Connie Smith - Personal Life

Personal Life

Smith has been married four times. In 1961, she married her first husband, Jerry Smith, a ferroanalyst at the Inter-Lake Iron Corporation in Beverly, Ohio. The couple had one child together on March 9, 1963 named Darren Justin. In the late 1970s, Darren went to Europe to become a missionary, and is currently a psychologist. In the mid-1960s, the couple divorced and Smith married the guitarist in her touring band, Jack Watkins. They had a son, Kerry Watkins, before separating nearly a year after marrying. Shortly afterward, Smith married telephone repairman Marshall Haynes. In the early 70s, the Haynes frequently toured with Smith on her road show. The couple had three daughters: Jeanne, Julie, and Jodi Haynes. After divorcing Haynes in the early 1990s, Smith stated that she would never marry again, but on July 8, 1997 Smith married 1990s country artist Marty Stuart. The couple met while writing songs together for Smith's 1998 comeback album. Thirty eight years before, Stuart first encountered her one night after attending her concert: "I met Connie when I was 12 years old. She came to the Indian reservation in my hometown to work at a fair. She hasn't changed a bit. She looked great then and she looks great now." Smith said that they have sustained their marriage by making "...the Lord the center ... and commit."