Garth Brooks expressed his grief over the death of former first lady Rosalynn Carter on Monday, but the country superstar said the loss is hitting his wife, Trisha Yearwood of Georgia, even harder.
“They were inseparable. It’s going to be tough,” Brooks, 61, said during a news conference promoting his new Nashville venue, Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk. “President Carter calls Miss Yearwood his ‘second favorite Georgia peach’.”
Rosalynn Carter died at the age of 96 on Sunday at her home in Plains, Georgia, two days after being admitted to the hospital.
Jimmy Carter called late wife Rosalynn his ‘equal partner in everything’ after her death at 96
Over the years, Brooks, Yearwood and the Carters grew close through their joint participation in Habitat for Humanity building projects. In October, Brooks and Yearwood took over hosting duties from former first couple Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter for the Work Project, leading more than 1,000 volunteers to build 27 affordable homes in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Miss Yearwood called [Rosalynn Carter] her ‘silent warrior,'” Brooks shared. “What she says is very quiet, but very powerful. And what she taught Miss Yearwood – what she teaches us all – is that a lion need not roar. And the statement doesn’t have to be more than a few words to get your point across. She was great at it and everyone loved her for it.”
He added: “The light that kind of shines on how we should treat each other has gone out. But if we all turn that light on, maybe that light can grow.”
Garth Brooks, Rosalynn Carter, Trisha Yearwood and President Jimmy Carter on November 2, 2015 in Nashville.
John Shearer/Getty
Later, in an interview with PEOPLE, Brooks said her death made him think about love, loss and what he’s most grateful for.
“Right now, all eyes are on Miss Rosalynn, and especially President Carter, so I’m just grateful to have ‘the queen,'” he said, using a favorite nickname for Yearwood. “Forgive me for saying this, but I see a lot of our future on the road [the Carters] acted with each other … I can’t imagine life without Miss Yearwood, so I don’t know how President Carter is going to do it.”
Brooks and Yearwood famously honored the Carters’ long marriage on their 75th wedding anniversary in 2021 by gifting them a fully restored red 1946 Ford Super Deluxe convertible — manufactured the same year the Carters tied the knot.
Trisha Yearwood shares the story behind her and Garth Brooks’ 75th anniversary gift to the Carters
“They’ve been such role models for us since we met them probably 12 or 13 years ago when we started building Habitat with them,” Yearwood said at the time. “And they are just an example of what you want to be.”
Brooks explained earlier this year: “They inspired us in many ways, the ways you’d expect: the humanity, the humility, the work ethic. But they also inspired us by their example as husband and wife.”
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Source: HIS Education