Kenny Rogers, the country music legend, led a life that was intertwined with fame, money, and a lot of relationships.
He was famous because of his soulful voice and chart-topping hits, but his personal life was also interesting.
Despite the fact that Rogers married several times and had five children, it took him years to find his real love, which would last until his death at the age of 81.
Rogers married five times in his life. Although his previous marriages were unsuccessful, he never failed to assert that he loved each of his wives when they got married.
But he confessed that music was a priority over his relationships. When Rogers looked back at his past marriages, he confessed that music was his mistress, something that he loved so much that it could not allow him to devote himself to his family.
Rogers admitted that his music was always first, and although he loved his wives and children, his career goals usually created a rift between them. He was responsible in the failure of his marriages and absolved his previous partners of any fault.
At a tender age of 19, Rogers got married to Janice Gordon, making him a first-time husband. Their daughter was born and their marriage was the next step, although the two got married hoping to show their parents that they loved each other, the marriage lasted only two years. Rogers had separated himself with his daughter after the breakup, and the second husband of Gordon became the father.
Soon after, Rogers remarried his second wife, Jean Rogers, in the same year as his first marriage broke up. But their relationship soon turned sour and they separated after only three years.
The third marriage of Rogers to Margo Anderson was more successful and lasted more than ten years. In the process, they gave birth to his first son, Kenny Jr. But the pressures of his profession and frequent traveling strained the relationship and the couple divorced.
Rogers was married to his fourth wife, actress Marianne Gordon, in 1977. They got a son, Chris, together. The couple stayed together almost 20 years, but when Rogers reached 50, he was again drawn to his career, and they parted in 1993.
Their divorce was one of the costly in the entertainment industry and Gordon was awarded a settlement of 60 million dollars. Rogers was not bitter, and told the Irish Independent: “She deserves every penny.” He said that he was thankful to her constant support, particularly in a period when his career was on the decline, saying: “Marianne really did deserve the 60 million because she is a great girl, and we had a perfect marriage of 15 years.”
Rogers would meet his fifth and last wife, Wanda Miller, four years after his separation with Gordon. Their marriage was successful despite the 28-year age gap. They gave birth to twin boys, Justin and Jordan, which gave Rogers great happiness later in life. Rogers was initially reluctant to have more children, but later in his 60s, he accepted fatherhood with the words: “When I was told it was twins, man, I was thrilled.”
The relationship between Rogers and Miller was close until his death in 2020. Although he had to face the difficulties of having a family at his age, he loved being a father and a husband. Miller even after his death honored her late husband by promising to keep his memory alive and keep on celebrating the love they had.
Ultimately, although Kenny Rogers had his share of ups and downs in his love and marriage life, he eventually got the deep and lasting bond that he had always desired.
His memory as a musician and a father is still echoing in the hearts of people who knew and loved him.