Livin On Love: Alan Jackson And Wife Denise Celebrate 44 Years Of Marriage
The high school sweethearts wed on December 15, 1979.
Alan Jackson and Wife, Denise; Photos Courtesy Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson and his wife, Denise, are celebrating their 44th wedding anniversary.
Jackson’s team shared a sweet anniversary message for the couple via his official social media accounts to commemorate the occasion.
44th Anniversary
“44 years strong! Let’s all send our warmest wishes to Alan and Denise as they celebrate their special day,” the message reads. “Happy Anniversary! 
”
They also included the hashtag #LivinOnLove, a nod to Jackson’s 1994 chart-topping hit.
Alan and Denise first met at the local Dairy Queen and became high school sweethearts. The couple wed on December 15, 1979, after Denise graduated high school.
Did you know that Denise’s maiden name was also Jackson? This means that she didn’t have to change her last name after getting married!
In 1985, Alan and Denise Jackson relocated to Nashville, where the budding singer/songwriter took on a mailroom job and seized any opportunity for stage time. His breakthrough moment came when his wife, Denise, met country music icon Glen Campbell while working as a flight attendant. Campbell provided her with a business card for his publishing company, setting in motion the pivotal connection that shaped Alan’s musical journey. This encounter led to Jackson securing his first publishing deal, marking the beginning of new opportunities.
Alan Jackson’s Daughters
1990 was a monumental year for the couple. On top of the release of Alan’s debut album, Here in the Real World, the pair also welcomed their first child, Mattie Denise, that same year. As Alan’s career flourished, the family expanded with the arrivals of daughters Alexandra Jane in 1993 and Dani Grace in 1997.
Separated In 1997
Alan and Denise hit a rough patch 1997 and decided to separate. They lived apart for several months and eventually worked through their differences thanks to intense marriage counseling. It was later revealed that Alan had been unfaithful and had reportedly felt that his wife was too controlling.
With hopes to help couples who were also struggling with their marriage, Denise documented the couple’s struggles in her 2007 book, It’s All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life.
“Alan has such a strong personality, and the more his career grew, the more insecure I felt, and the more I absorbed myself into his world,” Denise told the Today Show following the book’s release. “My dreams became his dreams, and it was all about him and his goals, and I kind of lost myself.”
During their split, she turned to God to guide her.
“I just remember driving home and just crying out to Him, and saying I can’t take this anymore,” she shared. “‘I can’t believe You want my family to be apart. But if You do, I just give it all to You. I know You’ll take care of me.’ It wasn’t that things changed immediately. But I had just this sense of peace.”
Renewed Their Vows
For their 19th anniversary, they celebrated by renewing their wedding vows.
“We learned that if a relationship’s going to be good, you have to make it a priority,” Denise told People in 2008. “Even if it’s just getting up 30 minutes before the children do in the morning, having our coffee and being together uninterrupted. Or sitting on the porch in the afternoon for 10 minutes to catch up on our day.”
The Jackson family received devastating news in 2010 when Denise was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Alan stuck by her side and after undergoing chemotherapy, Denise has remained cancer-free ever since.
“To see her go through that, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through,” Alan explained during an episode of GAC’s Backstory. “I’ve been taking care of her since she was 16, but I couldn’t do anything to help her. It was tough.”
Supporting Each Other Through Challenging Times
Denise’s illness was met with unwavering support from Alan Jackson, and now, she reciprocates that support as he confronts Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Jackson revealed his diagnosis during a sit-down interview with Jenna Bush Hager on the TODAY show in 2021. He revealed that he was diagnosed with the illness a decade ago.
“It’s genetic that I inherited from my daddy… There’s no cure for it, but it’s been affecting me for years,” Jackson said at the time. “And it’s getting more and more obvious. And I know I’m stumbling around on stage. And now I’m having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone, and so I just feel very uncomfortable.”
After sharing his diagnosis publicly with fans, Jackson embarked on his Last Call: One More For The Road Tour. He was able to fulfill the majority of the tour dates, however, some shows were canceled due to “health issues.”
Since then, the Country Music Hall of Famer has made a handful of public appearances, most recently at the 2023 CMA Awards, where he performed in honor of the late Jimmy Buffett.
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