Tim McGraw can’t imagine life without Faith Hill, nor does he want to. McGraw reveals how Hill encouraged him to get sober in 2008, changing every aspect of his life and career as a result.
“I was drinking a lot,” McGraw admits on The Tim Ferriss Show. “Which, that didn’t stop after we got married, but she beat it out of me after a while.”
When McGraw and Hill fell in love, she was opening for him on his The Spontaneous Combustion Tour, his first headlining tour. The success was intoxicating for him, after years of barely scraping by.
“I was just doing everything,” McGraw recalls. “I was a kid in a candy store — especially after I got successful. I had never had any money before, never been around any of that stuff before. And then all of a sudden, it became a tool that was useful, until it wasn’t. When Faith came along, I was burning it wide open, when we met. She started tapping the brakes for me.”
What Tim McGraw Says About His Wife, Faith Hill
McGraw got sober in 2008, but his life slowly began to change as soon as he met Hill.
“Once I met her, I didn’t want to lose her,” McGraw explains. “She’s magic. Not just her singing and her looks. Of course, that’s all a bonus. But as a person, she’s just magic. She just lights up a room, and she lit me up. And still does. I wouldn’t be the same artist had I not met her. I certainly wouldn’t have the career that I’ve had, had I not met her.
“I would have burned out really quickly, I think,” he adds. “Especially if I had lost her, after I found her, if I had lost her because of not bringing myself around a little bit. Then, I definitely would have been in a downward spiral.”
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Tim McGraw Looks Ahead in Country Music
It’s been 33 years since McGraw’s eponymous debut album was released, but he still believes his best days in country music might be ahead of him.
“I just try to be better today,” McGraw says. “Do the next best thing to be a better person than you were yesterday, and work harder today than you did yesterday. And try to move forward, and try to learn. In this business or in life, I think when you stop paying attention and stop learning, then you stop moving forward.
“That’s why, when I’m on tour,” he remarks, “I always go out and catch the opening acts, ’cause you never know where you’re gonna learn something. And you always gotta learn.”
McGraw will embark on his Pawn Shop Guitar Tour on July 9. 49 Winchester and Timothy Wayne will join McGraw on select dates, with The Chicks and Lady A joining him on his three stadium shows.