A Timeline of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's Love Song-Worthy Relationship

The couple wed in 1996 and share three daughters.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are a bona-fide country music power couple.

Their decades-long love story began in 1994, when the two crossed paths at backstage at a show in Nashville. At the time, both stars were in relationships with other people, but two years later, in 1996, Hill joined McGraw’s Spontaneous Combustion tour as his opening act—and that was it. In June of that year, McGraw proposed to Hill, and the two were married by October. Over the course of their 27-year marriage, the two singers have welcomed three daughters—Gracie, Maggie, and Audrey—and have toured together extensively, released a joint album, and much more.

Learn more about Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's relationship, from their first meeting to now.

1994: McGraw and Hill meet at a Nashville show.

The two singers first met in Nashville at "New Faces,” a Country Radio Seminar showcase for emerging talent. At the time, Hill was engaged to Scott Hendricks, her former record producer; McGraw was in a relationship with a woman named Kristine Donahue.

1996: Hill joins McGraw on tour as his opening act.

Two years later, Hill—then a rising star in the country music scene—joined McGraw’s Spontaneous Combustion tour as an opening act. Undeniable sparks flew between the two singers.

In a 1998 interview with PEOPLE, Hill set the record straight on the couple’s origin story with some serious honesty: “If someone is going to judge my character because I was engaged to somebody and then I left him for somebody else—‘Oh, okay, now she’s a slut and a bad person’—I can’t control that,” she told the outlet, referring to ending her engagement with Hendricks. “But I wasn’t about to let Tim slip through my hands.”

June 26, 1996: McGraw proposes to Faith Hill at a music festival.

Later that year, McGraw proposed to Hill in an adorable—albeit slightly unusual—way. "We had dated for a while. I actually asked her to marry me quite a few times and she kept saying no," the singer recalled in a clip he shared on X (formerly Twitter) in honor of the couple’s 25th wedding anniversary in 2021. "[Faith] said, 'I'm not going to get involved with another country singer, it's just not going to work out.'"

But McGraw persisted—and it paid off! On a day he was slated to perform at a large outdoor music festival, he described asking Hill once more in his trailer before his set: "I'm getting ready to go on stage [in my trailer], and I had this sort of case that had this big mirror in it. She's standing there, and we're talking, and I said, 'Look, let's get married.’ And she says, 'You're asking me to marry you at a country music festival in a trailer house?' And I said, 'Well, it's pretty apropos if you think about it.' She goes, 'Are you serious?' And I said, 'Well yeah, I'm serious.'"

When McGraw returned from his set, he returned to his trailer to find a very welcome surprise.

"I came off the stage and went back into my dressing room and Faith wasn't there, but I looked at the mirror,” he continued in the video. “In lipstick it said, 'Yes! I'm gonna be your wife.’ And we still have that mirror. And it was the best day of my life, that's for sure."

October 6, 1996: McGraw and Hill wed in his home state of Louisiana.

A few months after getting engaged, the “Highway Don’t Care” singer and Hill married at his aunt’s house in Rayville, Louisiana.

January 1997: McGraw and Hill reveal they’re expecting their first child.

In January 1997, McGraw and Hill attended the 24th annual American Music Awards together, where Hill showed off a growing baby bump.

May 5, 1997: McGraw and Hill welcome their first child.

On May 5, 1997, the couple welcomed their first child: a daughter named Grace, who was born in Nashville, Tennessee.

August 12, 1998: McGraw and Hill welcome their second child.

In 1998, the couple continued to grow their family! On August 12, the welcomed their second child, another daughter named Maggie.

July 2000: McGraw and Hill kick off their first co-headline tour.

Although McGraw and Hill had toured together already, they embarked on their first co-headline tour—the Soul2Soul Tour—in July 2000.

December 6, 2001: McGraw and Hill welcome their third child.

On Decmber 6, 2001, the couple welcomed their third daughter, Audrey, more than seven weeks ahead of her scheduled due date.

In 2019, in honor of Audrey’s 18th birthday, McGraw shared an emotional story about the stress of her premature birth: "Faith and I did a lot of praying and stayed all day every day for 2 1/2 weeks in the NICU at [Nashville’s] Baptist Hospital with such incredible nurses,” the singer recalled. And now she is beautiful, vibrant and the most remarkable young woman who lights up the life of everyone she knows.”

April 2006: McGraw and Hill revive the Soul2Soul Tour.

Another year, another co-headline tour! In 2006, the couple embarked on a second Soul2Soul Tour together.

October 17, 2006: McGraw is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—with Hill by his side.

In October 2006, McGraw—who, by this time, had won three Grammy Awards and earned 10 nominations—recieved a major distinction when he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Hill was right by his side supporting him at the ceremony in Los Angeles.

April 14, 2008: McGraw and Hill join forces for a CMT Awards performance.

In April 2008, McGraw and Hill took the stage at the CMT Awards in Nashville for an intimate, stripped-down performance of their duet, “I Need You.”

December 7, 2012: McGraw and Hill take their Soul2Soul Tour to Las Vegas.

In late 2012, the two stars took their show on the road once more—this time to Las Vegas, for a four-month residency at The Venetian that ran through April 13, 2023.

Hill took to YouTube to release a behind-the-scenes glimpse at their time in Sin City.

February 10, 2017: McGraw and Hill appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

In early 2017, the couple sat down on Ellen Degeneres’ famed blue couch for a joint interview where they discussed parenting their growing daughters, the continuation of their co-headlining tour, and more.

