Tim grew up thinking that his step-father was his biological father. He grew up with him and the rest of his family in Louisiana in the small town of Start. When Betty and Tim’s father divorced, Betty finally shared with Tim the truth about his roots.
Tim shared with Country Weekly why he didn’t establish a relationship with his father until he was older: “I felt like I was a man now and I needed to face him and try to work things out. Plus, it just was the right time to pursue it, to ask some questions.”
He Never Knew
Tim’s father was Frank “Tug” McGraw, a former relief pitcher in the New York Mets. Tug is remembered for coining one of fans’ favorite phrase, “ya gotta believe,” which became a popular rallying cry for the Mets.
Tug briefly dated Betty D’Agostino, and shortly after, the country sensation Tim McGraw was born. He later wrote a biography called “Ya Gotta Believe” in which he discloses that he never had a chance to be a father to Tim because D’Agostino left him without revealing her pregnancy.
Wouldn’t Recognize Him
While Tug wasn’t willing to recognize Tim as his son until he was 17, the two were nonetheless able to develop a close relationship.
Tim found out that his stepfather was not his biological only at the age of 11, so we’re sure he had to deal with a lot of emotional and mental baggage until he was able to develop a relationship with his birth father.
Untimely Parting
When Tim gained a second father in Tug, he also gained a few more siblings. From Tug’s previous relationship with his first wife Phyllis Kline, he had a son named Mark and a daughter named Carrie. From his second wife Diane Hovenkamp-Robertson he had a son named Matthew.
Tug also had two stepsons names Christopher and Ian Hovenkamp. Tim definitely had a lot of unresolved issues to deal and he says that it took the death of his feather for him to truly understand the role that Faith played in his life.
She Was His Rock
In an interview that Tug and Tim gave in honor of Father’s Day, Tug stated “Timmy has a passion for what he’s doing, he has a passion for life, when it came to my baseball career, I was really into the intricacies of baseball, trying to take it to an art form and I see Timmy doing that with his music. Tim is very particular in his choice of music. I have tremendous admiration for him.”
After Tug passed away, Faith was there wholeheartedly.