“We were in bed last night and talked for two hours because we got so caught up in the moment that we almost couldn’t even remember it,” TimMcGraw says. “I told her, ‘This is incredible. How many married couples ever get a chance to do what we’re doing right now?’” Chalk it up to another milestone for McGraw and FaithHill, the married country music power duo of 25 years and parents of three daughters. Between the two of them, they’ve amassed eight Grammys (five for her; three for him), 14 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards and matching stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Their 2006–07 joint Soul2Soul II Tour grossed $141 million, making it the No. 1 earner for any country act. Now they’re stretching their talents by starring in the sprawling new Western series 1883 (premiering Dec. 19 on Paramount+). A prequel to the Emmy-nominated saga Yellowstone, it centers on McGraw and Hill’s characters, James and Margaret Dutton—the ancestors of KevinCostner’s present-day patriarchal rancher baron, John—as they make their way westward ho across the Great Plains via wagons in search of land and freedom. (SamElliott, IsabelMay and BillyBobThornton round out the ensemble.) “The entire storytelling process is remarkable because the depictions of the hardships are so authentic,” says Hill. “It feels like we’re living that life and actually in 1883.” On this evening in November 2021, Hill and McGraw, both 54, are Zooming in separately from different locations: She’s in her trailer with dirt still caked on her face and fake blood under her fingernails; he’s lounging in a chair in the nearby cast lodge and eagerly awaiting her return. It’s been another long day, which means it’s been another rewarding one. “When I watch him, I’m in awe,” she says. “This is his wheelhouse!” He raves of Hill, “We were face to face and staring into each other’s eyes, and I walked away going, ‘Damn, my wife is good.’”
Welcome to the Ranch
Did they have any initial reservations about plunging as a couple into headlining such an intense project together? Hill pauses. “I mean, let me think about the best way to answer this,” she says. Their involvement, she says, dates back a few years when they watched the 2017 neo-Western murder-mystery movie Wind River at home on their Apple TV. “We were like, ‘Who the hell wrote and directed this? This is so good,’” she says. His name was TaylorSheridan, and the writer-director also created Yellowstone in 2018. Centering on the powerful Dutton family and their fight for control of their expansive ranch, the show had been on McGraw’s radar from its very first episode. “I liked that it was a mix of Game of Thrones and The Godfather,” he says. In fact, early in the series’ run, he set up a private screening of three episodes for him and his buddies in the middle of a spear-fishing trip so he could hook them on the show. So when the pair was approached last year to star in the Duttons’ origin story and they received Sheridan’s pilot script, they realized it was an offer they couldn’t refuse. “We were like, ‘We have to do it and go on this adventure together,’” McGraw says. Hill draws on a musical analogy: “It begins with a song. If the song is right, then you don’t give it a second thought, because writing is a real craft that should be respected. We read the material and we were like, ‘How can we not do it?’” Hill and McGraw (with his new scraggly beard, which he grew out and dyed dark brown for the role) uprooted from their home in Nashville in August to begin production. Though living side by side as the production began in Texas and spread into Montana, they don’t run lines together and often don’t ride to the set in the same vehicle. “We want to see what the other brings to the scene in the moment, so it’s always a surprise,” Hill says. Filming 10 hour-long episodes in a period setting, on location, in wintry conditions has been a time-consuming and difficult experience. Hill says that the cast must blow on their hands to keep warm with “snot running down our noses.” McGraw admits that the schedule has been thrown out of balance because of the constantly changing weather. But, he adds, “You really begin to realize that people sacrificed everything on these wagon trains. Human nature is revealed.” The couple was even on the clock throughout the night on Oct. 6—their 25th wedding anniversary—on location in Texas. Hill says they would not have had it any other way: “What more could you ask for? We’re working together on our 25th anniversary on an incredible show with great people.” Besides, the couple’s three daughters, Grace, 24, Maggie, 23, and Audrey, 20, all flew in to celebrate the occasion. And McGraw gifted his wife “something special.” And no, he won’t say what it was.
