The Shady Clue That Made Willie Nelson's Second Wife Discover His Infidelity

Willie Nelson did not "willingly" tell his second wife, Shirley Collie, about his infidelity. Instead, the fellow singer discovered her husband was cheating on her in a surprising way.

Similar to Nelson, Collie was a musician. A country singer and yodeler, Collie rose to fame in the late 1950s with a spot on ABC's "Ozark Jubilee." She went on to release several singles, but it was her song with Nelson titled "Willingly" that would gain them immense fame. It was no secret that the pair had chemistry musically, but it turns out they even sparked a connection romantically. Just a year after they released their collab, the couple decided to tie the knot in 1963. Although not much is known about their relationship, the one thing that is confirmed is that it didn't last. Just shy of a decade into their marriage, the couple got divorced, and it was sparked by Nelson's unfaithfulness.

The "On The Road Again" singer has lived a long life that included multiple marriages. Nelson once told The Telegraph: "Along the way you pick up wives and kids and you are responsible for them. You don't discard them. There is no such thing as ex-wives, only additional wives." However, it was an additional future wife that Collie had to find out about in one of the most unexpected and shocking manners possible.

Shirley Collie was head over heels for Willie Nelson. "It was instant love. I saw things in him that give me goosebumps now," the musician had told Time Magazine (via Heavy). Sadly, Nelson was about to give Collie goosebumps for all the wrong reasons, because her life turned upside down after opening what she thought would be a regular piece of mail.

According to People, the country singer revealed in his joint memoir, "Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band," the exact way his ex-wife discovered he was having an affair, and it was quite shocking. "Shirley saw a bill from a Houston hospital," he said. "I tried to play it off as no big deal. I told her that I had to go to the hospital for something minor." Nelson tried to hide what he knew the bill was for, but it didn't work out because the bill's charges revealed that it wasn't something minor. Nelson was charged for the "birth of a baby girl, Paula Carlene, born to a Mrs. Connie Nelson."

Seeing the charge, Collie questioned the musician, who eventually fessed up. "Shirley wanted to know who in the hell was Connie Nelson," He shared. "Couldn't lie. Was caught flatfooted. Had to get the words out of my mouth. 'Connie's my girlfriend and Paula's our daughter.'" That didn't go over well with Collie, and by 1971, the couple had officially gone their separate ways.

Following his divorce from Shirley Collie, Willie Nelson moved on with Connie Kopeke, the woman with whom he cheated on Collie. People reported that Nelson and Kopeke began dating while he was technically still married to Collie. The same year his divorce was finalized with Collie, he walked down the aisle with Kopeke.

Nelson and Kopeke's marriage lasted much longer than his and Collie's, but it would still come to an end, per People. The couple welcomed a second kid, and it looked like Nelson had put his cheating days behind him, but the country singer couldn't help himself. When venturing into film, Nelson began an affair with makeup artist Annie D'Angelo. His affair led to his third marriage crumbling, and by 1988, he and Kopeke were done. Nelson revealed in his memoir his regrets about the way things ended with Kopeke. He wrote, "I messed up another marriage. My wandering ways were too much for any woman to put up with. I'll always love Connie." It seemed like history was repeating itself, first with Collie and then with Kopeke. But while people may have doubted his relationship with D'Angelo would last, the couple beat the odds and have remained happily married.

Nelson was able to move on from his past relationships, but what happened to Collie? After her marriage with the "Always on My Mind" singer fell apart, she never remarried, per The Boot. Unfortunately, in January 2010, Collie tragically passed away.