Sam Hunt and Wife Divorcing … and Also Expecting First Child
Heartbreaking news from one of country's most written-about couples.
Sad news from the country music world broke on Monday (February 21), with reports that Sam Hunt and his wife, Hannah, are splitting up. But even sadder yet, it’s not likely to be a clean break.
According to TMZ, Hunt’s wife Hannah Lee Fowler filed for divorce in Tennessee last week (February 18), and the court documents reveal the couple is pregnant with their first child.
In the divorce papers, Fowler cites “inappropriate marital conduct” and “adultery” as the reason for their split, saying that any chance at reconciliation is gone. She’s seeking both alimony and primary custody of the couple’s child, plus child support. The filing also says the baby is due in May, which would make Fowler about six months into her pregnancy, although the couple had not announced their news publicly.
The divorce seems like the sad end of a tumultuous (yet creatively inspiring) relationship between Hunt and Fowler, who were married in 2017 but had been dating off and on for years before that. The couple reportedly met in Fowler’s hometown of Montevallo, Alabama, when Hunt was a college football quarterback at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and their romance helped inspire many of his groundbreaking country/R&B songs.
Hunt even named his 2014 debut album Montevallo, and peppered many hit tracks with references to Hannah, but the gestures weren’t always appreciated. Social media users tracked Fowler down against her wishes as Hunt continued to pursue her, eventually winning her back by traveling repeatedly to her then-home of Hawaii (seven times in about three months, he said).
Hunt later apologized in song with the confessional track, “Drinkin’ Too Much,” placing much of the drama of their relationship on his shoulders, but things were still difficult for the couple. Although the country singer scored massive, record-breaking hits with tracks like “Body Like a Back Road,” his musical output slowed down as he retreated from the spotlight to focus on private life, and in 2019 he was arrested for DUI in Nashville.
He went on to release his South Side album in 2020 and scored three more Number Ones with “Kinfolks,” “Hard to Forget” and “Breaking Up Was Easy In the ’90s,” and had lately been sounding hopeful about his home life. Hunt even told Audacy’s TC & Dina that he and Fowler were hoping to start a family, while admitting that the success of “Body Like a Back Road” “messed my head up.”
We wish both Hunt and Fowler all the best.
