Вдова Джорджа Джонса о 32 годах борьбы с зависимостью мужа и новой жизни

'I had to lead him back to God': George Jones’ widow on 32 years of 'saving a man' Nancy Jones says she is enjoying the life she put on hold while helping her late husband, country music legend George Jones, battle addiction. Nancy Jones, 77, reflected on her marriage during an Aug. 20 appearance on the Drifting Cowboy podcast. People reported on the interview. George and Nancy Jones, a Louisiana native, were married from 1983 to his death in 2013. ‘I put 32 years of my life [into] saving a man’ “I’m not mean no more. I had to be. But I’m all mellowed out,” Nancy Jones said on the podcast, according to People. “I have missed out on life and so I’m enjoying life now. A lot of people don’t expect me to go out and do this and do that. I deserve it. I really do. And I pat myself on the back because I put 32 years of my life [into] saving a man. And so that’s why I’m out having a good time now.” People reports George and Nancy Jones married in 1983 and remained together until he died in 2013. ***WATCH KFDM REPORT ON GEORGE JONES' DEATH 13 YEARS AGO*** From Saratoga to Beaumont George Glenn Jones was born Sept. 12, 1931, in Saratoga in Hardin County, about 38 miles northwest of Beaumont. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum says he sang for tips on Beaumont streets as a child, made his radio debut at KTXJ in Jasper and later performed at Beaumont’s KRIC. Jones’ first record, “No Money in This Deal,” was recorded in Houston in 1954. His first Top Five country hit, “Why, Baby, Why,” followed in 1955, according to the Hall of Fame. The official George Jones website also identifies Saratoga as his birthplace and Beaumont as the city where he performed for tips as a teenager. He also called Vidor home for a time. ‘I’ve got to save this man’ Nancy Jones told the Drifting Cowboy podcast that George Jones “was a good man,” People reported, even as addiction consumed much of his life. “I knew that the man was with the wrong crowd and they were doing things that I did not approve of,” she said, according to People. “So I just stayed there thinking, ‘I’ve got to save this man.’ I really, in my heart, I’ll always believe that’s why God put me on this earth.” Patience, faith and ‘don’t nag me’ Nancy Jones told the podcast that she wrote her 2023 memoir, Playin’ Possum: My Memories of George Jones, to show fans how difficult it was to help him through his darkest times, People reported. “I’m not going to say nothing I did was easy. I wouldn’t wish it on nobody,” she said. “People say [things] like, ‘She didn’t straighten him out, God did.’ Yeah, God did. But I had to lead him back to God, and I had to have the patience with him.” She said George Jones’ first instruction to her was, “Don’t nag me.” “I never nagged him. I never did,” she said, according to People. “I learned to have patience with him, and I think that was what was the clue to the whole thing.” In a 2023 interview with People, Nancy Jones said George Jones was “very abusive,” but said she saw beyond the addiction. “I loved this man, and I knew I was fighting for a good man, and I knew that it was not George when he was acting up and being drunk and doing the things he was doing that was not him,” she told People. “It was those demons coming out.” The crash that changed everything According to People, Jones became sober for good after a near-fatal 1999 crash that required rescuers to use the Jaws of Life to remove him from his vehicle. Nancy Jones said on the podcast a doctor warned her that Jones was “going to die.” He recovered and remained sober until his death from respiratory failure in 2013 at age 81, People reported. “I know he’s in heaven." "I know he’s just having a blast because when he hit that bridge in ‘99, to 2013 he never touched another drink or never smoked another cigarette,” Nancy Jones said, according to People. The Country Music Hall of Fame says the crash prompted Jones to give up alcohol and cigarettes. People also reported that Jones credited Nancy Jones with saving his life in a 1996 interview, saying he “shouldn’t be here today” and would not be without her support. Tammy Wynette and the local legend Before Nancy Jones, George Jones’ marriage to Tammy Wynette became one of country music’s most famous and tumultuous partnerships. The Country Music Hall of Fame says Jones married Wynette in 1969. They divorced in 1975 but continued recording together afterward, producing classics including “The Ceremony,” “We’re Gonna Hold On,” “Golden Ring,” “Near You” and “Two Story House.” The connection is local because Jones’ career and personal struggles were rooted in Southeast Texas long before he and Wynette became country music royalty. The Hall of Fame says alcohol and cocaine addiction worsened in the years after their divorce, bringing arrests, hospitalizations, financial and legal problems, and missed shows. A 95th birthday celebration According to People, Nancy Jones will host a 95th birthday celebration in George Jones’ honor Sept. 13 in Nashville. It will celebrate the life of a country music icon whose road began in Saratoga and led through Beaumont and Jasper before taking him to Nashville and the Country Music Hall of Fame.