Posts Tagged ‘Sara Evans’

Sara Evans Puts Family First

September 9th, 2008

Newlywed Sara Evans got some Alabama love when she performed at the CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night To Rock, which aired Monday. Her hubby, Birmingham DJ Jay Barker, brought the hometown crowd to Nashville’s LP Field.

“I had a lot of people with Alabama hats and t-shirts,” she says. “This is a new thing at all my concerts.”

Since marrying in June, Sara, 37, has added four stepchildren – Andrew, Braxton, Sarah and Harrison – to her brood, which also includes her children –  Avery, 9, Olivia, 5, and Audrey, 3 — from a previous marriage. Why is Jay a great dad?

“He’s one of the most amazing fathers I’ve ever been around,” she says. “He had a great father himself. He was taught really well. He’s very patient. He’s the kind of guy that coaches, he’s a mentor to children – he always has been – and he’s a natural with kids. He’s very hands-on.”

She continues, “He reminds me of my two brothers, actually, which is probably one of the reasons I love him so much. He’s very maternal. I don’t know if that makes sense to say about a man, but he just knows what to do with children, whether it’s cooking for them, bathing them or teaching them lessons. I feel so blessed on behalf of my children that they get to have him as their stepdad.”

Sara’s family has relocated to Birmingham so that the kids can be together as much as possible.

“It’s just tons of love and tons of joy,” she says. “Our goal is to try and blend it, and when they look back on this and they’re adults, they’ll literally feel like they came from a family of seven kids.”

Why are they great together?

“He’s always, always putting me first.”

Sara Evans’ Blended Family

June 9th, 2008

Forget the Brady Bunch!

Sara Evans will have her own large extended family when she ties the knot with footballer-turned-radio host Jay Barker later this year.

With Jay being a father to four (from his previous marriage) and Sara a mother to three, it’s definitely going to be a full house, but the country singer is not at all concerned about how her children will react to Jay being their stepfather.

"I feel so blessed on behalf of my children that they get to have him as their stepdad," Sara tells OK! at the CMA Music Festival. "He’s one of the most amazing fathers I’ve ever been around. He was taught really well. He’s very patient. He’s the kind of guy that coaches, he’s a mentor to children – he always has been – and he’s a natural with kids. He’s very hands-on."

As for how the seven children will interact, the 37-year-old, who weathered a public divorce from Craig Schelske, isn’t all that worried either. Spending a lot of time together is key to blending the families together, she says.

"They need to be together as much as possible," she sayas. "My children will go to school in Birmingham, and they’ll be able to see each other half the time they’ll be together. We do that a lot now. That’s our goal. To try and blend it, and when they look back on this and they’re adults, they’ll literally feel like they came from a family of seven kids."

While even the thought of raising seven kids would give many a headache, Sara doesn’t see it that way.

"It’s amazing. We have a 9, two 8s, two 6s, a 5 and a 3. It’s just tons of love and tons of joy."

By Valerie Nome

Stars Line Up at CMT Awards

April 23rd, 2008

Nicole Kidman towers over hubby Keith Urban as they swan into the CMT Awards, which take place at Belmont University in Nashville. Her baby bump is minimal, and she waves as fans shriek. Carrie Underwood makes her way in at 6:41, but hostess-with-the-mostess Miley Cyrus causes the biggest stir when she walks the purple carpet in a print dress at 6:24.

Aside from Paula Abdul, whose teeth are chattering, celebs donning minimal gowns refrain from making their shivers known on this unseasonably cold evening. “Your hands are warm,” the American Idol judge tells me after a handshake.

Whoa! Naomi Judd actually stands in line to talk to me when I am in the midst of speaking with AI’s Bucky Covington. Insanity! I do adore the Judds – and Naomi is brilliant. I smile on the inside when I see Alan Jackson and his wife about to do the same. I mean, it’s Alan Jackson! (“Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee…”)

OMG, Crystal Gayle is here, too. I loved her when I was a little, little, little kid. She had that amazing floor-length-long hair, and still does. “I love OK!” she says. Who is her favorite young artist? “I think LeAnn Rimes is a great vocalist,” she tells me.

Sara Evans struts up with fiancé Jay Baker. She’s a favorite, too. (Remember Born To Fly? Good stuff!) Little Big Town’s Kimberly Roads confesses she’s a lil’ nervous about performing. Jewel adores her “sweet, feminine” dress.

 

Now Brad Paisley and his wife, and then Faith Hill and Tim McGraw slide through. Here’s LeAnn with hubby Dean Sheremet in tow.

Taylor Swift greets me with “Hey! How are you?” and reveals the inspiration for her song Teardrops on My Guitar. “It’s about a guy named Drew who I went to school with. I wrote it in ninth grade. It was a guy I really liked and he had no idea. But I think he knows now.” Well, probably.

Miranda Lambert tells me boyfriend Blake Shelton helped her pick out her dress, but he didn’t take great care in finding his duds. “Want me to be honest with you?” he says. “I’ve had these jeans on now – I wore them in Toronto, Canada on Friday, I wore them in Michigan on Saturday, I wore them to Bass Pro Shops on Sunday, and I decided I’m on such a roll that they were ready for this CMT Awards show. These are my good old Wrangler blue jeans. They fit better the longer you wear them.”

