Even though Alan and Denise Jackson have been married for 40 years, they didn’t always have an easy time of it. Tears, blunders, and betrayals littered the path to their eventual destination. But as the adage goes, “if it’s meant to be, it will be,” the two will eventually reunite. So they did. Despite everything that had happened, their love had not died, and now they were walking hand in hand toward reconciliation.
The story of the successful country music duo might be told in a catchy country tune! Alan and Denise first met as teenagers and began dating at Newnan High School in Georgia. However, theirs was the first, to begin with, outright hostility. Alan Jackson claims that she rejected him the first time he asked Denise out on a date. He tried again after a while, and this time he was successful. On their first date, he took her for a ride in his white Thunderbird convertible. The rest was history.
A yes on a first date led to an “I do” until death does them part on December 15, 1979.
After being married for six years, the pair finally uprooted and moved to Music City so that Alan could pursue his dream of being a successful country singer. The pair shared a cramped basement flat when they first moved to the city. Alan used to spend his days sorting mail and his nights performing with his band. As for Denise, she was a flight attendant.
The fateful day came when Denise spotted singer/songwriter Glen Campbell at the airport. She went over to him immediately and started gushing about her spouse; who wanted to be a country singer. Campbell handed her his business card, and soon after, Alan signed his first record deal with the company. Alan’s first album, the 1990s “Here in the Real World,” was a huge hit and sold over two million copies. However, that wasn’t the only happy event that year; they welcomed their first daughter, Mattie Denise. Another little daughter, Alexandra Jane “Ali,” came along three years later. Dani Grace was the couple’s second daughter, born in 1997.
The Second Chapter, Almost Breaking Up
As Alan’s popularity and riches grew, he planned to construct a plantation-style mansion for his family, modeling it after Tara in Gone with the Wind. Everything seemed like a fairy tale from the outside, but on the inside, it was falling apart. The couple’s shocking divorce announcement in 1997 came after 18 years of marriage.
Denise revealed that Alan’s infidelity was the final straw in their split in “It’s All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life,” a tell-all book they wrote together in 2007.
The tragedy that nearly destroyed her life ultimately brought her the greatest blessings. After their separation, she found a renewed connection and dedication to God and her Christian life, which allowed her to forgive her husband. A year after attending marriage counseling, the couple got back together.
Happily Ever After
Both have reached significant life milestones since then, making them true icons. What Alan said to The Boot sums up his counsel best: “The two of us have become inseparable; I can’t sleep while she’s downstairs watching TV in the evenings, and we start each day with a cup of coffee and a chat. Unless I’m out of town, we always sleep together,” he says. “The smallest things have made the biggest difference for us. If you reach 40, you’ll have the wisdom to figure out the rest of your life.”