Country music icon Garth Brooks has hinted that he might leave Nashville behind to settle in Ireland - a country he is no stranger to.
The 62-year-old recently opened up about the idea on his Facebook Live series, Inside Studio G, when he responded to an Irish fan's question about his rumoured plans to buy a house on the Emerald Isle.
The Friends in Low Places singer shared that his wife, fellow country star Trisha Yearwood, is "pushing hard" for the move. He told viewers: "Actually, the Queen is pushing hard for that house over there. I think this last time over there, she just fell head over heels in love with the country. We played two weekends, so we went on that stint across the country, and everyone was so sweet to her."
Brooks has long enjoyed a devoted following in Ireland, which was particularly evident in 2022 when tickets for his five Croke Park concerts sold out almost immediately. What began as two scheduled gigs grew to five due to overwhelming demand, with Brooks performing to packed stadiums on September 9, 10, 11, 16 and 17.
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These shows came years after the 2014 Croke Park fiasco, when Dublin City Council denied permits for two out of five planned concerts after local residents voiced concerns. Rather than cancel part of the series, he famously pulled all five shows, calling it the "saddest moment" of his career.
News of a potential relocation to Ireland comes as Brooks is currently facing legal challenges in the US. A California-based civil complaint filed in October accuses him of sexual assault and battery. The plaintiff, a makeup artist identified only as "Jane Roe," alleges that she first worked with Yearwood in 1999, later transitioning to work for Brooks in 2017. She claims that Brooks raped her and, on other occasions, physically groped her.
Brooks strongly denies these allegations and has dismissed them as extortion. He stated: "For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars. Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money."
He explained that he had filed his own legal complaint against the accuser under the name "John Doe", saying: "We filed suit against this person nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed it anonymously for the sake of families on both sides."
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