Meanwhile, Kristian Kane fractured his ankle in three places while filming a movie in Lake Tahoe. “It was hard getting these jeans over this boot, but I sacrificed comfort for style,” he tells me.

AI’s Diana DeGarmo waves hello, and the boys and girl of Lady Antebellum give me a wave and “hey, how you doing?” Maureen “Marcia Brady” McCormick also says “hi.”

Wow, country music has a lot of cute guys. I count Chuck Wicks, Jason Aldean, Jake Owen and Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley – Josh’s brother — among them. (There are more, too, but off the top of my head.)

Laura Bell Bundy, who starred in Broadway’s Legally Blonde, has gone country with her album Longing For A Place Already Gone. “I call it y’all-ternative,” she laughs. “I’m very influenced by Loretta Lynn’s albums from long ago and her recent album she did with Jack White. She’s a beautiful songwriter, she’s very honest and real. It’s actually her birthday today.”

I bet she’s excited to meet [her sister] Crystal Gayle, too.

 

Check out the OK! on stands this week for more coverage of the CMT Awards. “Katie Fights Back: Don’t Mess With My Family” is the cover line.

Sara Evans Has Found Her Prince

April 22nd, 2008

Sara Evans and footbal star-turned-radio host fiance Jay Barker will have a full home when her three children and his four children join forces to make one big family.

At the CMT Music Awards in Nashville, Sara told OK! her kids are "excited about the wedding," and added, "They love Mr. Jay. His kids love me. The families are blending so well together. We feel like it’s a God thing. We are so lucky!"

Sara divorced hubby Craig Schelske last year. Sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince!

Sara Evans “Has Found an Amazing Person”

March 26th, 2008

Country star Sara Evans has found her "happily ever after" with the surprise announcement of her engagement to Jay Barker, a former University of Alabama football player and radio host.

“He’s a great, Christian guy," a friend of Sara tells OK!."Everyone loves him and thinks he’s so good for her.”

Shortly after finalizing her divorce from Craig Schelske in September, the 37-year-old singer was introduced to Jay, 35, through a mutual friend who was helping both recent divorcees deal with their marriages gone awry.

“Sara has such young children that she would never jump into anything unless she found an amazing person," explains the pal. "And she sure did!”

The friend also says that this new man in Sara’s life is one heck of an upgrade from ex-hubby Craig. “He always put the pressure on her to be the breadwinner. Jay has his own money and doesn’t need her to support him.”

Talk about a great future husband, OK! has learned that Jay even bought his bride-to-be a new Hummer to go along with the ring! And with a combined brood that counts seven kids deep — Sara has three kids and Jay’s already a father of four children — they’re going to need some extra room on long car trips.

The happy couple spent last week and Easter together as one big happy family.
“I would imagine the wedding to be sometime this summer,” the friend mentions.
 

By Alisandra Puliti

Sara Evans’ Divorce Finalized

September 28th, 2007

Sara Evans is officially single again.

The country singer’s messy divorce with husband Craig Schelske is finalized, according to court papers filed in Williamson County, Tenn., obtained by Extra.

"The parties have agreed that it is in their best interests and those of their children to amicably resolve all issues in their pending divorce,” reads the Notice of Public Statement in the papers. “Each wishes the other well in all future endeavors. The parties have no further comment regarding and allegations of fault or misconduct alleged by either party in these divorce proceedings.”

The 36-year-old filed for divorce from Craig in October 2006, alleging that her husband of 13 years had an affair with the nanny. Firing back, Craig accused Sara of adultery too, claiming the star has slept with nearly a dozen men, including Kenny Chesney, Richard Marx, members of 3 Doors Down and Tony Dovolani, her former Dancing With the Stars partner.

Sara dropped out of the show to deal with the divorce proceedings.

The couple has three children, Avery, 8, Olivia, 4, and Audrey, 3.

Sara Evans’ Shocking Split!

October 18th, 2006

For two heartbreaking weeks, Dancing With the Stars’ Sara Evans hid from her millions of fans the pain of the shocking discovery that she’d made about her husband of 13 years. According to the country singer’s divorce petition, on Sept. 28, Sara’s 7-year-old son, Avery, walked in on his father, Craig Schelske, watching pornography in their Franklin, Tenn., home. The traumatized child confronted his dad, and Sara, who was in L.A. working, was alerted. The incident jarred her into investigating what other secrets her husband might have. What she says she found on his computer were over 100 lewd photographs, including several of Craig having sex with other women, and personal ads searching for women to engage in illicit acts. ‘Sara is devastated,’ her divorce attorney John Hollins Sr. tells OK!. ‘She is a sweetheart and such a good person. This is tearing her apart.’Sara’s plan had been to finish Dancing With the Stars before filing, but once the computer material was unearthed, she decided she couldn’t wait, especially because unemployed Craig threatened to move their children to Oregon and prevent her from seeing them. She was scheduled to say goodbye to her Dancing family on the show’s Oct. 17 broadcast.OK! spoke with Sara just two days before her Oct. 12 divorce filing, and she told us all of her non-working time was spent with her children: ‘They’re here with me tonight in the green room.’ As for the kids, Sara’s rep Allen Brown says she intends ‘to give her family her full attention at this difficult time.’

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