Country superstar Garth Brooks teared up during a performance of his new song “Stronger Than Me,” dedicated to his wife Trisha Yearwood at the 2018 CMA Awards on Wednesday, November 14.
The singer, who is infamous for his song “Friends in Low Places,” sang directly to Yearwood, his wife of 13 years, as a spotlight shined on her. The couple both teared up during the performance, and she blew him a kiss from the audience at its conclusion.
“I can’t say anything other than it’s the first … she’s never heard it,” Brooks said during the awards red carpet pre-show to Us Weekly . “So I made it all the way to here without her hearing it. Now I’m almost there.”
Us Weekly reported that Yearwood was nervous about hearing the song for the first time as well.
“I’m like, ‘Why am I so nervous?’ And I realized it’s because I don’t really like surprises, and I really have no idea what he’s gonna sing,” she admitted.
During rehearsals for the performance, Brooks stated to Us that seeing Yearwood’s face on the screen behind him as he sang was what really brought his performance home.
“They’ve got her little picture on the thing, you know, in rehearsals, and every time I look at it, I start crying,” he said to the publication.
“Best Date EVER!” he said of Yearwood, who presented at the ceremony, on his Instagram Story later in the evening.
Yearwood took to her own Instagram to applaud her husband for the gorgeous song.
Fans were touched by the performance and took to Yearwood’s Instagram to applaud who they called “Country’s First Couple.”
“You two ARE country’s couple! You two have endured and proven by time!!! Keep the respect and love flowing!” remarked one fan.
“When he sang that song to you I cried happy tears. I love you both (have since I was a little girl),” said another fan.
Still another Instagram user stated, “Absolutely amazing. The song and his message was beautiful. You 2 are awesome.”
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood’s road to holy matrimony was a long journey. They were both previously married, and it took Brooks’ divorce and Yearwood’s two failed marriages before they were able to take their friendship to the next level.
In an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Brooks said when they first met, he was swept away by the feeling “like when you just meet your wife.”
The couple tied the knot in their Oklahoma home in 2005 in front of a guest list that included just four family members.