Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood ‘inspired’ by Jimmy Carter to ‘bicker back and forth’ for healthy marriage
The country power couple wed in 2005, and the 39th president and his wife have been married for 77 years
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood say former President Carter and his wife Rosalynn have "inspired" them in large ways and small, including how they "bicker" in their marriage.
"They’ve inspired us in a lot of ways, in the ways you expect: humanity, humbleness, work ethic," Brooks told People magazine this week. "But they’ve also inspired us by their example as husband and wife. We worked beside them for the last 15 years, and you notice right away they bicker back and forth about the right way to do things. That kind of works for us too!"
The "Friends in Low Places" singer, 61, and Yearwood, 59, have been married since 2005. Carter, 99, and Rosalynn, 96, tied the knot in 1946.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier this month, the country power couple led the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Charlotte, North Carolina, a collaboration with Habitat for Humanity that has built more than 4,000 homes in 14 countries with more than 100,000 volunteers since it was founded in 1984.
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, left, say they are inspired by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter's marriage. (Getty)
"To whom much is given, much is expected," the "How Do I Live" songstress told People. "We’ll never fill [the Carters] shoes, but we’re doing the best we can."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She said the couple "fell in love" with the work Habitat for Humanity does and with the Carters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2007.
"We knew we loved the Carters and we fell more in love with them just getting a chance to work alongside them," she said. "We love what Habitat for Humanity is about: spreading love. It is about creating community."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have worked with former President Carter and his wife Rosalynn at Habitat for Humanity for years. (Habitat for Humanity International/Jason Asteros)
They told Fox News Digital in 2018 that Habitat for Humanity is the most "rewarding" work they have ever done.
"There's so many great organizations and ways for you to give back to your community," Yearwood said. "But actually getting inside the new home, getting your hands dirty, getting in there, that's the most rewarding thing."
Despite their busy touring schedules, the couple said they find a way to make both their work with Habitat and their marriage a priority.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's all about what is your priority," Yearwood shared. "It's what you want for yourselves. We're in a position where we can make a lot of the decisions of what we want our lives to be [and] we want to do everything we possibly can together. We carve out that one week a year and we look forward to this."
Earlier this year, the Carters' grandson, Josh Carter, told People they are in the "final chapter" of their lives and Jimmy, who served as the 39th president, entered hospice in February.
"They lived their lives to the fullest," he added.
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Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have been married since 2005. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
The Carter Center said in February that the former president had made the decision to "spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention," after a series of short hospital stays. "He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers."
His grandson added, "He’s still fully Jimmy Carter. He's just tired. I mean he's almost 99 years old, but he fully understands [how many well wishes he's received] and has felt the love."
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Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan Reckford told People he’s grateful to have Brooks and Yearwood to carry on the Carters' "amazing legacy."
"Garth and Trisha bring attention to the great need for affordable housing. They represent the hope and the joy of building community," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former President Carter and wife Rosalyn wed in 1946. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The country stars added they loved being thrown into the mix from the get-go.
"The first time we got on a site, we thought we were going to take some photographs, maybe hold some tools. We framed a wall that day," Yearwood explained. "You learn the skill you need in the moment."
The "Back Home Again" singer said she remembers the "pride" on the faces of Haitian homeowners a year after they helped them rebuild from the devastating 2010 earthquake.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They had built gardens; they had painted. I carry that with me everywhere," she said.
Brooks said it always "kills" him emotionally to see the homeowner walk inside their front door for the first time.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The cheers and the tears — their journey inside their house has begun," he explained. "And the Carters said it best: If you go to sleep with a roof over your head, you’re spoiled."