“One Tree Hill” star Jana Kramer is no stranger to encountering life’s difficulties. However, finding love in husband, Mike Caussin set her on the right path, giving her a new reason to keep living.
Before hooking up with Washington Redskins tight end, Mike Caussin, actress Jana Kramer endured years of hardships and turmoil. Experiencing life at its lowest to the point of contemplating suicide, overtime made her appreciate even the little things.
JANA KRAMER’S TUMULTUOUS FIRST MARRIAGE
The most trying moment in Kramer’s life was during her first marriage to Michael Gambino. Jana Kramer met her first husband in 2004, at a Los Angeles Coffee Bean. Being only nineteen at the time, the then-aspiring actress fell for the charming, intriguing, and smooth-talking 36-year-old.
Admittedly, the much older man made her feel protected, and she kicked off her relationship with him instantly. Two weeks later, they made their way to the altar in Las Vegas, marking the beginning of the icon’s hardships.
Although it took years, Kramer eventually opened up about those turbulent months of hardships. She revealed how her husband took to abusing her verbally after their marriage until it graduated into physical abuse.
Recounting the ordeal, she divulged how Gambino came home at odd hours, picked her out of bed, and threw her onto the floor without cause. Thereafter, he would beat her to stupor while yelling, only to act like nothing happened the next morning. She became an expert at hiding her bruises with makeup, just to keep them away from family and friends.
THINGS ONLY BECAME WORSE
Sometimes, their confrontations escalated, so much so he kicked her out of their home. Kramer was forced on occasions to sleep in her car or hide in nearby bushes until his mood calmed down. After the tumultuous encounters, Gambino always found a way to make everything seem like her fault, further crushing her self-confidence. She recalled:
“Then the next morning, I’d be with him in bed again. My self-confidence went down each time he was abusive.”
Eventually, the star summoned the courage to walk away from the abusive marriage, but her ex-husband seemed one step ahead of her. Jana Kramer recalled how Gambino sent pictures of her dogs on the freeway, threatening to let them go if she failed to return home to him. That broke her, as well as her resolve to leave him.
HOW SHE CONTEMPLATED SUICIDE
Following months of hardships, suicidal instincts set in, leaving the actress at her lowest. Gambino drew the last straw one night in 2005. That fateful night, he beat her to the limit, choked her to unconsciousness, and walked away, leaving her unconscious and bleeding in front of their home.
She knew at that moment she could not endure the ordeal anymore, and wanted any way out, even if it meant ending her life. She recounted:
“I remember praying that night, ‘Please just take me away. I don’t want to be here anymore.”
The experience represented her moment of awakening, as right after that, she opened up to the appropriate authorities. After being on the run for two months, the police arrested Michael Gambino and charged him with attempted murder. The court found him guilty and sentenced him to six months imprisonment.
Jana Kramer’s ex-husband completed his sentence in 2010 and committed suicide in 2012, two years after his release. To date, Kramer bears scars from the night she almost died on her arms and shoulders.
WHY SHE REMAINED IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP
As a successful country singer and actress, with chart-topping songs like “I Got The Boy,” and “Why Ya Wanna,” one would wonder why it took so long for Jana Kramer to walk out of an abusive marriage.
The star once opened up about why she found it difficult to just leave. According to her, she tried walking away when it all began, just weeks into their marriage. However, right after filing for a divorce, Gambino went AWOL. He called eventually to inform her his dad died, and therefore, ending their marriage only hurt his feelings the more.
He pleaded with her to stay by his side, as he loved her a lot. The repeat-abuser also apologized for all his misdeeds. As a result, she revoked her decision to annul their union. But things never got better.
In fact, she discovered later that he lied about his dad’s death, and other things he told her, including what he did for a living. She even found out he was only a con man, with jail records, had other wives, and many children elsewhere.
Explaining why she never shared her domestic violence incident with anyone until things went out of hand, she said:
“I literally walked around on eggshells, terrified to tell anybody because I was so ashamed of the situation I had put myself in.”
Kramer believed she single-handedly put herself in the mess, and therefore, had the sole responsibility to figure out how to get out. Or at the very least, find a way to make her relationship better.
KRAMER’S NEW LIFE AND FINDING LOVE AGAIN
Luckily for the actress, there was light at the end of the tunnel for her. Five years after splitting from Gambino, Kramer married actor Johnathon Schaech in July 2010. They separated the next month, finalizing the divorce in June 2011.
In January 2013, she became engaged to fellow country star, Brantley Gilbert. However, they never made it to the altar as they separated in August that year.
Exactly one year later, the icon kicked off her romance with Washington Redskins star, Mike Caussin. Following a brief split, they became engaged in December 2015, exchanging vows by May the next year.
Since their marriage, Jana Kramer and Mike Caussin have welcomed two children, a daughter, Jolie Ray, born in 2015, and a son, Jace Joseph, born in 2018.
Their marriage hit rock bottom in August 2016, with the couple separating following Caussin’s admission to rehab for sex addiction. Gladly, they reconciled a year later, renewing their wedding vows in December 2017.
Back in 2019, Jana Kramer gushed about the shared love between herself and her husband. Sharing a handwritten note from him on Instagram, the “One Tree Hill” star, who competed in the 23rd season of “Dancing With The Stars,” revealed that Caussin made her feel “most loved” with such little gestures.
Jana Kramer and Gleb Savchenko emerged in fourth place in the competition show despite her then-ongoing marital feud, proving her strength and resilience in the midst of crisis. Thankfully, her love life has been going strong to date.
