Kenny Chesney's Girlfriend of 10 Years Is Mary Nolan: What We Know About Their Life

Publish date: 2024-05-17

Kenny Chesney's love life was long linked to his whirlwind romance and wedding to Renée Zellweger. For the past decade, the country crooner has been quietly dating Mary Nolan, with whom he keeps a low profile at his island home.

In December 2022, Kenny Chesney shared that Mary Nolan's dog Ruby had died of cancer. Although heartbreaking, the tribute to the family pet gives fans a rare look into the singer's day-to-day with his long-term partner.

The brunette wore a black fishnet-inspired gown at one of her most significant outings with her famed partner at the 2015 CMA, where she mingled with some of the biggest names in the country music industry, such as Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood.

(L-R) Musical artists Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Kenny Chesney and Mary Nolan during the 50th Academy of Country Music Awards at AT&T Stadium on April 19, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. | Source: Getty Images

Kenny Chesney and Mary Nolan Have Been Dating since 2012

Very little information is publically available about Nolan's personal or professional life, other than it is commonly believed that she started dating Chesney in 2012. Her common name helps her live a quiet life, and she shares it with a drag queen and a Ziegfeld actress of the 30s.

One of the couple's first photographed events was at the 2014 American Country Countdown Awards. The brunette and her partner then sat next to Trisha Yearwood and her husband, Garth Brooks, at the Academy of Country Music Awards (CMA) in 2015.

In a white lace catsuit, Nolan was also seen embracing her boyfriend and giving him a peck on the cheek when he was awarded the Pinnacle Award at the 2016 CMA Awards. She did not walk the red carpet with the lauded singer.

Mary Nolan's Rescue Dog Passed Away

While mourning the death of their beloved dog Ruby, the country crooner made a rare mention of his partner. According to a December 5, 2022, Instagram post, Nolan was the one who adopted the dog from the shelter. Chesney said:

"[Ruby] is forever grateful that Mary saved her from the shelter. But really, they ended up saving each other. […] So bye-bye, Ruby. You were a very good girl. We loved you, and thank you for teaching us how to love unconditionally."

He wrote a song about Ruby, "Da Ruba Girl," which the singer played on his "No Shoes Radio" show. He sings about her close bond with his dog Poncho, who she spent every day with, and has become an anthem for rescue dogs.

He opened up in the post about Ruby being part of his morning ritual, the time they connected. In a follow-up video, the rescue pup licks Chesney's face while he is laughing and not making any moves to make her stop.

The length of the marriage caused less of a sensation than the mention of fraud which led to theories that Chesney misrepresented his sexuality.

The singer adopted his fur baby Poncho in 2012, who turned 11 in 2022. His Goldendoodle does not have his own song, but appears more than any living creature on his social media updates.

Speculation about Kenny's Sexuality

Chesney's low-key love life and speculation on whether he is gay have their roots in the fallout from his first marriage to Hollywood actress Renée Zellweger. A photo of the actress bashfully smiling in a strapless wedding gown while the country groom kissed her hand swiftly went viral in 2005.

The pair came from different sides of the entertainment industry and met at a tsunami relief telethon hosted by NBC in January 2005. At his Jacksonville gig in April 2005, the actress walked onstage with a cocktail and a kiss for her new boyfriend.

The couple married on the beach on the island of St. John in the US Virgin Islands on May 9, 2005, with roughly 30 guests present. A friend of the Hillbilly Rockstar said that the actress was confident that the singer was the right man for her.

Four months later, on September 15, 2005, Zellweger filed for an annulment citing fraud, finalized in December of the same year. The length of the marriage caused less of a sensation than the mention of fraud which led to theories that Chesney misrepresented his sexuality.

The singer said that he thinks people should live the way they please but that he was not homosexual in various interviews. The exes released separate statements and clarified in interviews over the years that fraud was "simply legal language."

The "Fall in Love" crooner admitted to Oprah in 2010 that he had panicked and explained in another interview that he did not know how to balance the marriage and his music. The "Bridget Jones Diary" actress also has not remarried.

Kenny Chesney attends the 64th Annual BMI Country awards on November 1, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee. | Source: Getty Images

Other Women Kenny Chesney Was Linked With

In a 2009 Playboy interview, Kenny Chesney revealed that he had slept with over 100 women. He said he did not have a sex life in college until he picked up a guitar and partied every night while on tour. For the singer, the years between 1993 and 1998 are a "blur."

After the disunion of his marriage to Zellweger, the "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" singer dated Amy Colley, a burn-unit nurse and Miss Tennessee 2005. The pair vacationed in the Bahamas and Malibu during their two-year romance but made no public appearances.

Placeholders for artists Kenny Chesney and Sara Evans are seen in seats during a rehearsal for the 42nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, May 12, 2007, in Las Vegas, Nevada. | Source: Getty Images

Chesney was thought to still be with the former Tennessee beauty queen when he was clocked with ESPN journalist and host Jenn Brown in Cancun in 2010. The TV host is now married to Wes Chatham, with whom she has two children.

The crooner has been rumored to be entangled with country singer Sara Evans who toured with him, which he shot down as "ridiculous." He similarly denied a dalliance with Miranda Lambert, who had her fair share of country drama.