Tammy Wynette had a very tumultuous love life during her lifetime. Here’s everything you need to know about Tammy Wynette’s spouses.
Tammy Wynette was a renowned American country music singer and one of the pioneer female country singers. This made her one of the genre’s most influential and successful artists and earned her the title “The First Lady of Country Music.”
Who Was Tammy Wynette?
Virginia Wynette Pugh was born on May 5, 1942, in Itawamba County, Mississippi, to Mildred Faye Russell and William Hollis Pugh. Her mother, Mildred, was a school teacher, while her father was an aspiring musician who played the guitar and sang in a group.
Shortly after Wynette was born, her father, previously diagnosed with a brain tumor, died. Due to his love for music, Williams had already bought a piano for his daughter, hoping she would play when she got old enough. Her mother, Mildred, moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where she worked in a defense plant during World War II. She left Wynette to be raised by her grandparents.
The “Stand By Your Man” singer took piano lessons but was said to have been a natural with the instrument. While in upper elementary school, Wynette befriended two of her classmates who also had a passion for singing, and the trio sang at some small-town functions.
The singer attended high school in Tremont, and shortly after graduating at 17, she married Euple Byrd. Her mother helped her pay to attend a cosmetic school, Mrs. McGuire’s School of Beauty, to make ends meet while doubling as a barmaid singing for customers. After finishing cosmetology school, she moved back home with her grandparents.
Wynette continued pursuing her love for music with help from her uncle and some radio stations. She got a big break after pitching several songs to Epic Records producer Billy Sherill. She signed a contract with the label, and it was up from there for the singer.
Her first chart success was “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad,” which climbed to the 3rd spot on the Billboard Country Singles chart, and her album with the same name followed suit. In the following years, Wynette became highly successful in her genre.
The “I Don’t Wanna Play House” singer helped bring a woman’s perspective to the male-dominated country music field and helped other women find representation in the genre. Critics, journalists, and writers have praised her vocal delivery for conveying unique emotion.
Twenty of her singles topped the Billboard Country chart during her career, earned several major awards, and inspired many generations. Many mainstream artists like Taylor Swift and Shania Twain have cited Wynette as a source of inspiration and influence.
Who Were Tammy Wynette’s Spouses?
The country singer had a very memorable love life. She engaged with men from a very young age, much to her family’s disapproval. She entered into marriage five times throughout her lifetime.
Euple Byrd
Wynette married Euple Byrd when she was 17, one month before high school graduation. Being underage, her mother was required to sign the legal documents for their marriage but refused to due to her disapproval. Her grandparents later signed the papers and gave the couple a rent-free stay.
By this point, Wynette had become pregnant with her first child, and neither she nor her husband had a steady source of income. They moved around a lot, looking for a sustainable source of income, and this caused a lot of fights between the couple. They had two more children together, but their problems continued until their divorce in 1965.
Don Chapel
Wynette met Don Chapel, an aspiring singer, in Nashville in 1965. He was a front desk attendant at the Red Anchor Motel where she stayed. The two quickly developed feelings for each other and married in 1967, but they did not stay together for long. They divorced in 1968 due to Wynette’s feelings for fellow country singer George Jones.
Wynette later found out that her marriage to Chapel was never legalized. This was because she remarried too soon after her first divorce. The couple had no children together, and Chapel died in 2015.
George Jones
Jones first met Wynette while she was on tour with him in the late sixties. Jones was an acquaintance of both Wynette and Chapel while they were still a couple. After assisting Wynette one evening when one of her children fell ill due to food poisoning, she invited him to join the Chapel home for dinner the following day.
Wynette reportedly played Jones’ music all night and fussed about him, angering her husband. When Chapel began to throw derogatory words at her, Jones stood up for her and confessed his love for the singer.
She also conceded that she loved him, and they took off that same night with Wynette’s three kids. The “Country Music Royal Couple” wed on February 16, 1969, in Ringgold, Georgia, and brought forth one child. They also recorded many projects together as a duo.
Sadly, their marriage was quite tumultuous. Jones’ alcoholism was at its peak, making him verbally and physically abusive and hard to control. Wynette filed for divorce in 1973 but reconciled with Jones shortly after. He got a bit better but quickly relapsed.
The “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” singer mentioned that Jones often disappeared for days, causing her and her children a lot of worry. After reaching her breaking point, Wynette initiated another divorce filing in 1974, and the process concluded on January 8, 1975.
They remained on good terms and continued to work together several years after their marriage ended. The 2022 miniseries “George & Tammy” depicted their relationship and premiered on Showtime, CMT, and the Paramount Network.
Michael Tomlin
Wynette met businessman and real estate developer Micheal Tomlin through her friend Nan Crofton in 1976. The two reportedly hit it off and married just a few weeks after meeting.
Their marriage was very short-lived and was annulled just six weeks later. Sources say Tomlin was not very honest about his lifestyle and was not as successful as he claimed to be.
George Richey
Wynette married her fifth and final husband, George Richey, on July 6, 1978. He was a songwriter, music publisher, and record producer who had some songs recorded by George Jones and Wynette herself. The two had a professional relationship that became more personal after Richey visited Wynette often while she was recovering at the hospital.
Reportedly, Richey declared his love for Wynette following an evening recording session, and the two tied the knot shortly afterward. He became her full-time manager but made decisions that did not sit right with her loved ones.
He exhibited possessive and controlling behavior, assuming control over her finances and terminating several female co-workers. Their marriage was emotionally abusive, and Richey limited Wynette and her children’s access to their family and friends.
Nevertheless, Wynette remained married to Richey until she died in 1998. Richey died in 2010, and the couple had no children together.
Tammy Wynette’s Death
Tammy Wynette had a troubled personal life. She suffered from multiple episodes of depression and a painful intestinal condition, leading to an addiction to painkillers. She died on April 6, 1998, while sleeping in her Nashville home from a blood clot in her lungs.
The singer left her vast wealth to her four children in her will.
