Vince Gill and Amy Grant: Inside Their Love Story
The chemistry between Gill and Grant was undeniable from the moment they met.
Vince Gill and Amy Grant; Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
The year was 1993. It was just before the holidays and even though they’d never met, Amy Grant was scheduled to appear on Vince Gill’s TV Christmas special. From the moment they first laid eyes on each other, the chemistry between Gill and Grant was undeniable.
“I think that a part of me loved him instantly,” Grant later told ABC News. “I felt like I knew him instantly. I was so moved by him as a human being that I went up behind him and just hugged him as hard as I could while he was singing. I just said, ‘I just needed to hug you all night.’”
The feeling was mutual. Gill was so taken aback by Grant that he went home and wrote the song “Whenever You Come Around.”
“I was so inspired, moved by the sight of that smile, that I came home and wrote this song,” he recalled in 2015 while playing at The Ryman Auditorium. “I had no idea that all these years later we’d wind up together, have kids. … Life’s funny.”
The timing of their initial meeting was unfortunate as they were both already married with children; Grant to gospel singer Gary Chapman and Gill to Janis Oliver of the duo Sweethearts of the Rodeo. They chose to put their feelings for each other to the side and remain true to their marriages.
“We were both married, and though we were crazy about each other, we thought, ‘Well, that’s not our life,’” Gill shared with AARP. He also explained that there had been no infidelity and that the conversation of leaving their spouses never came out.
Through the years, their marriages, which were already rocky, began to unravel. In 1997, Grant was shocked to read in the newspaper that Gill and Oliver had filed for divorce.
Grant and Chapman sought out marital counseling the following year. “I’d been holding steady for 15 years in something that was not easy to hold steady,” she explained.
Despite their efforts to keep their marriage alive, Grant and Chapman ultimately opted to divorce. In 1999, once Grant’s divorce was final, Gill and Grant began dating.
“It was hard,” Gill admitted of the beginning stages of their relationship. “The kids, the popularity of our lives, a lot of tongues waggin’.”
Things progressed quickly for Gill and Grant and by March 10, 2000, they were married.
While their relationship came easy, blending their families did not. Their children, Gill’s daughter, Jenny, who was 17 at the time, and Grant’s children, Matthew, Millie, and Sarah, were between the ages of 7 and 12.
“It was a long haul to feel like a family again,” Grant confessed to Good Housekeeping. “The parents have made a choice, but none of the kids have made the choice. And wherever it’s going to wind up, you’re not going to get there quickly. You just have to give people their space.”
It wasn’t until the birth of Gill and Grant’s daughter Corrina in 2001 that their blended family really started to work.
“[She’s] the glue of this whole family,” Gill said. “She bonded all of us in a blood way that really did connect us.”
Gill and Grant have become one of Nashville’s most iconic couples. The secret to their lasting relationship, according to Gill, is how they treat each other.
“A big reason why our relationship is so good is that it begins with respect and kindness,” he explained. “If you have those two things on the front burner, then the rest is kind of easy.”
Lauren Jo Black is a longtime country music journalist, editor, host, and media personality whose work has helped shape the conversation around country music for nearly two decades. As the current Editor-in-Chief of Country Now, she has become one of the genre’s most respected voices, interviewing hundreds of country music’s biggest stars, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Randy Travis, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, and countless others. Over the course of her career, Black’s written work and interviews have reached billions of country music fans worldwide. A 2009 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Black began her career by founding Country Music Is Love, one of country music’s earliest independent digital publications, which she later sold to a major record label in 2015 before it was rebranded as Sounds Like Nashville. She then served as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief for more than two years. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, and she previously served as the Country Music Expert for Answers.com. Widely recognized for her expertise, Black has appeared as a featured guest on The Bobby Bones Show, BobbyCast, and Scripps News Morning Rush, providing insight on country music’s biggest moments. She has also hosted Country Now Live, a concert series featuring performances from artists including Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Riley Green, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Chris Young, and more. The series has welcomed thousands of fans in person while reaching millions more online. In addition, she hosted Connect With Country Now, a weekly interview series featuring conversations with rising country stars. Throughout her career, Black has earned a reputation for discovering and championing artists long before they become household names. She has covered Luke Bryan since the early days of his career, beginning when he was writing songs for other artists, including Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “Good Directions,” before stepping into the spotlight with his debut single, “All My Friends Say” and eventually becoming one of biggest names in music. She also gave Megan Moroney her first opportunity to walk a major red carpet as Country Now’s official guest correspondent at the 2022 CMA Awards. An interview she conducted in 2018 for Forbes.com with Luke Combs that inspired his multi-week No. 1 hit, “Doin’ This.” She has also hosted stages at CMA Fest, moderated an industry panel at Country Radio Seminar, and helped lead important conversations about the evolving landscape of country music media. Beyond journalism, Black has also used her platform to support charitable causes and highlight organizations making an impact. Through Country Now Live, she has helped raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, while also advocating for animal rescue through Country Now’s Pupdate series, spotlighting organizations including MuttNation Foundation, Wags & Walks, and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. Black has been recognized as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. She is a longtime member of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). After nearly 20 years covering country music, Lauren Jo Black has spent her career telling the stories behind the artists, songs, and moments that have shaped the genre. Her first-ever book, Country Music Forever: An A-to-Z Celebration of Icons, Songs and Stories, brings that same passion and firsthand knowledge to the page, celebrating not only the legendary artists and timeless songs that have become the soundtrack to generations of fans, but also the places, traditions, and cultural moments that have made country music one of the most beloved genres around the world.
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