it was for Sandy as he was finding fame.

Garth Brook beside his wife Sandy Mahl holding their infant daughter in 1994 — Garth and Sandy in 1994 with their daughter August

“She was phenomenal,” he explained. “[I was] gone so much on the road [during our marriage], there were things I guess she was [trying to tell] me that I didn’t hear until this biography.

“It’s rare you get to hear the other side. I just saw her and I think I hugged her harder than I ever have now that I know things that either I didn’t hear or that she didn’t say until now.”

Garth Brooks is married to Trisha Yearwood — Garth is married to Trisha Yearwood

He echoed the sentiment when speaking to Fox News when he said: “I heard things from her that she told me our whole life, but I didn’t hear them until now. And so my respect and love for her is through the roof for what she went through and how she’s handled it, as well.”

Garth went on to marry fellow country star Trisha in 2005, and they’ve ensured distance doesn’t tear them apart. “We plan our days if we’re gonna be apart so that we can get back together as soon as possible,” the “Walkaway Joe” singer told Us Weekly.

trisha yearwood garth brooks — Garth first met Trisha in 1987

The couple have been married for 17 years and Trisha gushed about what makes her husband a great partner. “At the end of the day, even when I’m mad at him, [Garth] listens,” she told Us. “Even when I think he’s not listening to me, he is. And he’s kind. He’s very generous and he’s very thoughtful.”