Kenny Rogers’ Rocky Marriage to Ex-Wife Margo Discussed on A&E Special

A&E Biography is celebrating country music legend Kenny Rogers, whose third wife was Margo Anderson. Rogers wrote in his autobiography that he and Margo “had an explosive relationship right from the start.”

“When it was good, it could not have been better,” Rogers said, as noted by CheatSheet. “But when it was bad—stand back… She loved to regurgitate problems, things that happened from years before.”

Rogers said most of their fights were about money.

“Once I heard, ‘do you remember,’ I knew what was coming next and I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. There is no question I must have overreacted at that point. She had strong opinions about things I didn’t even recall, and she could remember the smallest details. If I had to guess, most of the arguments we had at that point were about money, which was pretty typical of people of that age.”

Rogers has said his music career was to blame for his failed marriages, but he did put the blame on Anderson for starting fights. “I don’t ever like to blame someone else, but in this case, [the fights] were all her fault,” he wrote in her autobiography. “The good news is, I didn’t have to remember any of my shortcomings because she did and didn’t hesitate to remind me.”

Rogers and ex-wife Margo Anderson were married for 11 years. While they were together, they had one child, a son named Kenny. He is now 50 years old.

Rogers was married five times, with each marriage lasting longer than the first. Anderson and Rogers started dating in July 1963 and married the following year. A little over a decade later, the couple decided to call it quits.

Rogers Wrote Anderson Was ‘Mensa Smart’

He and Anderson met at the Bunny Club, a Houston, Texas-based gentlemen’s club. Anderson made an impression. “She was different from anyone I had ever met,” wrote Rogers. “Not only was she beautiful, she was smart. I mean Mensa smart.”

Rogers, who had just divorced from second wife Jean Rogers, was on the market and he didn’t mind being seduced by Anderson. “To say the least, I was susceptible, so I let Margo take full advantage of me,” wrote Rogers.

Unlike his first marriage to Janice Gordon, where her parents didn’t approve of the nuptials, Rogers got along well with Anderson’s parents. “Her father was like an old salt—Scandinavian, I think. A big guy with a heart of gold. Her mom, Doris, gave you the feeling that she knew the whole story about life in general,” he wrote. “I really loved Margo’s parents.”

Rogers also maintained the he truly loved every woman he married. “This may seem like an absurd statement, but every woman I married, I really loved when I married her,” he told Reuters in 2012.

“And I don’t blame them for the marriage falling apart. I blame myself and my chosen field of music. That’s why I say that music is a mistress because you can’t wait to get out there to it, and usually, the mistress wins in a situation like that,” he continued. “That’s kind of what happened to me. Hey, you can’t say I’m afraid of commitment. I’ve been married five times.”

The Documentary Will Featured Star-Studded Interviews

A&E is remembering him with a two-hour documentary called Biography: Kenny Rogers. It premieres April 13 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on A&E. It will feature interviews with celebrities like Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Chris Stapleton, Reba McEntire, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum, Jamey Johnson and more.

“Our A&E Biography documentary on Kenny Rogers, captures the love, emotion, and electricity in the room from our star-studded All In For the Gambler concert tribute to Kenny, but it all also provides personal insights, never before seen footage and interviews throughout his life, and of course includes his final interview and performances with dear friend Dolly Parton, making this amongst the most compelling music documentaries of the year,” executive producer Keith Wortman said in a statement via Billboard.

“We are privileged to produce and present this with A&E in Kenny’s honor and memory,” he added.

READ NEXT: Kenny Rogers’ Spouses, Girlfriends & Dating History