The changes Garth Brooks has made over the years as a parent and husband are becoming more and more real to him. The 61-year-old country music star acknowledged in a recent interview with Billboard that earlier in his career, he wasn’t the best parent or husband, but that he has since worked to make amends.

Brooks’ first marriage was to songwriter Sandy Mahl; they were united in marriage in May 1986 and were together for 13 years. They eventually got a divorce in December 2001 after separating in March 1999, but not before welcoming three daughters into the world: Taylor, 30, August, 29, and Allie, 26.

Garth Brooks Admits to Being ‘Horrible’ Husband and Dad in the Past: “I Had to Get My S**t Together”

“I was an awful husband; I sucked at being a husband. I was a terrible dad. In his Billboard interview, Brooks stated, “I had to get my s-t together. Earlier in his career, he made some controversial headlines, which he acknowledged, and he acknowledged that if the circumstances had been different, he would have been fired.

“I was a bad husband and man, and it got me on the front page of USA Today. Without social media, I would never have made it through that, ever, said Garth Brooks. Once he realized a change was necessary, he began dating Trisha Yearwood, a fellow country musician.

The two connected immediately after they first met in 1988 and quickly became friends, but they didn’t start dating until after Brooks and Mahl’s divorce. Before Brooks proposed and they got married on December 10, 2005, they dated for three years. They have been happily married for the past 17 years.

Garth Brooks Admits to Being ‘Horrible’ Husband and Dad in the Past: “I Had to Get My S**t Together”

In reference to his wife, whom he referred to as an amazing “bonus mom” to his three daughters, Brooks said, “I will tell you this, the person you’re with [does] make] a huge difference in your life.”. Over the past 20 years, the couple has frequently extolled their love for one another and knows how to keep things interesting.

Yearwood admitted in May that she and her husband still play a lot of flirtatious pranks on one another and that every day is like their first date. In a different interview, Brooks acknowledged how obvious it was that he loved his wife. You’ll understand why I’m in love with her, he said, according to E! News.

In an interview with Billboard, Garth Brooks discussed the cancel culture and how he doesn’t stop listening to musicians just because they are dropped. “Don’t make the error of assuming that The Chicks’ music wasn’t any good just because they were abruptly canceled. Their music was incredible,” he said.

Garth Brooks Admits to Being ‘Horrible’ Husband and Dad in the Past: “I Had to Get My S**t Together”

The Chicks, Luke Combs, and Lainey Wilson are just a few of the musicians he mentioned as some of the artists he looks forward to hearing new music from. And in case you were wondering, Brooks will begin his new residency in Las Vegas, Nevada, soon and plans to release some new music of his own.

In addition to a new duets album with his wife, Trisha Yearwood, the country music star plans to release new music as his alternative rock alter ego Chris Gaines. Fans can catch him perform at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace as part of his new residency there.

And Garth Brooks is currently working on other projects as well. Brooks is currently launching a brand-new bar in Nashville, Tennessee, in addition to his music career. The bar, which will go by the name of “Friends in Low Places Bar and Honky Tonk,” will be situated at 411 Broadway, in the heart of famed Lower Broadway.