Tim McGraw isn’t just a big-time country music artist; he’s also a loving husband to Faith Hill, and a proud father to the beloved married couple’s three daughters, Audrey Caroline McGraw, Maggie Elizabeth McGraw, and Gracie McGraw.
Although McGraw has openly talked about his childhood, having grown up without his biological father, Frank Edwin McGraw Jr., better known as “Tug,” a famous Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies, and establishing a relationship with the athlete later in life, he knows firsthand how important the role of a dad truly is.
While speaking on an episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, McGraw shared, in his own words, what it means to be a father.
“You certainly see with different eyes,” the Grammy-winning country star, 58, said of how becoming a parent has changed him personally. “It changes what your definition of love is, more so than even getting married.”
“I think when you have children, there’s such a responsibility and a weight that comes with all the brightness and the light and the love that causes you to realize that that’s your true eternal life — your children and how they carry their perception of you forward,” he continued, noting, “It’s a scary proposition.”
Tim McGraw doesn’t pretend to have parenting all figured out. In fact, he’ll admit there’s no rule book.
“You’re not going to do it right. Nobody does it right. You just hope you do 30% of it right and you just show up,” he said. “But I think the thing that changed more than anything — and it’s pretty simple — is it takes a lot of selfishness out of you. And part of you has to have that, I guess, in order to succeed and to push forward. But boy, it takes a lot of selfishness out of you and puts a lot of drive and passion and responsibility in thinking of the future and your path, which provides more structure for you.”
McGraw and Hill, who have been married since 2006, are now officially empty nesters, with all three daughters in their early to mid-20s. And country music’s power couple has realized just how much structure their kids brought to their lives, from early mornings to sports practices and school routines.
“Faith and I both have found out that structure was so good because you had to be on the ball,” McGraw shared. “You had to get up every morning at 6:00 a.m., you had to make breakfast, you had to take your kids to school, you had to help with homework, you had to go to practices, coach softball — all those things that keep you in a good, balanced routine. So when the kids start leaving the house, all of a sudden you start going, ‘What am I going to do with the rest of my day now? I don’t have to get up at six.”
“It can take away some of your focus, and it can take away some of your routine, and it can take away a little bit of drive once the kids are out of the house,” he added. “But it comes back. At first, you’re sort of lost and sort of figuring out, what do I do with my time here?”
Still, even as he’s honest about the transition from raising kids to rediscovering freedom, McGraw beams with pride over who his daughters have become.
“My oldest daughter’s working on Broadway. She’s a Broadway actress and singer, so she’s working on some stuff,” he shared of Gracie, 28, before shining a light on Audrey, 24. “My youngest daughter’s a singer, an actor. She’s in Landman. She just opened for Brandi Carlile on our European tour last summer.”
“My middle daughter works for Earth League International, a big nonprofit organization,” he said, proudly speaking about Maggie, 27. “She sings as well, but she’s more of the brainy one. She went to Stanford, got her master’s degree, and worked in Congress for a long time. So they’re all doing well!”
As for McGraw, he’s doing just fine with his own structure these days. Earlier this month, he announced his 33-date Pawn Shop Tour, featuring The Chicks, Lady A, and rising acts 49 Winchester and Timothy Wayne as openers. He’s also working on new music, an album titled Pawn Shop Guitar, named after both the tour and a song about the first guitar he ever purchased.
“The album’s going to be called Pawn Shop Guitar,” he confirmed. “I pawned my high school ring my freshman year of college and bought the guitar. Luckily for me, my grandfather found out about it and went back and got my ring for me. Although I don’t know where it is now. I think my wife has it somewhere. So I wrote the whole song around that story.”
“The Chicks will be out on the stadium tours with us, and I’m a huge fan of those guys. We did a George Strait tour together years ago, and then they opened for me on one of my tours years ago, and I’m just a huge fan of their music,” he added. “I’m excited to get out with those guys. And then we’re doing sheds for the summer, and then we’ll do some more shows as well. We’ll be doing some fairs and festivals, and it’s going to be a busy year….”
McGraw’s Pawn Shop Tour kicks off July 9 in Bethel, New York, and wraps Sept. 26 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
