Garth Brooks’ 14-Year Music Break: I Didn’t Know My Daughters

With a legendary country music career in full swing, why did Garth Brooks choose to leave the business behind for 14 years?

The answer is quite simple: family.

“People said, ‘How could you walk away from music?’ But being a dad – there’s nothing that can touch that,” Garth told People mag in a new interview.

The superstar, now 53, said he realized he was completely missing out on relationships with his three daughters (now 22, 20 and 18).

“I’d just stare at them,” he told the mag. “I knew their sweet faces and their dispositions. But I didn’t know who they were.”

After he stepped out of the limelight, Garth happily fell into the role of soccer dad.

“You start being a part of the community,” he said. “The dads across the soccer field looked at me as a dad just like them. And I was very grateful.”

Now that all three girls have graduated high school, Garth has returned to music with a new album.

Between his fans and enjoying life with wife Trisha Yearwood, the singer said he’s doing well when it comes to dealing with the empty nest.

“I am in the period now where I think I pray more than I ever have in my life, because for some reason when [my daughters] were under my roof, I felt like I might have had some control, you know?” he told the mag. “Thank God I’m with the love of my life. That’s why I know I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”

— Erin O’Sullivan