Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker and his wife, Beth Leonard, have decided to "consciously uncouple" after 20 years of marriage. The pair made the shocking announcement in a joint statement shared to Instagram on Saturday.
"Beth and I would like to share that after much reflection we have made the decision to consciously uncouple. We remain close friends and parenting partners and continue to be each other’s biggest cheerleaders," they wrote in a post that featured a photo of Rucker and Leonard at the 2017 CMA Awards.
"Our priority will always be our beautiful family. We have so much love in our hearts for each other and will continue to encourage growth and expansion in one other. Please be kind as we take on this journey, and we thank you for your love and support always," the statement concluded.
The couple first met in 1998, when Leonard was working for VH1 in New York and Rucker was touring with Hootie & the Blowfish.
"I had been trying to get her to go out with me, and she wouldn't," Rucker told The Boot in a previous interview. "I was in New York, and it was one of those rare nights off. I didn't have anything to do -- we always had something to do when we were in New York! We had the night off, and I was just in my hotel room. She called me and said, 'Hey, do you want to go see this play?' I was like, 'Sure!'"
Rucker said after that night he knew Leonard was the one for him.
"She was walking up the stairs [to her apartment], and I said, 'Well, you know that I'm going to marry you, right?' She just laughed," he continued. "Her roommate or her boyfriend was up there in their apartment, and I yelled, 'To whoever's up there in Beth Leonard's apartment, you can just leave because I just want you to know that I'm going to marry her!'"
Rucker and Leonard share two children together, Daniella Rose and Jack. Rucker also has a daughter, Carolyn Pearl Phillips, from a previous relationship, according to Wide Open Country.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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