George Strait remains haunted by the tragic death of his teenage daughter more than 30 years ago, and friends fear his sorrow puts such a strain on his marriage that he and wife Norma may split!
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Strait — country music’s all-time top hit-maker with an astounding 60 No. 1 songs — has soldiered on in his 45-year union to Norma, despite once saying of his marriage, “It’s a struggle sometimes.” And
The National ENQUIRER learned from a friend that it’s largely because George “really built walls around himself” after the June 25, 1986, death of the couple’s only daughter,
Jenifer.
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The teen was riding in a car with three pals when the driver took a curve at an excessive rate of speed, overturning the vehicle. Jenifer was ejected from an open window and died of her injuries. “Every year when the anniversary of Jenifer’s death comes up, it just devastates George,” the friend reveals.
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“Norma and George were married while they were still in their teens, but even today, she doesn’t always know how to talk to him about it, how to console him, when she’s dealing with her own heartache," the friend continued. "George closes himself off so much, Norma wonders if he wouldn’t just rather be on his own. You just pray they can hold their family together.”
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Another insider notes that George was “once as gregarious a guy as you’d ever want to meet,” but became reclusive after his daughter’s death — even as he continued to sell out stadiums and pile up country hits like “Check Yes or No.”
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He refuses nearly all interview requests and has largely kept to himself at his sprawling Cotulla, Tex., ranch. “I got real private after I lost my daughter,” George admits. “That’s when I really shut things down. I didn’t feel like talking to anybody that wasn’t really close to me.”
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But even the woman who’s nearest to him has had trouble breaking through, according to the insider. “Norma feels like their lives have been so blessed in so many other ways they have to count those blessings,” the source reveals.
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“But George can go into a dark place where you can’t get through to him," the source continued. "I know she’s felt she has beaten her head against a wall so many times since Jenifer’s death, but that real breakthrough with George just never came.”
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George has continued to honor the memory of their lost daughter. Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in 2012, he penned the song “I Believe” with his son, George Jr. (left) — also known as Bubba — and dedicated the emotional tune to all parents who have lost a child.
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“You know, it’s just the worst thing that can happen to you in your life, to lose a child,” George says. “There’s nothing worse than that.” The family also founded the
Jenifer Strait Memorial Foundation, which raises money for children’s charities.
Photo credit: Getty Images/http://straitfever.homestead.com/rememberingjenifer
