Music was ultimately the reason why country power couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill first got together. It’s also part of the reason why they’ve remained a couple for more than 20 years.
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In 1994, Faith Hill first met Tim McGraw at a Country Radio Seminar showcase for new artists in Nashville, Tennessee. Both were “new artists” at the time. A year earlier, both released their debut albums with Tim McGraw’s self-titled release and Hill with her 1993 album Take Me As I Am.
“I remember very vividly,” said McGraw. It was a New Faces show, and we were backstage and we all took a picture. A lot of new artists—Clay Walker was in there, a few other artists—and that was the first time I met Faith. I had a mullet and the ugliest red jacket you’ve ever seen in your life I had on. And I looked at her and was smitten right away.”
During this time, Hill was also engaged to Scott Hendricks, and McGraw was dating Kristine Donahue. Hill later joined McGraw’s 1996 Spontaneous Combustion tour as an opening act. The two began dating after breaking up with their respective partners and were married later that year on October 6.
“If someone is going to judge my character because I was engaged to somebody and then I left him for somebody else, I can’t control that,” said Hill. “But I wasn’t about to let Tim slip through my hands.”
A Couple of Collaborations
Throughout their decades-long union, McGraw and Hill have collaborated on numerous projects, beginning with their first, a year after they wed. Following the release of her second album, It Matters to Me, Hill took a three-year break from touring to focus on starting a family with McGraw.
During her short hiatus, the two recorded their first duet “It’s Your Love.” Released on McGraw’s fourth album, Everywhere, the single went to No. 1 on the country chart and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The two recorded two more duets in the late-’90s, including “Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me,” which appeared on Hill’s 1998 album Faith and went to No. 5 on the country chart, and “Let’s Make Love,” off her 1999 follow up Breathe. The song won the couple a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.
In 2016, the couple revealed that they would go back on the road together again on the Soul2Soul World Tour and released their collaborative album The Rest of Our Life in 2017.
[RELATED: Top 10 Faith Hill Songs]
On Screen
In 1997, the couple started dipping into acting. Hill starred in the TV series Touched by an Angel and Promised Land in 1997, while McGraw made his acting debut on The Jeff Foxworthy Show.
By 2004, both also made their film debuts with Hill starring in The Stepford Wives, alongside Nicole Kidman, Glenn Closer, and Matthew Broderick and McGraw in The Black Cloud. That same year, McGraw also starred in the 2004 drama Friday Night Lights and added on more roles throughout the years, including the 2009 film The Blind Side. Hill also picked up several more roles throughout the years, including another in the 2015 film Dixieland.
In 2021, McGraw and Hill starred together in the Paramount+ Yellowstone prequel 1883. The couple starred as the Dutton’s ancestors James and Margaret Dutton. The series follows the Duttons as they make their way through the Great Plains, struggling through poverty and seeking a better life in Montana.
“This is truly a dream job,” said McGraw in a previous statement about 1883. “The Duttons are tremendous characters and it’s so thrilling to be able to bring them to life. As a kid growing up riding horses, you think about dream jobs like this and I am just so excited to work with this amazing cast and crew.”
[RELATED: 5 Songs You Didn’t Know Tim McGraw Wrote for Himself and One Other Artist]
Family Matters
Today, McGraw and Hill, who were both born months apart in 1967, are still together and share three daughters: Gracie, born May 5, 1997; Maggie, born August 12, 1998; and Audrey, born December 6, 2001.
“There is nothing as beautifully inspiring as being the father of three remarkable, talented, and self-confident young women,” wrote McGraw.
Photo: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for Paramount+
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