The Truth About Randy Travis' First Marriage

Randy Travis has written his name in country music history for reintroducing the genre to its roots and inspiring a generation of artists to do the same. Among those is none other than Garth Brooks, who believes Travis "saved country music," as the Tennessean reported. "I don't know of any artist who took a format and turned it 180 (degrees) back to where it came from and made it bigger than it was then," Brooks said. But when it comes to his personal life, the seven-time Grammy Award winner is less traditional. 

Randy has been happily married to Mary Travis since March 2015, according to People. But the relationship started off amid cheating rumors. In July 2010, the National Enquirer reported that Randy's first wife had discovered he was having an affair with Mary, who was also married at the time. While rumors spread by the tabloid must be taken with a grain of salt, Randy was divorced by October of that year, People reported at the time.

Regardless of how they came to be, the country legend and Mary have proved to be in it for the long haul. After Randy suffered a severe stroke in 2013, his chances of recovering seemed low, according to The Associated Press. But Mary was convinced he still had a lot of life ahead of him and pressed doctors to keep trying, according to Everyday Health. Before his unique relationship with Mary, Randy was in an unconventional relationship with Elizabeth "Lib" Hatcher. 

Randy Travis met Elizabeth "Lib" Hatcher in 1975, when he was just a teenager trying to break into the music industry, per the North Carolina History Project. Then performing under the name Randy Ray, the Marshville, North Carolina, native took part in a contest at the Country USA nightclub in nearby Charlotte, as Rolling Stone noted. Hatcher, who was one of the judges, quickly recognized Randy's talent. "When Randy started singing that night I dropped the papers I was holding and thought, 'This is something special,'" Hatched said, per the NCHP. Unfortunately, those singing skills were matched by Randy's skills for finding trouble with the law.

Hatcher offered Randy a job singing at the club, but he continued to engage in juvenile delinquency, the NCHP detailed. With his rap sheet getting longer, Randy was facing five years in prison when Hatcher, 16 years his senior, convinced the judge to allow her to be his legal guardian, according to Rolling Stone. Together, the pair moved to Nashville in 1981 to focus on Randy's career, according to the NCHP. As Hatcher was the manager of the Nashville Palace nightclub, Randy began performing regularly while also working in the kitchen to earn money, per Rolling Stone.

As their professional relationship blossomed, so did their personal one. "[Hatcher] changed [my life] more so than anybody," Randy told Rolling Stone. They officially wed in 1991, People reported. While now his wife, Hatcher continued to be Randy's manager.

Randy Travis and Elizabeth "Lib" Hatcher took so long to tie the knot in part because Hatcher felt the appearance of being single was important for Randy's career. "He was young, and you want to attract that young audience. I wanted him to appear available," she told People in 1991. As pragmatic as Hatcher and Randy might have been, their marriage ended acrimoniously in 2010, with many outlets branding theirs the nastiest divorce in the industry, including ABC News. While cheating rumors had been around, it was actually issues surrounding their professional relationship that caused all the trouble. Divorce proceedings started out practical enough. According to The Boot, Randy filed for divorce on October 28, 2010, and it was finalized by the next day.

Hatcher and Randy agreed she should continue to manage his career. The arrangement didn't last, and their business partnership ended in 2011. Hatched sued Randy for breach of contract, as TMZ reported in 2012. According to ABC News, he then filed his own countersuit alleging Hatched was purposefully ruining his career. In yet another back-and-forth, Hatcher filed documents accusing Randy of preventing her from doing her job properly, which was "undermining the effectiveness of his career in the entertainment industry," according to TMZ. "It is unfortunate that it's come to this. We believe the lawsuit lacks merit and that we have legal defenses to her claims," Randy said in a statement at the time (via Country Thang Daily).