Willie Nelson has opened up about when he had an affair which resulted in one of his children. The affair was something his wife knew knowing about. But the country legend is speaking about all areas of his life in a new docuseries.
The country music star has been married four times and has eight children from various romantic entanglements. However, it was during his second marriage to Shirley Collie where he began an affair with a woman named Connie Nelson who ultimately became pregnant. Shirley brutally found out he had been going behind her back after she discovered hospital bills which were for the birth of a baby girl. Willie Nelson said he “regrets” the hurt he caused for his three ex-wives in the new documentary.
Willie Nelson discusses his affair in new series
In the Paramount+ series, the 90-year-old recounts his life and long career that has spanned decades. But Willie Nelson also gets personal about various subjects, including cheating on his wife.
His daughter, Paula, was born in 1969 at a hospital in Texas to his mistress, and it was in paying for her medical bill his unfaithfulness was discovered.
It turned out Willie Nelson had been having the affair for some time before the newborn’s arrival.
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“Shirley wanted to know who in the hell was Connie Nelson,” remembered Willie. “The truth is Connie had been my girlfriend for several years before becoming pregnant.”
He divorced Shirley two years later in 1971 and didn’t waste any time in wedding Connie as they were married the same year.
It ‘brought us together’
In the docuseries, Connie and two of the celebrity‘s five daughters, Paula and Lana, were interviewed about Willie Nelson’s affair. Paula claimed it “brought us together”, though Connie says she was aware she was “the next one” in the line of his wives.
Lana, 70, was born to his first wife Martha Matthews in 1953. She explained the first time her stepmom learned of Willie Nelson’s affair, so did she.
She explains: “She had no idea there was a Connie. She had no idea there was a baby until she got the hospital bill. That’s how she found out about Connie. That’s how I found out about Connie.”
Paula, 54, called her mom “the new girlfriend, then wife” and said her older siblings found it “hard.” She added: “We’re all close. That’s dad’s doing. He brought us together as one big tribe.”
“Anyway, it happened,” Connie, now 84, explained. “Honestly, I was the next one, and I don’t mean that in a bad way … I bonded with those kids so much. I loved those kids. They all became my kids, too.”
Connie and Willie divorced after 17 years in 1988.
On his romances, marriages, and affairs, Willie Nelson said: “I’ve always said there’s no such thing as a former wife. Once in your life, a wife never leaves. I regret the pain I caused Connie, and Martha and Shirley before her. I have no excuses.
“I’d be hard-pressed to define love. I know God’s love is pure, but worldly love is flawed love, and lots of times confused love. When it came to romance, I had a gift for complicating things…”
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