Trisha Yearwood Opens Up About Fight Against COVID-19

"It's no joke," she says.

Written by Chris Parton
Trisha Yearwood Opens Up About Fight Against COVID-19
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 18: Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks attend the "Garth Brooks: The Road I'm On" Biography Celebration at The Bowery Hotel on November 18, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Early this year, Trisha Yearwood faced a battle with COVID-19 — and thankfully, she won. But now she’s opening up about the fight.

Although Yearwood did not have to hospitalized, the beloved ’90s country hitmaker says she’s still dealing with some side effects — including the loss of her sense of taste and smell. Speaking with PEOPLE (the TV Show!), she says straight up that the virus is “no joke.”

“I had what was considered a mild case and I think that’s why we had — we were lucky that COVID didn’t go into our lungs, but that’s probably also why we have more trouble here,” she said, pointing at her face to reference her senses. “It was just no joke.”

Luckily, she had a devoted caretaker at her side — even when she didn’t want it. Yearwood says husband Garth Brooks would not let her go through the fight alone, and she was concerned he would end up getting sick, too.

“He would not stay away from me. I’m like, ‘Dude, I cannot be responsible for giving Garth Brooks COVID,'” she explained with a laugh. “‘You have to go quarantine on the other side of the house.’ … He would not do it. He was really worried about me. But he never got sick and he was vaccinated. He took really good care of me, but he drove me crazy.”

After seeing Trisha Yearwood battle COVID-19, Brooks continues to take COVID-19 seriously — and he’s still leading the effort to stop the disease’s spread.

After getting back on the road this summer, the Country Hall of Famer reluctantly announced Wednesday (August 18) that he was canceling the remaining dates of his 2021 Stadium Tour. Brooks cited surging COVID-19 cases around the nation, leading to hospital-bed shortages, exhausted medical professionals and now, more children getting sick that ever before.