Marriage in the Stars
The truth is, Hill and McGraw don’t make a habit out of contemplating their relationship anyway. (The occasional lovey-dovey Instagram post notwithstanding.) “It’s not like we sit around and talk about it like, ‘Woo-hoo! We made it to 25 and let’s see if we can make it to 26!’” she says. “We love one another and that’s just part of our life.” They knew early on that they were destined to be together. Both are products of blue-collar families in the Deep South—or, as Hill puts it, “we have very, very, very similar humble beginnings.” Hill, born Audrey Faith Perry, was adopted as an infant and grew up in Star, Mississippi; McGraw is a Louisiana native and was raised by his waitress mom, Elizabeth, and his truck-driver stepdad, Horace. (At age 11, he learned that his biological father was Major League Baseball pitcher TugMcGraw.) McGraw still recalls singing along to BeachBoys and Jan and Dean surf tunes on the radio in the car with his mom, and honky-tonkin’ to MerleHaggard and GeorgeJones country songs in his stepdad’s 18-wheeler. He never fathomed he could make a career out of his voice until he got to college at Northeast Louisiana University and started playing guitar—which he bought for $25 after pawning his high school ring—at his Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house. “I learned 50 songs and it worked really well with the girls,” he jokes. He dropped out a few years later and was signed by a Nashville label in 1990 at age 23. (McGraw toted that same beloved guitar to Montana to work on his next album.) A few years earlier, 19-year-old Hill had just arrived in Nashville to pursue her own musical dreams. She took orders at McDonald’s, became a secretary at a music publishing company and eventually sang backup for songwriter GaryBurr when he performed at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe. She released her first album, Take Me as I Am, in 1993. She also married—and took the last name of—a music executive named DanHill, whom she divorced in 1994. The two were established stars when they fell in love in 1996 during a collaborative tour. She accepted his marriage proposal at a music festival in Colorado. But before they wed, they had The Talk. “We discussed the odds of two people in the same industry doing the same exact thing for a living,” says Hill. The main issue, she adds, was that they both desperately wanted a large family—and soon: “Even with our exploding careers, it was our No. 1 priority. And we established how we could make it work.” They welcomed Grace in 1997, Maggie in 1998 and Audrey in 2001. And true to their promise, they made an effort to be there for their daughters. They raised the girls in Nashville, keeping their superstar status low-key. “I don’t want to say we sheltered them, but we wanted them to have a normal childhood and be in school,” she says. “And to their friends, we were just Mr. and Mrs. McGraw.” And when they worked, they took their daughters along for the ride—on their three joint Soul2Soul world tours in 2000, 2006 and 2017. “It rarely happened where we were in two different places when they were growing up,” Hill says, adding that her husband, who’s appeared in the films Friday Night Lights and The Blind Side, regularly turned down acting work to stay close. “Everyone working with us has known that being with them is the most important thing to us.” McGraw marvels at his wife’s family-first mentality: “You know, when she won three Grammys in one night I was really proud of her. She is probably one of the best vocalists in the world. But I’m most proud of her as a mom because that’s where her heart is, and that’s where she spends her energy.”
All Is Bright
Just like any proud parents, they’re quick to brag about their daughters’ accomplishments. McGraw boasts that Grace is an actress and singer, Maggie graduated with a master’s degree in sustainability science from Stanford University and Audrey is a model and actress. (“We hit the bull’s-eye with all of them!” says McGraw.) And though they can all carry a tune, Hill and McGraw actively discouraged them from joining the family business, mainly because that business can be cutthroat and ever-changing. “They’re very independent and strong-minded young women and don’t tolerate any s–t from anybody,” he says. “And they don’t let anybody give anybody else s–t either. They really stand up for people and stand up for themselves.” In turn, they’ve helped him. Referencing his 2016 hit “Humble and Kind,” McGraw shares that his daughters have tempered his temper: “I can fail at being humble sometimes, but then I look to them, and I look forward. They’re like a beacon.” And, boy, do they light up each other’s lives. “It’s a riot at our dinner table,” Hill says. McGraw shares that last year they all hunkered down for three weeks around the holidays and organized regular theme festivities, like Game of Thrones night and Harry Potter night. On Hamilton night, they dressed up as characters from the hit musical, using items around the house and preparing an era-appropriate dinner such as roasted chicken, potato gnocchi and ale. Hill cops to devoting at least two weeks decorating the house, inside and out, for Christmas. “Oh, girl, I’m going to be honest with you,” she says, laughing. “It’s beyond a whole thing.” Alas, this year’s Christmas may look a bit different because of the 1883 production schedule, but they vow to still be together somehow, somewhere. But for Hill and McGraw, just being around and supporting each other on and off the set works fine too. “We’re together all the time,” she says, “and I know no matter what happens, I’m his biggest cheerleader and he’s mine.” McGraw agrees. “The best advantage to being around Faith so much is that I can go to bed with her and wake up with her every morning,” he adds. “We feel fortunate that we can be together so much. But to do this series is really special. I can’t imagine doing it without my wife.”
Tim & Faith Facts
Favorite rom-com McGraw: “What’s that Christmas movie with the English guy who’s a singer? Love Actually?” Last TV binge McGraw: “Bridgerton. It was very sexy. And for a 54-year-old married couple watching that show, it led to a lot of good nights.” Favorite family trip McGraw: “The Bahamas” Hill: “One year, we went to Vienna and Prague for Christmas, and it was incredible.” Book you read to your girls when they were young McGraw: “I read the Harry Potter books to them.” Hill: “TheLittle House [by VirginiaLeeBurton]. I read it when I was a child.” Best part about living in Nashville McGraw: “The camaraderie, the friendship and the music.” Hill: “It’s where we raised our children!” Last time you were starstruck McGraw: “When [co-star] Sam Elliott showed up on the set of 1883. He’s such a stud. Favorite off-hours activity McGraw: Fishing Hill: Painting, drawing, photography Favorite family activity Hill: Playing trivia games McGraw: Cooking White lights or colored lights on a tree? Hill: “We’ve gone back and forth, but the last few years have been colored.” McGraw: “Colored lights.” Spiral ham or breakfast casserole? McGraw: “Spiral ham.” Christmas Eve meal McGraw: “Our tradition is meatballs and pasta.” Favorite Christmas song McGraw: “Away in a Manger” Spiked eggnog or mulled wine? Hill: “Spicy mulled wine. I discovered it in Vienna and I’m still trying to find the best recipe for it. If anyone who reads this has a great one, please send to me because I want to know!” Next, 11 Shows and Movies That Might Scratch Your Western Itch
