WHAT Faith wants, Faith gets! Tim McGraw has agreed to wife Faith Hill’s wishes to sell his fabulous dream estate, believing it will put the couple’s 16-year marriage back on solid ground, say friends.
In 2001, the pair shelled out nearly $14 million for two parcels of land to create their own 750-acre Shangri-La a half-hour outside Nashville.
THEY SPENT ANOTHER FIVE years making it Tim’s personal playground – complete with a shooting range, stocked fishing hole and a massive barn to hold his huge collection of cars and motorcycles.
But the couple surprised friends in late July by putting the sprawling, Franklin, Tenn., estate on the market for $20 million.
“Considering all the effort they put into making this one of the grandest spreads in Tennessee, it’s pretty shocking,” an insider told The ENQUIRER.
But a friend of the country superstars confided that the place always felt more like home to 46-year-old McGraw than to his stunning 45-year-old wife and that she wanted a simplified life for herself, Tim and their three daughters Gracie, 16, Maggie, 14, and Audrey, 11.
“Tim just loves the property, but Faith grew disenchanted with it,” revealed the friend.
“He’s on the road performing concerts up to six months a year, and Faith and the girls are often left rattling around the 12,000-square-foot house and the huge grounds.
“And when Tim is home, he’s so busy tending to the place and playing with his big boy’s toys she hardly even knows he’s back.
“But Faith finally convinced him the huge estate was consuming them and their marriage.
“It breaks his heart to sell it. The home represented all the success they’ve had and everything he ever dreamed of while growing up poor in Louisiana.”
And this isn’t the first time the couple has sold a home at Faith’s urging.
The family once made Beverly Hills their main residence as both singers pursued acting careers and their Tennessee mansion was undergoing massive renovation. But they sold their California home in 2010 for $9.5 million.
“Tim got acting work,” said a pal. “But Faith’s acting career never really took off and she didn’t want to be in California any longer.”
Insiders say Tim is perfectly content to let his no-nonsense wife call the shots.
After the heavy-drinking star swore off booze a few years ago, he pleased Faith by getting rid of band members who’d been with him since he hit the big time in the mid-1990s.
“Faith feared they were going to lead him back into temptation,” disclosed the pal.
“Now, some of Tim’s friends think she’s too domineering. But he just shrugs and says, ‘This woman keeps me away from my own worst instincts.’” At least Faith’s latest decision won’t leave them without a place to hang their cowboy hats.
The couple also has an upscale luxury home in Nashville and a cozy retreat in the Bahamas.
