Garth Brooks Used COVID-19 as a Chance to Strengthen His Marriage

Garth Brooks is one of those guys who never lets an opportunity go by — even when it’s a chance to do something hard. And as a case in point, he told The Ellen DeGeneres Show Friday (March 19) that he and Trisha Yearwood used her COVID-19 downtime to work on their marriage.

Chatting via video call with the show’s dancer and Co-Executive Producer Stephen “tWitch” Boss (because DeGeneres was off), the country icon weighed in on everything from cowboy hats vs. baseball hats to performing at presidential inaugurations. But what he and Yearwood did after she was diagnosed with the contagious disease was more interesting. Determined to tackle the pet peeves he and Yearwood had about each other, the bold move meant Brooks had nowhere to run. But he says it ultimately made them stronger.

“I figured since we’re here, and we ain’t got nowhere to go, let’s just attack some of the hardest things over the 15 years that bugs one of us, right?” he said. “And it was like living in a little house, like you couldn’t go anywhere, you couldn’t walk away from the conversation.”

Yearwood hopped on the call to confirm that yes, she and Brooks are still together after all that COVID counseling, and she also gave fans an update on her health (she’s doing great). And later on, she also talked about the first meal she cooked for Garth Brooks, and what Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga think of the country couple’s cover of their Oscar-winning song, “Shallow.”