The stormy two-year marriage of country music couple Lorrie Morgan and Sammy Kershaw has come to a violent end, with Lorrie filing for divorce and both seeking restraining orders against each other.
Their bust-up came on the heels of a fight over Lorrie’s 16-year-old son Jesse Whitley, who went hunting with his teenage friends on Kershaw’s farm in Whites Creek, Tenn.
What happened next has all the makings of a great country song!
“Sammy was upset that the teens went hunting on his property without adult supervision,” Rose Palermo, Sammy’s friend and former lawyer, explained.
“He was also upset because the gunshots scared his dog, Honey, who then went missing.”
In her complaint, Lorrie said that during the fight Sammy “slammed me down in a wooden kitchen chair and held me down with strong force and yelled in my face and told me he was going to bite my (expletive) nose off!”
Sammy responded, “I did set her down in a chair by her arms to keep her wrapped up. I did not say I would bite your (expletive) nose off. I said, ‘Do I have to grab you by the (expletive) nose like a bull to stop you?'”
Sammy also charges that Lorrie kicked him in the mouth and “put her chest into mine and bumped me two or three times . . . and tried to provoke me and then she took her hand and (pushed) my face and pushed me back and just tried to provoke me.”
The day after their blowup, Lorrie, 44, filed an order of protection against Sammy on behalf of Jesse and herself.
The order warns Sammy against threatening, calling or stalking Lorrie and Jesse. The following day, Sammy, 45, got an order of protection against Lorrie, charging in court papers that she had assaulted him.
Before going to the courthouse, Sammy locked up his house — but he told police officers that when he returned, he’d let Lorrie in to get her belongings.
Nevertheless, Lorrie — accompanied by several police officers — used a log to smash through a window in Sammy’s house while he was gone. Then with the help of some friends and relatives, she quickly cleared out her stuff before he returned from court.
“Lorrie is a real tough woman,” a Nashville insider told The ENQUIRER.
Lorrie — the daughter of Grand Ole Opry legend George Morgan — has been married five times. She’s also romanced actor and U.S. Senator Fred Thompson and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman.
Her second husband was country music star Keith Whitley, who died of alcohol poisoning in 1989, three years into their marriage.
“Lorrie inherited Keith’s entire publishing rights, which made her a very rich woman,” said the insider. “It allowed her to put out CD after CD.”
Lorrie and Sammy — who’s been married four times — own a Nashville chicken restaurant together and recorded the duets “He Drinks Tequila” and “Maybe Not Tonight.”
“Marrying Sammy, an incredibly talented multi-platinum-selling artist, was a real coup for Lorrie too — especially because he agreed to collaborate with her,” said the insider.
“Sammy and Lorrie are so alike. As soon as he finishes with one marriage, he moves on to the next.
“At first everyone thought that Lorrie and Sammy were perfect for each other. But it’s inevitable that it’s come to this.
“They’re both volatile and just don’t have the patience for long-term relationships.”
The divorce papers, filed by Lorrie on November 4, cite “irreconcilable differences” and “inappropriate marital conduct” as the reasons for the split.
— ROBIN MIZRAHI
