Darius Rucker and his wife, Beth Leonard, have decided to split up after 20 years of marriage. Darius shared a message on social media on Saturday (July 11th) writing in part, “Beth and I would like to share that after much reflection we have made the decision to consciously uncouple. We remain close friends and parenting partners and continue to be each other's biggest cheerleaders . . . Please be kind as we take on this journey, and we thank you for your love and support always.”
Darius and Beth have two children together, 19-year-old daughter Daniella and 15-year-old son Jack. Darius also has a 25-year-old daughter, Caroline, from a previous relationship.
On Friday (July 10th), Darius appeared on NBC's Today show where he publicly spoke for the first time about experiencing racism and how the death of George Floyd was the catalyst for him keeping silent no longer.
Darius told Today's Harry Smith, “I've lived with racism my whole life. It made me realize I can't keep living my life like everything's OK because everything is not OK.”
He shared his experiences of being told by program directors that because he's black, radio wasn't going to play his music. He said, “I can't live like that anymore. I can't just go, 'It's OK,' and go on with my life and let somebody say something that I know they shouldn't say.”
Darius also admitted there's a risk to his career in speaking out and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, but he said that's a chance he's will to take, adding, “I'm sure I've already lost fans.”
He will release a new single to country radio called “Beers And Sunshine” in August.
