Garth Brooks’ Ups and Downs Over the Years: A Timeline

Country singer Garth Brooks has faced ups and downs throughout his career.

Brooks rose to fame in 1989 with the release of his self-titled debut album. He has since gone on to earn two Grammy Awards, 23 Academy of Country Music Awards, two CMT Awards, 10 CMA Awards and many more.

“It’s always fun [to hear my music on the radio] because immediately what happens is you flash back to those faces in the crowd that are singing it, and you see the joy,” Brooks exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2023.

Amid his musical acclaim, Brooks also weathered a number of scandals. He admitted to cheating on his first wife, Sandy Mahl, in 1989 nearly 35 years before an anonymous hairstylist accused him of sexual assault and battery. (Brooks denied the claims.)

Keep scrolling to revisit Brooks’ ups and downs:

1986

Brooks married Mahl, and they later welcomed daughters Taylor, August and Allie.

1989

Three years later, Brooks dropped his debut album. Around the same time, he was accused of cheating on Mahl. He admitted to infidelity in a 1993 interview with Barbara Walters.

“After I wore out a pair of jeans while I was down on my knees begging her to take me back,” Brooks said, confirming he and Mahl reconciled.

1993

Brooks performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the Super Bowl, but he nearly canceled at the last minute. According to former NFL executive Don Weiss’ book The Making of the Super Bowl: The Inside Story of the World’s Greatest Sporting Event, Brooks had wanted to debut his “We Shall Be Free” video during the broadcast. The music video featured footage of riots and cross burnings, leading the TV network to bar the controversial clip from the programming schedule. Weiss reported that Brooks left the stadium less than an hour before kickoff as a result.

Brooks and the TV executives ultimately came to a compromise and the country singer agreed to perform after they aired the video after all.

1999

Brooks created a fictional persona named Chris Gaines and released a rock album titled Garth Brooks in … the Life of Chris Gaines. The project was initially supposed to serve as the soundtrack for a film titled The Lamb where Brooks would play a rock star, but the movie was never made. In November, Brooks hosted Saturday Night Live as himself but performed as Gaines for his musical number without acknowledging that Gaines was really him.

2000

Brooks and Mahl split, issuing a statement to Billboard at the time.

“Sandy and I both agree that we need to get divorced,” Brooks said in a statement. “Right now, we’re focusing on the impact it will have on the children and how to handle that best, to remain parents even if we don’t remain husband and wife.”

Later that year, Brooks started dating Trisha Yearwood. They initially met in 1987 while Yearwood was married to first husband Christopher Latham. Brooks and Yearwood got married in December 2005.

2013

Brooks was sued for fraud by former business associate Lisa Sanderson, who claimed that he failed to pay her a salary for 20 years. Sanderson also accused Brooks of tax fraud. He denied the allegations. During the trial, Brooks argued that a $226,000 loan was not a gift as Sanderson had alleged. A jury ruled in Brooks’ favor.

2023

Brooks and Yearwood opened their own Nashville bar, named Friends in Low Places after his popular song, in November. Before the bar opened, Brooks made headlines for confirming the establishment planned to serve Bud Light after the brand faced backlash for partnering with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

“Everybody’s got their opinions, but inclusiveness is always gonna be me. I think diversity is the answer to the problems that are here and the problems that are coming,” he said in a Facebook Live video in June. “If you want to come to Friends in Low Places, come in, but come in with love. Come in with tolerance, patience. Come in with an open mind, and it’s cool. If you’re one of those people that just can’t do that, I get it. If you ever are one of those people that want to try it, come.”

That same year, Brooks told Us that he was “dependent” on his wife.

“I was telling somebody the other day, I feel so helpless because there’s nothing I can’t do without her,” he exclusively said in August. “There’s nothing I can’t do with her and there’s nothing I can do without her. It’s a blessing and a curse that you feel so free and independent when she’s there and you’re so dependent when she’s not there. I don’t think she feels this way at all, but I know I do.”

2024

An anonymous woman sued Brooks for sexual assault and battery, claiming in October court documents obtained by Us that the singer raped her in 2019 when she was hired as a hairstylist. (CNN broke the news.)

Ahead of the filing, Brooks filed his own complaint in an attempt to block the hairstylist from repeating her claims. In the motion, he denied the account.

“Defendant’s allegations are not true,” the filing read. “Defendant is well aware, however, of the substantial, irreparable damage such false allegations would do to Plaintiff’s well-earned reputation as a decent and caring person, along with the unavoidable damage to his family and the irreparable damage to his career and livelihood that would result if she made good on her threat to ‘publicly file’ her fabricated lawsuit.”

Brooks later denied the claims in a second statement.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.