Country singer Rory Feek marries his daughter’s teacher 8 years after the death of his wife Joey

Rory Feek has remarried almost a decade after the tragic death of his wife Joey.

The 59-year-old country singer shared on his blog that he and Rebecca were married on July 14 “under a beautiful half-timbered gazebo” in Greycliff, Montana, in front of family and friends who made the long trip on short notice. In a post on his blog aptly titled “the wedding singer,” Rory shared how he and Rebecca finally decided that marriage was actually on the cards, all thanks to Rory and Joey’s 10-year-old daughter Indiana.

Rory has said for some time that “Indiana saw Rebecca as just ‘Miss Rebecca,’ her teacher and our friend.” He added, “And even though she had become much more than that to me, I was very careful to let Indy ‘figure that out’ on his own.”

Rory said he wondered if “Indiana would ever get the idea that Rebecca could be more than just a friend to her dad and to her.”

Not only did Indiana find out, she practically arranged the wedding.

As Rory tells it, it happened in March when Rebecca dropped Indy off at school. And just moments later, something magical happened. Rebecca came home with Indiana and Rory says she told him, “Indiana just asked me something I think you should hear.” Rebecca said Indiana told her, “‘Ms. Rebecca, I think you should marry Daddy.'”

While Indiana was present during this conversation, Rory looked at him and said, “And I told Miss Rebecca that my mom has been gone for a long time. And if she marries you, maybe she could be my new mother.”

That sweet moment, Rory says, brought tears to his eyes.

At their wedding, Rory surprised Rebecca by singing “I Do,” inspired by Rebecca’s unparalleled love. The ceremony and his performance were captured on video and shared on his YouTube channel. But the picturesque event and surprise song weren’t even Rory’s favorite part of the special day.

“And while it was wonderful to surprise Rebecca by singing a song I wrote for her at the wedding, I think that moment was by far my and her favorite moment of the wedding,” said Rory, who also has two daughters. Heidi and Hopiefrom a previous relationship. “When Indiana got the gift of having a mom in her life again. And Rebecca got the gift of being a mother. And we became a family.”

Joey Feek, one half of the country and bluegrass duo Joey + Rory, died on March 4, 2016. after a battle against cervical and colon cancerShe was 40. Almost a year after Joey’s death, the duo won a GRAMMY for Best Roots Gospel Album for their album, Songs that are important to us. At the 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards, Rory gave an emotional acceptance speech in memory of his deceased wife.

Two months after this emotional GRAMMY win, Joey’s solo album, If not for you (recorded in 2005) was released posthumously Capitol Christian Distribution and Universal Music, as well as Rory, the album’s co-producer and Joey’s songwriting partner.

“When this album was recorded in 2005, Joey and I were newlyweds, or at least we felt that way,” Rory shared in a press release. “Although we had hopes for the record at the time, it was not meant to be, and so this collection of music has been sitting quietly on a shelf for the last 10 years or so, waiting for the right time when maybe someone would be interested in it. A time like now.”

“It’s one of the greatest joys of my life to bring these songs back and breathe new life into them,” he added. “Not just the songs, but the stories and the lives of the special women these songs represent.”

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