Toby Keith is a beloved country music artist. When the news of his cancer diagnosis was made public, his fans were incredibly worried.
But the singer has been steadily updating fans – and now he has announced some big career news on Instagram.
Toby Keith’s spouse, Tricia Lucus has been with him for almost four decades. Lucus has stuck with him through thick and thin, even before his cancer diagnosis and treatment. There was a time when Toby Keith did not have much to his name and had a hard time making a name for himself.
Toby Keith graduated from Moore High School in 1979. Right after high school, he got a job as an oil field worker earning $50,000 annually.
Even then Keith had a love for music. He later shared how at that point he had probably written about “200 to 300 songs,” until he finally wrote one that went on to become a hit.
Toby Keith formed a band called Easy Money. In the time he had free from his job, he would perform his music at various bars and venues. This is how he met his future wife, while he was performing with his band at a bar.
He met Tricia Lucus and the two of them spent the entire night dancing together. Lucus at the time was only 19 years old working as an oil company secretary. She later told People Magazine in June 2001 about what attracted her to Toby Keith. “He was one of those larger-than-life guys, full of confidence,” she said.
The couple wed on March 24, 1984, after three years of dating. At the time Lucus had a daughter from her previous relationship in 1980. Later on, Toby Keith adopted her as his own child.
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All this happened while the oil company Toby Keith worked for went broke and Keith decided to focus solely on his music career. He went full-time on his music career.
Even though the young couple was struggling financially, Keith knew he would make it big soon. He would often tell his wife, “He’d say, ‘Trish, one of these days, my time is coming. Hang in there.’”
The couple had creditors breathing down their necks. Many would advise Lucus to tell Keith to get “a real job.” But the two of them never gave up their dream.
As Good as I Once Was” singer has often said how lucky he feels that his wife always supported him and did not listen to the naysayers. He said, “It took a strong-hearted and loving woman to say, ‘He’s good enough at his music that I’ve got to let him try.”
But her faith in her husband paid off. An article in Forbes Magazine in June 2013 estimated that Toby Keith is now worth millions. The article revealed Keith never made less than $48 million in any given year. And between 2012 and 2013, he made about $270 million.
The singer has written No. 1 country hits every year for twenty years. He has been estimated to be worth $500 million – making him one of the most commercially successful country singers to have lived.
His big breakthrough came in 1993 when he released his song “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” When the song received airplay on the radio, it became an instant hit. The song then went on to become one of the most-played songs on air for the 1990s.
They were doing great financially and in their personal lives they made a wonderful family together. They welcomed their first child together soon after their marriage, they had their daughter Krystal in 1985. Later, they had their son Stelen in 1997.
Once his music career was solid, Toby Keith decided to venture into different areas to make money. He launched a liquor line and a chain of restaurants, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill.