Tim McGraw is opening up about the challenges that come with being married for 30 years — including what he considers some of the “most dangerous parts” of a long marriage.
During a recent chat with Esquire‘s What I’ve Learned, the 59-year-old country music legend discussed how his relationship with Faith Hill has changed as their three daughters have grown up and started building lives of their own.
McGraw said those transitions can be difficult to navigate, but he believes couples have to keep making an effort to reconnect as life changes around them.
What Does Tim McGraw Think Is the Most Difficult Part of Marriage?
McGraw explained that entering a new phase of life sometimes means having conversations about where a couple stands and what they need from each other.
Read More: Tim McGraw Says He + Faith Hill Are Looking Forward to the ‘Grandkids’ Phase
“Sometimes that requires not talking about it and just moving on through,” he said. “And sometimes it requires sitting down and talking about it a little bit, saying, ‘Hey, we need to check in a little bit and see where we’re at now that everything’s changing.'”
He went on to describe those turning points as “the most dangerous parts” of a marriage, particularly when couples stop communicating or making an effort to rediscover each other.
I think the best time to dive into each other and really rediscover each other at the worst times when you think things are falling apart.
McGraw believes having a strong foundation is essential, but couples also have to return to it before too much distance builds.
“The longer you wait to go back to it,” he warned, the more likely it is that the foundation becomes “unreachable, and you never can cross that divide.”
How Long Have Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Been Married?
McGraw and Hill married in October 1996 and share three daughters: Gracie, 29, Maggie, 28, and Audrey, 24.
Read More: Tim McGraw Could Barely Talk About Faith Hill During Country Music Hall of Fame Speech
The country superstars have recorded several duets together, including “It’s Your Love,” the Grammy Award-winning “Let’s Make Love,” and “Speak to a Girl,” which appeared on their collaborative album The Rest of Our Life.
For their 30th anniversary, McGraw shared a heartfelt tribute to Hill on Instagram, reflecting on their wedding day and the life they’ve built together.
“In front of our closest family and friends, I was bound to the most beautiful soul,” he wrote, before praising Hill’s capacity to love, forgive, and nurture.
He called her “the center of gravity to my life and our girls’ lives,” and shared a slideshow of the couple through the years, including videos of them performing together.
See Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s Best Pictures Together Through the Years
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill married on Oct. 6, 1996, just months after getting engaged at Country Jam in Grand Junction, Colo. Here are some of their best pictures together, through the years, ending with Tim’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
