Tim McGraw Had To Get 'The Nerve' To Ask Faith Hill To Play Wife On 'Yellowstone'

Sarah Kester
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on set of 1883
People | Paramount Plus

Tim McGraw and his wife, Faith Hill, are no strangers to collaborating.

They've done so musically several times, starting all the way back in 1996. But when it came to collaborating on Yellowstone, the gritty drama about ranching families in Montana, Tim got extremely nervous about asking Hill to play his wife.

So much so that he waited three whole days!

In case you've been living under a rock, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have been married for 25 years.

Faith Hill & Tim McGraw
Getty | KMazur

The country superstars first met in 1994 backstage at a Country Radio seminar. The connection between them was instantaneous, even though McGraw had a girlfriend at the time.

But the attraction between Tim McGraw and Faith Hill was too much to handle.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill kissing
instagram | The Tim McGraw

"For me, there was an intense physical attraction. I guess my girlfriend saw it in my eyes. She said, ‘I don't want you around her.'"

Eventually, the pair started dating. They talked about how this all came about during a visit on The Bobby Bones Show in Nashville.

It turns out that Tim made several attempts to ask her out.

Tim McGraw
Giphy | The Voice

The final attempt that won her over was when he brought her homemade chicken and dumplings!

"He said, 'I made these myself. They're homemade from scratch,'" Faith recalled. He must've known that the way to a girl's heart is through her stomach!

Twenty-five years and three daughters later and the pair are still crazy in love.

They've even collaborated musically several times, beginning in 1996 when Tim asked his then-fiancé to open for him on his first headlining tour.

It wasn't long before they were singing on stage together and even sharing kisses in front of the crowd.

These days, the couple is collaborating in a much different way: on the small screen.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on set of 1883
People | Paramount Plus

They play James and Margaret, patriarch and matriarch of the Dutton family, on 1883, a prequel Yellowstone.

It follows the Dutton family as they flee their poverty-filled life in Texas and embark on a journey to a brighter future in Montana.

While McGraw stars alongside Sam Elliot, Billy Bob Thorton, and Isabel May, he was most nervous to act in front of his wife.

Tim McGraw
Giphy | CMA Awards

Asking her to be on the show with him even took three days of courage!

This came about after series writer and Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan came to McGraw with an offer to be on the Yellowstone. He said that he always pictured McGraw for the part of James.

McGraw was on a few flashback 'Yellowstone' episodes before this snowballed into '1883.'

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
ABC | Paramount Plus

“Taylor called and goes, ‘Hey man, I want you to be in Yellowstone. You’re going to play the original Dutton who founded the Yellowstone ranch,” McGraw recalled in an interview, per CMT.

“He said, ‘You’re also going to have a wife. Do you think Faith would be interested in playing your wife?’”

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
Giphy | Forever Country (CMA)

After finally working up the courage to ask her, Faith happily accepted. “She said sure, ‘I’d be glad to do it. It’d be fun,’” McGraw continued.

“So, we did two flashback episodes. The first thing we shot, it was just so much fun."

He continued: "We’re going so fast, and the shootout was so great. I remember gettin’ off the horse and walkin’ around going, ‘I don’t care if I do any other film for the rest of my life, I wanna do westerns from now on.’”

This wish came true when '1883' was developed into its own standalone show, which premiered in December on Paramount Plus.

Tim McGraw
instagram | The Tim McGraw

A large reason why Tim and Faith work so well as a married couple on the show is that they're such a strong couple in real life.

“We found a part of what makes our relationship solid and magnify that [in the show],” McGraw explained in a behind-the-scenes interview.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
instagram | The Tim McGraw

“I think it really works well for our relationship on-screen and off-screen," he continued.

Keep watching 1883 to see how the couple's TV-life relationship works out!

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