Country Star Cody Johnson Knows His Way Around a Marriage Proposal

Cody Johnson knows his way around a country love song because he's lived one. The "Wild as You" singer first met wife Brandi when they were teenagers. They didn't start dating until years later, but she's been inspiring the former rodeo star's music for more than a decade now.

As the story goes, Brandi was 14 when she first saw Cody, then 17, at a Future Farmers of America event. He was injured in a bull-riding incident that left him in.a cast and crutches, but he still competed and caught Brandi's attention. Romantic sparks didn't fly until a few years later, when Cody saw Brandi dancing at Shennanigans, a local bar in Huntsville, Texas, where the crooner often performed, and got her number. A month after that, they moved in together and a year after that, they got engaged. They've been together ever since.

Here's everything you need to know about Brandi Johnson, Cody's wife and muse.

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Is Cody Johnson still married?

Yes. Cody and Brandi were married in 2008. "I pretty much owe everything I have to her," the singer told Cowboys & Indians magazine in 2023. "I pray daily, 'Thank you for this woman.' ... She had all the faith in me."

How did Cody Johnson propose to Brandi?

First, some backstory: Johnson told Coyote Country magazine in 2024 that his first date with Brandi was at a Texas Road House in their hometown of Huntsville. The crooner says he knew then that he'd found The One, and a year later, he brought Brandi back to that same restaurant to propose. He parked in the same spot, they sat in the same booth, and on their way back to his truck after dinner, he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. We always knew those Texas Roadhouse rolls were magic, but wow, that is romance.

Do Cody Johnson and Brandi Johnson have any kids?

The couple has two daughters, Clara Mae, 9, and Cori, 7. Clara Mae was born in 2015 and Cori followed two years later in 2017. The girls and Brandi have joined Cody on many of his tours.

"We’re very fortunate—my wife and my two girls get to come with me a lot on the bus. We got our own bus just for that,” he told People in 2018. "When you’re gonna go on the lead singer’s bus, you think you’re gonna see a lot of things, not toys and diapers everywhere, but that’s generally what it looks like."

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What song did Cody Johnson write about Brandi?

Brandi has been supporting Cody and his musical career since its early days, and the singer admits that many of his ballads are about his wife. His 2023 song "The Painter" was specifically about Brandi and their love story.

"My favorite lyric in 'The Painter' is ‘for every wall I built, she saw a canvas.' If there’s anything that describes my marriage with my wife, Brandi, it’s that line,” he said in a press release to CMT at the time. “And that’s why we’ve been together for 15 years."

Brandi has also appeared in a few of Cody's music videos and created the storyline for his 2018 video for "On My Way to You." The project recaptures the couple's love story, from meeting at a bar to playing pool on the weekends a decade-and-a-half later.

"It’s a great storyline that paints an incredible picture. The melody was already pretty dynamic," he told People during press for the single. "For the video, I actually let my beautiful wife Brandi make all those decisions. She had a great vision on the look, the feel, the producer, etc. She did a great job!"

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Is there a documentary about Cody Johnson and his family?

Dear Rodeo: The Cody Johnson Story was inspired by the singer's duet with Reba McEntire ("Dear Rodeo") and follows him, McEntire and American Sniper's Chris Kyle in their respective journeys to break away from rodeo and forge the careers they have today. The documentary gives a glimpse into Cody's family and life on the road. It's available to stream for free on Tubi and Amazon Prime Video.

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