Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert Divorce: ‘Sangria’ Singer Once Said First Divorce As Difficult As Brother Richie’s Death

Country singer Blake Shelton, who parted ways with second wife Miranda Lambert Monday, had once said that coping up with his first divorce was as difficult as the death of his brother Richie.

Richie was killed in a car accident in 1990, and 16 years later, Shelton divorced Kaynette Gern, his wife of three years. "That was easily the toughest thing that I've been through. I put my divorce up there with my brother's death. That was a tough, tough call to make," Shelton reportedly said last November.

Shelton was still married to Gern when he first met Lambert in 2005 at CMT's 100 Greatest Duets Concert in Nashville, Tennessee. A year later he divorced Gern.

Now, after his divorce with Lambert, the 39-year-old is yet to make a public response about the recent rumors. There was speculation that Shelton cheated on Lambert, but, according to sources, Shelton dismissed the rumors. Sources later said that Lambert cheated on Shelton twice, following which the blame game began.

The couple, who married in 2011, also signed a prenuptial agreement. They did not give any reason for their separation. “This is not the future we envisioned,” they reportedly said in a statement Monday. "And it is with heavy hearts that we move forward separately. We are real people, with real lives, with real families, friends and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compassion concerning this very personal matter."