This Is Why Randy Travis Never Had Children

One among six children who grew up on a turkey farm in rural North Carolina, Randy Travis craved having a big family of his own. But that was not in the cards for him, he and his wife, Mary Travis, told Taste of Country in 2020. Now in his 60s, Randy never had any children. The main reason was the 16-year age difference between Randy and his first wife, Elizabeth "Lib" Hatcher, who was also his manager, Mary told the publication. "He wanted children, and I think his relationship with Lib, who was so much older than him and they were not able to, is what he explained to me," she explained. "Children are very special to Randy and he's always had a very — you know, some people are magnetic toward children and animals," Mary said.

Per the North Carolina History Project, Randy met Hatcher in 1975, when he was a teenager and she was in her 30s, after he won a singing contest. At the time, Randy was a troublesome youth involved with drugs and alcohol, which led to several brushes with the law. Hatcher offered to become Randy's legal guardian to prevent him from being sentenced to prison, and he acquiesced. Randy and Hatcher entered into a professional relationship that turned the musician into a country star. The relationship eventually evolved into something more and the two tied the knot in 1991, when Hatcher was nearing her 50s, per The U.S. Sun. Unfortunately, their love did not last. 

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