Why Tammy Wynette Kept a Crystal Bowl Full of Cotton in Her Home After Becoming Famous
Before her death in 1998, Tammy Wynette was one of the most popular country singers in the industry. In addition to her music, fans were also curious about Wynette’s personal life and background. According to Country Living, Wynette always kept a “crystal bowl full of cotton” as a remnant of her childhood.
Tammy Wynette had a crystal bowl of cotton
Wynette was born in Mississippi in 1942. When she was less than a year old, her father died from a brain tumor. Wynette’s mother then moved to Tennessee, while Wynette was left in Mississippi to live with her grandparents.
Wynette often referred to her grandparents as her parents, and her childhood was filled with picking cotton on the family’s farm.
According to Country Living, “At age 7, she began working long days picking cotton with her family, a lesson in hard work she never forgot. Even after Wynette found fame as a singer, she kept a crystal bowl full of cotton in her home to remind herself of those days in the cotton field.”
Tammy Wynette had another career outside of country music
Wynette moved to Nashville, Tennessee to start a country music career in 1966. The singer moved to Nashville with three daughters after leaving her first husband, Euple Byrd.
While Wynette went on to have a huge career in country music, she always remained apprehensive about the stability of her career and the industry. Because of this, Wynette always had a backup career option in case her music career stalled.
According to Country Living, before she moved to Nashville, Wynette “held a variety of jobs, including as a waitress, shoe-factory employee, cocktail waitress, and hair stylist.”
Even after her career took off, Country Living reports that Wynette “renewed her cosmetology license every year until her death, just in case she ever had to go back to earning a living as a beautician.”
The singer was married five times
Wynette married Byrd in 1960 when she on 18 years old. When she moved to Nashville, she married Don Chapel in 1967.
In 1969, Wynette married George Jones, a country music artist. The two frequently collaborated during their marriage and after their divorce in 1975.
Wynette’s shortest marriage lasted 44 days after she married Michael Tomlin in 1977. She went on to marry George Richey in 1978.
The country singer was married to Richey until her death in 1998. It is frequently speculated that Richey was abusive, and Wynette’s daughter Georgette Jones corroborates that speculation.
According to Country Living, Jones wrote in her memoir The Three of Us: Growing Up With Tammy and George that Richey, “tried very hard to separate mom from her family and friends so he could be the only person she could turn to. I think she felt like she had no choice and it was too difficult to fight.”
