Rory Feek charmed the country world with his signature down-to-earth overalls, heartfelt
vocals, and touching devotion to his late wife Joey, but there are untold depths to
the man behind the acoustic guitar that even his biggest fans may not know about.
A Kansas native, Feek moved to Nashville in
1995.
While this move had a huge impact in launching Feek's songwriting career, CMT revealed how
the musician had previously flexed his muscles as a performer during an eight-year stint
in the Marines.
The now-iconic crooner actually started out by touring with a country band around American
military bases in Japan while serving in the region.
It was only after he left the Marines that Feek struck out on his own as a solo performer
— first in Dallas, then later in Music City.
Before he met his late wife and musical partner
Joey, Feek had two daughters from a previous relationship, and raised them as a single
father.
He explained in his book how he was so poor when his daughters were young that they never
had health insurance.
As a result, "Being sick wasn't allowed because we couldn't afford it."
Sadly, accidents are inevitable, and when his daughter Heidi was 5 years old, she fell
on the playground.
Unbeknownst to her father at the time, the little girl had in fact broken her leg.
Instead of taking his daughter to the emergency room, Feek called an "ask-a-nurse hotline"
and assumed Heidi was probably okay because she didn't have swelling or fever — the
typical symptoms that could mean a broken limb.
The next day, Feek took Heidi to ER and learned how serious her injury was.
He recalled looking at the fracture and crying.
"Partly because I realized how much pain Heidi had been in for the last twenty-four hours
and partly because I hated living that way.
Hated that I couldn't provide better for them."
Feek met his wife-to-be at a songwriters'
night, but both he and Joey were dating other people at the time.
Still, Rory and Joey continued to communicate with each other.
Joey called him on Valentine's Day to inform him she had broken up with her boyfriend.
Feek immediately knew what he had to do: "I hung up the phone and called the girl I
was dating and told her it was over.
God had just moved a mountain, right in front of me.
And I was going to see what was on the other side."
In June 2002, Rory and Joey were married, and six years later in 2008, the duo auditioned
for CMT's Can You Duet and their music career took off.
At the height of their fame in 2014, Feek's wife Joey learned she was pregnant, and the
couple decided to take a year off from their music to raise their baby.
Their daughter Indiana was born in February 2014, and in the following days she was diagnosed
with Down syndrome.
Just a few months later, in May 2014, Feek's wife Joey was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
During his wife's battle with cancer, Feek shared updates through videos and his blog.
Sadly, after a nearly two year battle, Joey passed away in March 2016.
Feek's faith has been of huge importance while
grieving the devastating loss of his wife.
In an interview with Today a year after his wife's death, Feek explained how faith has
helped make Joey still feel present in his life.
"I feel her everywhere I go…
I feel…
I feel the choices that she made, the strength that she had and the love that she had for
me and our family."
Although his relationship with his wife faced many obstacles, Feek is adamant that their
faith helped bring — and keep — them together.
Feek told the Tennessean in February 2017, over a year after Joey's death, that he still
feels married to her and feels her "presence in every room of their farm house."
Feek also explained that undertaking the chores his wife used to perform helps him to remember
her, while not straying into the painful territory of regret, saying:
"I don't spend a lot of time regretting or wishing things were different.
I'm busy making oatmeal and giving baths."
Feek was a single father to his daughters
Hopie and Heidi for over ten years before meeting Joey and he became a single dad for
the second time after Joey passed away.
Although he misses his wife dearly, Feek tries to see his second adventure as a single father
as a blessing.
Writing about daughter Indiana on his blog, Feek explained:
"when I look into her little eyes [...] all I see is love.
And her mama, and her sisters [...] and the incredible second chance I've been given to
be a father."
In September 2016, just six months after losing
his wife, Feek told People: that he had no plans to play guitar or sing.
Then, in an interview in February 2017, Feek revealed that he still hadn't touched a guitar
since his wife's death nearly a year earlier.
That's why it was pretty surprising when he announced at a press conference in June 2017
that he would perform without his musical partner and soulmate that coming September.
His motivation was to raise money for the Music Health Alliance, a non-profit that helped
him with medical bills while Joey received treatment, as well as after her death.
"And they stepped in like a family member and they continued to stay with me and they
never asked for anything — nothing" In October 2017, he wrote a blog post and
explained that while performing without Joey was difficult:
"I selfishly want our songs to go on together forever.
Our lives and love story to never end."
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