Many believe fairytale love stories don’t exist in real life, but Brandon Davis’ love story with his wife Destiny might change that viewpoint. In honor of their fourth anniversary, Davis released a romantic ballad, the couple’s first dance song, “Forever and Always.”
The lovebirds first met in 2017 through Facebook when Destiny came up on Davis’ page as “people you might know.” Her beauty stood out to Davis who proceeded to send her a friend request and then messaged her with four words that changed his life forever – “Hey, how are you?”
At the time, Destiny was a single mom of two. Coming into her life meant that Davis was also coming into her kid’s lives, a responsibility he didn’t take lightly. It took a bit of convincing, but she eventually agreed to go on a first date with him and the rest is history. That night involved a romantic dinner, plenty of conversation and heartwarming moments that convinced Davis that “the right one was there.”
“For our first date, it took me four attempts to convince her not to cancel,” Davis told Music Mayhem. “She was so nervous as a single mother of two and didn’t want to test the waters and have something go wrong. I finally convinced her. I said, ‘just come out, we’ll have a good time, I’ll have you home in time to pick up the kids from the sitter, it’ll all be good.’”
They even shared their first kiss at the end of the date that was so magical it made Davis realize, “I’m not going to let that slip away, not ever, so we’re going to have to continue this.”
He wrote “Forever and Always” just two months after meeting his now wife. This song speaks on the different chapters of their life together including when they met, going on their first date and raising their kids together. “That first night made the world make sense,” he explained.
“Right then I knew that the right one was there/Broke down my walls start trusting and care/Behind your eyes and deep in your heart/My past left behind to make a new start/And I thank the lord for the love that we’ve got/Forever and always no matter what,” he sings in the chorus.
They have now been married for four years, and have added two more kids to their family bringing their total to four with Maleah, Brantley, Granger, and Easton. Davis hopes to have plenty more years together. “I’m blessed to be where I’m at,” he shared.
Before they were married, Destiny didn’t know how serious Davis was about his music career, or that he could even sing at all. When in fact, he’d been writing songs since 2007 and even took part in his family band. At the time, she hadn’t been to a show yet and they were just trying to make the best of what they had with the jobs that they had so this was a piece of Davis’ life that was still on the down low. The first time he played this song for her on a spontaneous trip to Pigeon Forge, was also the first time she ever really heard him sing.
When it came time for their wedding on May 19, 2018, Davis new he wanted to surprise his wife by using this song for their first dance. The only problem was, he couldn’t afford to fully produce it, so he recorded it live instead. She didn’t know he had recorded it and she certainly didn’t expect to hear it start playing at their wedding celebration.
“She heard that song kick on, it was one of those looks that you just hold in your mind for the rest of your life,” Davis said.
Since the song brings them back to such a happy moment, Davis decided his anniversary was the right time to finally share the acoustic track with the world. In anticipation of it’s release, he posted a preview of the song to social media using a video that incorporated highlights of their love story.
“Couldn’t imagine living this crazy beautiful life with anyone else,” he wrote alongside the romantic video.
This song dropped in the midst of the “Step by Step” singer’s time on the road as a special guest on Tim McGraw’s Tour. His fellow supporting acts include Russell Dickerson and Alexandra Kay.
Brandon Davis recently sat down with Music Mayhem to talk about his relationship with his wife and kids, and writing his latest release, “Forever and Always.”
Continue reading to learn more about everything Brandon and Destiny’s fairytale love story.
Let’s start at the very beginning. Destiny was a single mom of two when you first met so knowing this, did you approach the relationship differently?
It was one of those things like you’re coming into two lives that are about to be changed forever once your in them. You’re not just dating someone, you’re finding a way to become a family. For me, not only did I find the women of my dreams, but I walked in and I got to meet my, at the time, about to be two-year-old daughter, and my 10-month-old little boy. It just rocked my world. When you fall in love like that, it hits in a completely different way than I could probably ever describe.
Has it always been a life goal of yours to become a father and a husband?
Oh yeah, ever since I was little and watching my dad play baseball with me, showing me how to play music, and how to sing and write songs. It was a lifetime goal to get to the point where I was passing that down to my kids.
How long did you and Destiny date before you wrote her this song? What prompted you to want to write about your love for her so early on in the relationship?
It was about two or three months in. We were living in the middle of Red Bank in a two bedroom apartment and I was sitting on top of a thrift store couch that we paid next to nothing for and they even threw some bugs in with it. I was sitting on this couch, it was probably 10 o’clock at night and wrote this song because everything that was going on at the time, it hit in a way that I wanted to share it with her other than just saying, “I love you so much.” At this time, believe it or not, she didn’t know I could sing. I’d been with her for two months and up to this point, all she had heard me do was voice impressions of like Winnie the Pooh, Lilo & Stitch and Scooby do. She stuck with me through that and this was actually the first time she had ever heard me sing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdVoW2oA-gs/
You seem to have known pretty early on that she was special, but how did you really know she was the going to be the person you were going to end up with?
