Since he made his debut on the country music world in 1993 with “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” (yeah, it was that long ago), Toby Keith has only gotten better. Since then, he has had several country music chart toppers, including “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” and “As Good As I Once Was.”
While the world is well aware of Keith’s music, his fans might not be as familiar with his personal life. While Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Luke Bryan, three of the genre’s biggest artists, may be more well-known faces in the tabloids, Keith has largely avoided their pages throughout the years. He fell in love with his wife, Tricia Lucas, before he ever launched his debut single, and they are now a happily married family man. But who exactly is the inspiration behind this country music superstar? What you should know about Tricia Lucas is this.
Tricia Lucas was just 19 when she met Toby Keith
Everything revolved around Toby Keith and Tricia Lucas’ young love. Before the former became one of the biggest performers in country music, the two admitted to meeting at a club when he was just 20 and she was 19, according to a 2001 interview with People. In actuality, Keith was making $50,000 a year playing gigs in bars while working at an oil field, and Lucas was a secretary at the time. But it was obvious that she attracted Keith right away. She remembered him as “simply one of those larger-than-life guys, full of confidence,” and he claimed to have danced with them that fatal evening in a 2011 interview with Country Weekly. He said, “I thought she was fantastic. Though things weren’t always easy before Keith became well-known in the music industry, the two ended up dating for three years before getting married.
“You need to go tell your old guy to get a real job, dozens of people urged Tricia. It required a lady with a strong moral compass and a lot of love to say, “I’ve got to let him try; he’s excellent enough at music.” And if he succeeds, that will be a terrific shot for both of us.” Keith told Country Weekly that his wife had always been supportive of his aspirations. Lucas stated to People, “”Trish, my time will come one of these days,” he would add. Please persevere.” And she persevered.
Tricia Lucas is a businesswoman and mom of three
According to Taste of Country, Tricia Lucas had already given birth to her daughter Shelley Covel Rowland in 1980, almost two years before she met Toby Keith. But given that he adopted Rowland after he and Lucas got married, Keith obviously always thought of her as his daughter. The happy couple soon had their next two children, son Stelen in 1997 and daughter Krystal in 1985.
She seemed to want to avoid the spotlight, whatever Lucas is up to these days. Although she occasionally appears on her family’s social media pages, it doesn’t seem like she has any public social media profiles where she flaunts her life as a mother and grandmother (Shelley and Krystal both have two children, according to The Sun). While Krystal shared a retro family photo of the group wearing Toby Keith sweaters some years ago on her Instagram that same month, Keith released a beautiful family photo of him and Tricia standing with their children and grandchildren in November 2018.
What does Lucas do while he’s not with his family? Business! Together with Shelley and Krystal, Lucas established the SwingDish line of women’s golf clothing. She told Haute Living in 2015, “I’ve been a mother for all of these years, a stay-at-home parent while my husband worked,” revealing that she felt it was time to pursue her passion after Stelen left for college.