The two also played a spirited game of “Never Have I Ever” with Degeneres as part of the segment.

November 7, 2017: McGraw and Hill release their first collaborative studio album.

Up until this point, McGraw and Hill had ample experience collaborating—they’d released joint singles and shared the stage frequently over the course of their relationship—but November 2017  marked the release of the couple’s first collaborative album, The Rest of Our Lives.

The album achieved both critical and commercial success; it debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums. It was a star-studded album, as Ed Sheeran helped pen the album’s title track, as well.

November 5, 2019: McGraw shares Hill's positive impact on him.

In Novmeber 2019, McGraw released a new book: Grit & Grace: Train the Mind, Train the Body, Own Your Life. Inside, the singer opened up about his sobriety journey, including revealing that Hill had issued him an ultimatum back in 2008: choose partying or choose their family. The moment was a game-changer for McGraw.

While promoting the book, McGraw spoke about the situation on Today. "When things happen and you succeed beyond your wildest dreams and you're playing all these great shows and the parties are going on," he told host Hoda Kotb. "Then you're married and you have kids. And all of a sudden your wife looks at you and says, 'You know, you're getting a little overboard and you need to make some decisions.' It makes a big impact on you."

August 25, 2021: McGraw opens up about Hill’s life-changing support.

In a candid 2021 interview with Esquire, McGraw opened up about a pivotal moment in his journey with alcohol addiction: the moment he asked Hill for help with getting sober.

“I remember a moment when I was getting out of bed and going to the liquor cabinet and taking a big shot at 8:00 in the morning and thinking, I have to wake the kids up,” he told the outlet. “I went straight to my wife and said, ‘This is where I’m at.’ I was scared. She just grabbed me and hugged me and changed my life.”

December 2021: McGraw and Hill share the silver screen for the first time.

Over the years, both McGraw and Hill have participated in various onscreen projects, but in late 2021, the two made their shared television debut in 1883, Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel series on Paramount+.

In the series, McGraw and Hill played a fictional couple, James and Maraget Dutton—the grandparents to Kevin Costner’s John Dutton on Yellowstone—as they traveled from Tennessee to Montana, eventually establishing the Yellowstone Ranch.

In a 2022 joint interview with The Hollywood Reporter, McGraw and Hill opened up about how the project came to be.

“The phone call [from Sheridan] came to Tim,” Hill explained. “I was in the right place at the right time, married to the right guy.”

“Last part’s true for sure,” McGraw quipped in response to his wife, before continuing: “We were huge Yellowstone fans. We’d watched every episode from the very beginning. I got a phone call from Taylor, and he wanted me to come on Yellowstone and do a scene or two. Certainly I was interested in it, but I told him I didn’t want to be some singing cowboy that just comes to the bunkhouse and gets carried to the train station at the end of the episode. If he came up with something that was interesting, I’d be glad to do it. He said, “Give me a couple of weeks,” and he came up with a whole flashback idea.”

May 1, 2022: Hill surprises McGraw with a birthday serenade.

In honor of her husband’s 55th trip around the sun, Hill snuck up behind McGraw backstage as he warmed up for a show, holding a birthday cake and ready to serenade him with a round of “Happy Birthday.” McGraw then shared the sweet moment on Instagram.

September 21, 2022: McGraw refers to Hill as his soulmate.

In an Instagram post celebrating Hill’s 55th birthday, McGraw shared a montage of photos of his wife over the years. In the caption, he gushed that she was his best friend, soulmate, and the love of his life. Adorable!

August 8, 2023: McGraw reveals the song that reminds him of Hill.

At an August 2023 show at Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, McGraw opened up to the crowd about the one song that makes him think of his wife: "Samba Pa Ti" by Santana.

“It's kind of our song," McGraw said. "My uncle told me one time—my uncle Hank, old hippie who lives in Napa Valley—he played it for me one time years ago on the road. He loved that song too. He said, ‘I'm gonna tell you something.’ He says, ‘Never make love to a woman with this song on unless you intend to marry her.’ And so I didn't until I did. And then I did." (And there you have it.)

October 6, 2023: McGraw and Hill celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary.

In honor of the couple’s 27th wedding anniversary, McGraw took to Instagram to share the first photo of them ever taken, from back in 1994. He accompanied the post with an ultra-sweet caption honoring his wife.

“This is the very first picture ever taken of us, the very first time we ever met back in spring of 1994,” the singer wrote. “This was backstage of the "New Faces" show at the Country Radio Seminar......I fell for you in an instant! Today is our 27th wedding anniversary and I fall for you everyday, every time you walk into the room, every time I see you in our 3 beautiful daughter's smiles. I just keep falling and always will. Happy anniversary my love!”

May 1, 2024: Hill celebrates McGraw's 57th birthday with a funny tribute video.

On McGraw’s 57th birthday, Hill shared a funny video of her husband—which showed the singer and members of his crew engaging in a Nerf gun showdown backstage—and wrote in the caption that the video was a “rare glimpse into the life of a grown man living his inner young boy.”

“I thought you would love this. I laughed so hard when I saw it,” she continued in a message to her husband’s fans. “Tim’s team put this together and allowed me to use….the perks of being Mrs. McGraw!!!!!! It’s been fun seeing you all out on the road. Me as a fan, same as you, watching this man and his master class when it comes to electrifying the stage and knowing that only comes from the audience. It is a sight to behold, truly.”