We went out to eat at a little place called Tony’s Italian down in the artistic district of downtown Chattanooga. They have handmade pasta, they have this little terrace spot where we could sit, it’s January so they had propane heaters and I’m thinking, “this is amazing, I’m going to get to talk to her.” Little did I know I’d talk my way through the entire dinner, I guess it was nerves and fear of awkward silence, but we just connected. We talked about my family growing up and hers and just how everything has led to me being in the position that I wanted to move forward and have a family and how that played in with the kiddos. By the end of the night, I had realized I had missed her birthday by about 10 days. Earlier that day I had managed to get her a small gift, it was an anchor bracelet. I said, “I know I’ve missed your birthday by about 10 days, but here’s a gift and I just wanted to say I had an amazing night and I hope we get to do it again.” She leaned over, we kissed for the first time and I was like yep, I’m not going to let that slip away, not ever, so we’re going to have to continue this.
What are some of your favorite memories from the first time you met Brantley and Maleah?
One of the first times I met my son, he was 10 months old and I was trying to help her paint a bedroom in the house her mom was moving into. Every time I turned around, Brantley had crawled to one of the corners where the paint was still wet. So I’d have to stop, readjust and move him in a different direction. This went on for five or six minutes until I said, “come here dude.” I laid down on the floor, sat him on my chest and he just kind of looked at me, started giggling and we had fun. To this day, that was probably one of my favorite days I’ve had with him since he came into my life.”
One of the first times I had just about died laughing at my daughter was when she wasn’t even two yet. She had been begging for this giant green stuffed dinosaur that was at Walmart. She kept saying she wanted me to go get ‘the roar,’ so I went to Walmart and got the roar, dropped it off on my lunch break from work and I got a video sent to me of her trying to carry this dinosaur thats twice her size up the stairs to the house. It’s priceless.
When was the first time you played “Always and Forever” for Destiny? What was her reaction when she realized the song was about your relationship?
You would have thought that the way I did it was how I was going to propose. I really wasted an opportunity there. I took her on kind of a spontaneous trip to Pigeon Forge. We were finishing up the day, it was finally getting dark and we drove up to the Smokies baseball stadium. It’s kind of on a hill overlooking the strip leading out to Pigeon Forge, it’s a nice view at night. I pulled the guitar out of the truck once we got parked, walked over to her and started playing this song for the very first time. She swore I was proposing and when I got done, I was like, “oh my god, I should have proposed.” The proposal ended up being something much less extravagant, but much more special.
What was her reaction when she heard the song?
She cried and cried and cried. I felt bad at first, but then she said “it’s just because it means so much. Not to mention, I didn’t realize you sing.”
Seems like it would be hard to top a gesture like this, so how did you end up actually proposing to Destiny?
She was half sick on the couch, the kids were in diapers and I wrote a note on a piece of paper and had my daughter run it up to her. It said, “mommy, Brandon really wants to ask you an important question, will you marry me?” Me and Brantley were sitting there, I was holding him in my arms and it was just a moment I’ll never forget.
At your wedding, you surprised her when you switched out your original first dance song with “Forever and Always.” What was that moment like when realization hit her that this was the song that was playing?
I couldn’t afford to go get it cut in the studio so we played it live into the equipment we had and recorded it onto the CD. I finally got it to the DJ on a CD and when that first dance started and she heard that song kick on, it was one of those looks that you just hold in your mind for the rest of your life. Never can forget her face because that moment was super special, holding each other close with the song playing in the background.
This song was released in honor of your anniversary, but you also got tattoos to celebrate. What tattoos did you both decide to get?
We went down to a really good friend of ours, Tim Rogers, and he took the final two lines of the song, “Forever and always, no matter what,” that’s something we’ve said to each other since we go together. It’s a way of saying, forever and always is one thing, but when you say no matter what, it’s the fact that no matter what happens in that forever and always, we are together.
What advice would you give to couples who are hoping to achieve a successful marriage and maintain a healthy work-life balance?
Just to always put your whole heart into everything you do, whether that’s your profession or your love and make sure that you’re being truthful going forward through it all. As long as you’re able to put your whole heart in it and know whether you’re playing with the kids in the front yard or your trying to find the best way to get the work done at your job, if you’re going to say, “I’m going to put everything I’ve got into this,” there’s no way your not going to be successful. To me, that’s the best way to approach it.
