The Reason Kenny Rogers’ Second Marriage Ended

After Kenny Rogers’ first marriage to Janice Gordon ended, he began a relationship with his second wife, Jean Massey. Here’s the reason Rogers’ second marriage didn’t last.

Kenny Rogers said he loved being married

In his autobiography, Luck or Something Like It, Rogers says he loved being married. He joked most people can probably come to that conclusion since he was married five times. “That I loved being married should be obvious by now, given how many times I’ve tried it,” wrote Rogers. “I like almost everything about marriage. What it all boils down to, I guess, is I’m a nesting kind of person.”

Rogers said only one of his seven siblings had something negative to say about marriage. “The only one of my seven siblings who has anything vaguely negative to say about marriage is my sister Sandy, who has turned out to be the great caregiver in the family, said Rogers. “She never married and laughs when she says, ‘There’s no need for everyone in this family to be miserable!’”

Why Kenny Rogers and his second wife, Jean Massey, divorced

Rogers said he was motivated to perform during the early part of his career because he needed money to pay child support and to support his new wife, Massey. They were married less than a year after his divorce from his first wife, Gordon. “I married my second wife, a beauty named Jean Massey, less than a year after breaking up with Janice,” wrote Rogers.

Unfortunately, things didn’t last long between Rogers and Massey. They decided to part ways in 1963. Rogers said the main reason the marriage between him and Massey ended was because of his music obsession. At this point in his career, Rogers said he was working six hours each night and rehearsing four hours a day while looking for work.

“The marriage to Jean lasted a little longer—about two years, this go-round—and probably ended for a lot of reasons, but the main one again was my obsession with music,” added Rogers. He also said he and his wife were “struggling to see what it was we had seen in each other in the first place.”

Kenny Rogers described his relationship with his third wife, Margo Anderson, as ‘explosive’

Rogers revealed he had some trying times in his third marriage. He said he and Anderson “had an explosive relationship right from the start.” According to him, things were either very good or terrible. There were rarely any moments in between.

“When it was good, it could not have been better,” wrote Rogers. “But when it was bad—stand back,” he continued. The country singer said Anderson didn’t like to argue. Instead, she liked to engage in fights. Making things worse, he said Anderson knew exactly how to provoke him. “She loved to regurgitate problems, things that happened from years before,” said Rogers.

Read more: The Sad Way Kenny Rogers’ First Marriage Ended

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