Tim McGraw Reveals How Faith Hill Saved Himself and Catapulted His Career: “I Definitely Would Have Been in a Downward Spiral”

Tim McGraw believes he owes his success to Faith Hill. During an interview on The Tim Ferriss Show, the country superstar revealed how his wife of three decades helped his career.

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“I was running hard back in the day. I was drinking a lot,” McGraw said. “That didn’t stop after we got married, but she beat it out of me after a while. I was just doing everything.”

“I was a kid in a candy store, especially after I got successful,” he continued. “I never had any money before, never been around any of that stuff before. And then all of a sudden, it became a tool that was useful till it wasn’t.”

When he met his eventual wife, McGraw said he “was burning it wide open” and she “started tapping the breaks for me.”

“I knew that I was at a point where I needed to slow down,” he admitted. “… I didn’t want to lose her. She’s just magic. She’s magic. Not just her singing and her looks and all that. That’s all a bonus, but as a person, she’s just magic. She just lights up a room and she lit me up and still does.”

Tim McGraw Credits Faith Hill for His Career

Given that, McGraw said he firmly believes that he “wouldn’t be the same artist had I not met her.”

“I certainly wouldn’t have the career that I’ve had had I not met her. I certainly wouldn’t have lasted as long,” he said. “I would have burned out really quickly, I think, especially if I had lost her after I found her. If I had lost her because of not sort of bringing myself around a little bit, then I definitely would have been in a downward spiral.”

Hill has continued to be McGraw’s support system ever since, especially as it relates to his sobriety. McGraw, who shares three daughters with Hill, stopped drinking in 2008.

“I realized I had a bottle of whiskey in my hand at 7 in the morning. I had the bottle in my hand. I walked straight back to the bedroom and told her that I need help,” McGraw recalled. “She goes, ‘All right, let’s do it. I’m with you.’”

“She stuck by me the whole time,” he continued. “It’s not been a linear path, as anybody knows that’s ever gone through that kind of thing. It’s not a linear path. There’s always pitfalls and steps backwards and steps forwards, but she’s a rock. She’s a rock.”

Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for ACM