The 'Only Wanna Be With You' crooner talks about coping with separation from wife Beth Leonard and insists he and his children are still family despite divorce.
- Nov 27, 2023
AceShowbiz - Darius Rucker focuses on "trying to make the best" of his divorce. The 57-year-old country music star separated from Beth Leonard - with whom he has Caroline, 27, Daniella, 22 and 18-year-old Jack - earlier this year after more than two decades of marriage and insisted that he is "a lot more forgiving" towards himself these days than he would have been when he was younger.
"[I learned] a lot. You know, being raised the way I was and where I was, that's not always … and in the black community especially, that's frowned upon a lot, too, But I learned that there's a lot of people out there that'll talk to you, that'll help you a lot," he said on Apple Music's "Today's Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannenm".
"My 50-something self is a lot more forgiving than the mid-20-something self. You have to, because life goes on. Your kids are still your kids, and you have a life, and you try to make the best of it. Like I always say, [Leonard is] a saint, she's an amazing human being, and she's a great mom. And we get through life."
Earlier this year, the "Only Wanna Be With You" hitmaker explained that he felt like a "failure" amid the split but insisted that he and his loved ones were all still a family. He told People, "That stuff hurts and you feel like a failure. But we're still a family - a piece of paper is not going to change that."
"We're still a family, and that's all because Beth is awesome. She knows it's the best for the kids, and she's a great human being. I'm not thinking about [dating] right now. "I'm just trying to be the best dad I can be for those grown kids."
