Jay Barker and Sara Evans attend the 53nd annual CMA Awards on November 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee.Photo:Taylor Hill/Getty
Taylor Hill/Getty
Sara Evansand her husband Jay Barker have reconciled nearly three years after the country singer filed for divorce in August 2021.
The “Suds in the Bucket” singer announced in a March 2024 episode of her podcastDiving in Deep with Sara Evansthatshe and Barker got back together, almost three years after she filed for divorce following 13 years of marriage. Evans is a mother to three children — Avery, Olivia and Audrey — with her ex-husband Craig Schelske, though she’s said Barker mainly raised them alongside her.
“I really did not think that he was trying to hit our car,” she later reflected in her podcast. “I think he was trying to back up as fast as he could to see who I was in the car with, to see if I was with another man. And my child thought, ‘He’s gonna run into them.’ ”
Two years later, Evans said that she and Barker reconciled after extensive therapy and marriage counseling.
“He’s just gorgeous, he’s funny, we have so much in common,” she said. “We feel the same about everything, raising kids, family structures, politics, religion, everything. We just love each other. We’re best friends.”
So who is Sara Evans’ husband? Here’s everything to know about Jay Barker and his relationship with the country star.
He played professional football
Jay Barker delivers a pass during the 1993 Sugar Bowl on January 1, 1993 in New Orleans, Louisiana.Tim DeFrisco/Getty
Tim DeFrisco/Getty
In 1998, he joined the Canadian Football League, playing for the Toronto Argonauts. He was with the team for three seasons before coming back to the U.S. to play for the Birmingham Thunderbolts in the XFL.
He was previously married
Sara Evans and Jay Barker arrive at the Nashville Premiere “Country Strong” on November 8, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee.Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Before he started a relationship with Evans, Barker was married for 13 years to his first wife, Amy DiGiovanna. The two wed in 1995 before splitting in 2007. Together, they welcomed four children: Andrew, Braxton and twins Sarah Ashlee and Harrison.
After his split from DiGiovanna, Barker raised their kids alongside Evans’ three children in their home in Alabama.
They got married in 2008
Jay Barker and Sara Evans attend the 2011 CMT Artists of the year celebration on November 29, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee.Rick Diamond/Getty
Rick Diamond/Getty
Evans and Barker got married on June 14, 2008, in a “fairy-tale wedding,” Evans told PEOPLE at the time.
However, the following day the family of nine was back home, grilling steaks and watching movies as a family.
“We wanted this week to be just us together as a family because next week we go on our honeymoon,” Evans said. “We just want to relish every moment as a family.”
Evans filed for divorce in 2021
Jay Barker and Sara Evans attend a celebration of Nashville in Vegas with PEOPLE Country on April 2, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Angela Weiss/Getty
Angela Weiss/Getty
“A lack of attention from men was all I’d ever known. If Jay was jealous, that meant he was obsessed with me, which meant he loved me,” she said. “I was so madly in love with him, and still am, that it took me forever to tell people. I was in denial. I thought, ‘I can change it. I can manage his behavior. I can just make sure that nothing ever upsets him.’ ”
“I just threw my hands up and said, ‘I quit. I’m tired of this, and there’s no reason we should be living this way, because we have everything. We’re so blessed,’” Evans said. “But at the same time, I was heartbroken because I felt like my hand was forced into doing that. I didn’t want to do that because I love Jay. We’ve been married for 16 years now, and 90 percent of that marriage has been very happy.”
He allegedly attempted to hit Evans with his car after their split
Sara Evans and Jay Barker attend the 47th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards on April 1, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Christopher Polk/ACMA2012/Getty
Christopher Polk/ACMA2012/Getty
Though they stayed in contact after she filed, she said their conversations would frequently end in fights and, in January 2022, the arguments came to a head when Barker was accused of attempting to hit a car Evans and her daughter were in with his truck.
“It really scared me, and it scared all of us, especially my child that was with me,” she said on her podcast. “So the friend of ours was driving me. We were getting ready to pull into the driveway, and… [Barker] had a verbal altercation with my child, who had never seen that side of him, ever. And it scared the s— out of her.”
Evans continued: “Then he jumped in his truck, and he [was] sort of backing up at a very high speed. I knew Jay, so I didn’t feel the same way that my child felt. My child thought he was gonna plow our car down, that he was backing up towards our car, and that she was about to watch something horrific, or at the very least, an accident, which would have been his truck hitting my side of the car, where I was in the front seat. She was terrified.”
Barker was arrested and charged with felony assault, but later entered a “best interest” deal for a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment and was put on probation.
Several days after he was arrested, Barkerasked for privacy on social media, adding that “headlines and quick-to-publish news stories do not adequately capture the full context and complex fabric of our lives.”
They reconciled in 2023
Jay Barker and Sara Evans arrive at the 46th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards on April 3, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Denise Truscello/Getty
Denise Truscello/Getty
Several months after the January 2022 arrest, Evans received an out-of-the-blue text from Barker that read, “Everybody says that I shouldn’t contact you, but you are still my wife,” she said on her podcast during a March 2024 episode.
The text moved Evans and she agreed to open a line of communication and reconsider their relationship, on the ground rules that he would attend therapy himself as well as couples therapy with her.
He also had to work on regaining the trust of Evans’ children, which he did, especially with her daughter Audrey after two “major, major talks,” she told PEOPLE.
Now, Evans said Barker is a new man and is much less toxic and controlling of her. Ultimately, they decided to reconcile and the divorce was dismissed in February 2023.
“It’s like 180 degrees. He’s not ever going to be perfect. I’m not ever going to be perfect. But we’re in love. We’re going to do everything we can to stay together and be healthy,” she said. “Now he treats me like a queen. I would not be here if that wasn’t the case. I want people to know that.”
She continued, “I filed for divorce. I was serious. I don’t want people to think that I’m minimizing anything having to do with toxic marriages…or any kind of addiction. I’m not downplaying any of it. I’m just saying, for me, my choice was to stay and put in the hard work but also lay down boundaries and ground rules.”
source: people.com
