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Sara Evans Reveals Why She’s Back With Husband Jay Barker After Their 2021 Split and His 2022 Arrest
Sara Evans‘ love life is as dramatic as a country song, as the singer revealed she’s reconciled with husband Jay Barker after filing for divorce in 2021, followed by his assault arrest the following year.
“We’re so happy now, but I don’t want anyone to think that I’m advocating staying in a relationship where you are ever, in your gut, you know that you need to exit the situation,” Sara, 53, told listeners on Thursday, March 21, during the debut episode of her “Diving in Deep with Sara Evans” podcast.
“Every woman needs to follow her gut on that and do what is best for her. I believe and I hope that I’ve done that,” she added.
Sara and Jay’s relationship ups and downs are the focus of her new album Unbroke, dropping on June 7. The 11-song collection is her first new studio LP in four years.
The couple married in 2008 and blended their families. Sara has three kids with ex-husband Craig Schelske, while Jay shares four children with ex-wife Amy DiGiovanna.
The “A Little Bit Stronger” singer separated from Jay in April 2021. She went on to file for divorce on August 24, 2021, citing irreconcilable differences.
Jay was arrested for a domestic violence incident involving Sara on January 15, 2022. The former University of Alabama football player was charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for attempting to ram his truck into a vehicle in which she was riding.
In June 2022, Jay entered a “best interest plea” and agreed to a misdemeanor reckless endangerment charge. He was sentenced to one year of probation and required to complete a 26-week batterers intervention program. Jay was also required to forfeit all weapons in his possession.
Sara discussed the incident during her podcast. She said it started with a fight that escalated, revealing, “We met for lunch, we got into a fight because what he was hoping for was I would just forgive him like I always had and without us having to do the hard work and go to therapy … He got mad because he wasn’t getting his way.”
That evening, Sara, her daughter and a friend attended a bonfire at a pal’s home. When they left, she found Jay waiting for her next to his truck.
“It really scared me, and it scared all of us, especially my child that was with me,” she explained. “So, the friend of ours was driving me. We were getting ready to pull into the driveway, and… [Jay] had a verbal altercation with my child, who had never seen that side of him, ever. And it scared the s–t out of her.”
“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,” the former Dancing With the Stars contestant continued.
“He sped away and cops came, we were all standing in the foyer of our home, and the cops were questioning,” the “Suds in the Bucket” singer explained, adding, “My child was more upset than I was because I’ve been privately having these experiences with Jay for 13 years of 14 years. It was a first for her, to see her dad, like that. Because he was so good to the kids, he loves my children.”
“I just felt so ashamed and so stupid, and my child was so mad. So mad. Not at me, at Jay. But you know that she was standing there thinking, ‘He’s about to hit my mom with a truck.’ I don’t know how close he got honestly, and I don’t know what it looks like to her. But I heard her scream so loud,” she said. It was Sara’s daughter who called 911 about Jay.
Sara shared how she and Jay later quietly reconciled and started attending therapy and marriage counseling.
“I just did not want to divorce again and start over. I just pictured myself being alone and missing him and thinking, ‘We could’ve tried harder.’ But it took me filing for divorce, I think, for him to realize, ‘Oh s–t, she’s serious. This is it,'” the country star recalled.
“Some people have marriage problems that are like, they fight all the time. We didn’t fight all the time. He fought me. When he was in his low spots, he fought against me, he pushed me away, pushed my love away. So, every situation is different. I would never encourage anybody to stay in a dangerous situation,” Sara added.
