Kenny Rogers became a father for the first time in September 1958. He welcomed his daughter, Carole, with his first wife, Gordon. The couple had married just a few months earlier, in May of that year. In a candid interview, Kenny shared how quickly life changed for him:

“You know what? I loved her. At 19 I thought, ‘This is ok with me.’ That was a thing where her parents thought I’d ruined her life and were determined to break me. It didn’t work, and it’s really sad because I think it could have worked.”

Reflecting on his past, the award-winning Texas native added, “You can’t say I’m afraid of commitment. I’ve been married five times!” As his career began to soar, personal ties quietly shifted.

Kenny and Gordon went their separate ways in April 1960. With the demands of his growing music career, time with Carole became limited. By 1980, reports revealed that the star had been granted just two hours of visitation per week with his daughter.

In 1963, Kenny married Anderson, his third wife, who was already a mother to a daughter named Shannon. The following year, on May 24, 1964, they welcomed a son together — Kenny Jr.

However, the marriage did not last. The couple divorced in 1975, and Anderson later settled in Palm Springs with their son. In the years after their split, the celebrity’s connection with Kenny Jr. became strained. Reflecting on their distant bond in a 1980 interview, he shared:

“I would wish desperately that my relationship with Kenny Jr. were better.”

The “Through the Years” singer recognized how his ambition affected those closest to him. Kenny admitted he had been absent during key moments with two wives and two children, and while he regretted the pain it caused, he knew it couldn’t be undone.

Kenny married his fourth wife, Gordon, in October 1977. Four years later, in December 1981, they welcomed their son, Christopher, an actor and director. At first, he described their relationship as a “perfect marriage.” However, things began to change after their child was born.

The “You and I” hitmaker shared in another interview that the shift wasn’t anyone’s fault. “I wouldn’t want him to take any responsibility for this — because that’s when Marianne stopped touring with me and stayed home to take care of him,” he explained.

Though the marriage ended, Kenny remained committed to fatherhood. He once shared how telling Christopher about the divorce left his son in tears. The boy’s biggest fear was losing his dad. Kenny assured him that would never happen.

Kenny married Miller, his fifth wife, in June 1997. Seven years later, at age 65, he became a father to identical twin sons, Jordan and Justin, born in July 2004. At first, he was unsure about having more children. Early in their relationship, both had agreed not to start a family. But when Miller turned 31, her heart changed — and so did his.

“I didn’t want her to wake up at 50 and me be dead and for her to have to say, ‘I wish I hadn’t married Kenny, I could have had kids.'”

When he learned they were expecting twins, Kenny was overjoyed. “It wasn’t just ‘We are going to have a baby.’ It was totally overwhelming,” he expressed.

He admitted keeping up with young kids was tough, saying it felt more like “break” than “make” at times, but called it a true gift. Reflecting on the center, he noted it began in a small house with just a few children and no charge to families. Grateful for his own sons’ health, he said it gave him peace knowing a place like that existed for others.

Three years later, in June 2023, his sons Jordan and Justin reached a milestone of their own when they graduated from high school. A month after graduating, Jordan and Justin, 19, shared how they honor their dad’s memory.

Their weekly tradition is just one of many ways they stay connected to Kenny. Justin shared, “I miss everything about him,” adding:

“He was a really fun dad.”

Kenny captured moments with his twins in “Catchin’ Grasshoppers,” a track on the posthumous album “Life Is Like a Song,” curated by Miller. Jordan teared up hearing it for the first time. Inspired by their dad, Justin learned guitar and Jordan took up drums. Their favorites include “Coward of the County,” “The Gambler,” and “Love Will Turn You Around.”

As they looked ahead, the twins planned to take a gap year to explore their next steps. Their mother Miller sees Kenny in their everyday gestures — hands in pockets or behind their backs — and often tells them, “That was your dad’s look.”