Kenny Rogers Was a Gambler of Love! Meet the Late Country Star’s 5 Wives

He may be considered one of Hollywood’s most iconic country music stars, but late singer Kenny Rogers never felt as lucky in love. Although he shared a long and successful marriage with wife Wanda Miller up until his March 2020 death, Kenny was married five times throughout his 81-year life.

The “Islands in the Stream” singer previously opened up about his handful of nuptials in an interview with Reuters in 2012. Kenny revealed while he cherished his four previous relationships with Marianne Gordon, Margo Anderson, Jean Rogers and Janice Gordon, his career played a huge part in the divorces.

“Music, at least for me, is like a mistress … and she’s a difficult mistress for a wife to compete with,” the Grammy Award winner candidly confessed at the time, noting his passion for music caused a strain. “When I became driven and selfish, I was so intent to follow my life that it cost me. I was gone so much from some of my marriages that there was a disconnect.”

The Country Music Hall of Famer — who died “peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice” in March 2020, according to a statement from his family — even acknowledged the mistakes he made with his former lovers.

“This may seem like an absurd statement, but every woman I married, I really loved when I married her … and I don’t blame them for the marriage falling apart,” he admitted. “I blame myself and my chosen field of music. That’s why I say that music is a mistress because you can’t wait to get out there to it, and usually, the mistress wins in a situation like that. That’s kind of what happened to me.

He jokingly added, “Hey, you can’t say I’m afraid of commitment … I’ve been married five times.”

It appears Kenny may have not have left off on the worst of terms, at least with ex-wife Marianne, considering she had nothing but nice things to say following the news of his death. The Hee Haw actress exclusively opened up to Closer about her ex-husband of almost two decades.

“He was an incredible person,” Marianne gushed at the time of his death. “It’s very upsetting when I start talking about him, for 17 of 21 years, every day, he was so sweet.”

Scroll through the gallery below to learn all about Kenny’s five wives!