Tragic Details About Carrie Underwood's Life
According to some, Carrie Underwood has lived a fairytale life. She won a nationally televised singing competition that catapulted her into superstardom. She's a Grammy-winning recording artist worth millions and millions of dollars from performing worldwide. She's married to a professional athlete and has two healthy children. She jets off to glamorous locations to sing, then comes home to a stunning estate where she can live a relatively normal life. She had a great childhood and is still close with her family. From the outside, things look pretty good for Underwood.
But fame, money, and success do not guarantee happiness in other aspects of life. Even those with seemingly perfect lives face difficulties, including Underwood. The country music phenomenon has dealt with tough situations most people go through, as well as unique situations that are harder to relate to — but no matter how common the tragedies are, they're still heartbreaking. From unexpected accidents that have completely shifted the musician's life to devastating losses, Underwood has most certainly experienced misfortune. Here are the tragic details about Carrie Underwood's life.
Carrie Underwood has struggled with her body image
Carrie Underwood isn't the first Hollywood star to struggle with her body image and won't be the last. Fame comes with plenty of demons, and when Underwood first found fame after winning "American Idol," she became insecure with her body. "I knew that I weighed more than I had ever weighed before," Underwood told People. In an effort to become more comfortable with how she looked, Underwood fell into some bad habits. "As soon as you start making little tweaks, people immediately go, 'You look so great!' Then you start wondering, 'How bad did I look before?' Then it's like, 'Well, I guess I should keep on going.' Then you start eating less," she said, adding that she also took weight-loss drugs. "It wasn't the best way. If I could go back and talk to myself, I'd be like, 'Here's how you do it the right way.'"
Underwood eventually curbed her unhealthy efforts to get in shape, and now she's the picture of health, known for eating well and having a killer leg routine. Underwood has made money through her passion for working out by designing athletic wear (she's since left the brand she started), developing the app fit52, and writing an accompanying book on health and fitness called "Find Your Path: Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul, and Get Strong with the Fit52 Life." "Physical fitness makes everything else possible," Underwood said in an interview with Women's Health.
She suffered from pregnancy insomnia
Bodies go through a lot during pregnancy, and some of the side effects can be particularly difficult for women. When Carrie Underwood was pregnant with her second child, she experienced pregnancy insomnia, which is a type of sleep deprivation that is caused by pregnancy. Per the Cleveland Clinic, with pregnancy insomnia, "You may have trouble falling (and staying) asleep. Although you're sleeping, the quality of your sleep may be less than what you're used to." Underwood took to X, formerly Twitter, to air her grievances at the time. "Dear pregnancy insomnia, Please go bother someone else...like dads. Go bother dads. My husband sleeps so soundly and peacefully and I've been awake for 2 hours (so far). How is this fair? Imma lose my mind!" she posted at 3:29 a.m.
In addition to facing pregnancy insomnia, Underwood had physical struggles after giving birth, noting that her recovery was longer and more difficult than after her first pregnancy. The country star did find the positive in her pregnancy insomnia, though. As she shared in an interview at the 2020 Country Radio Seminar, "At the time I was writing a lot of the book, I was pregnant, and I had the worst pregnancy insomnia, which actually ended up being a blessing because that's when I wrote the majority of the book — the window from, like, two a.m. to five or six in the morning," (via Daily Mail).
Carrie Underwood had multiple miscarriages
Like many women, Carrie Underwood had difficulty carrying children. After giving birth to her first child, Underwood had three miscarriages. Per the Orlando Health Women's Institute, one in four pregnancies results in a miscarriage. Though common, miscarriages are still devastating, and Underwood and her husband, Mike Fisher, felt the effects firsthand. The miscarriages continued happening while Underwood and Fisher were actively trying to expand their family. After the third, Underwood reached her breaking point. "I just had an honest conversation with God, and I told him how I felt. I was hurt. I was a little angry, and of course, you feel guilty for being mad at your creator," Underwood said in an episode of her and Fisher's web series "Mike and Carrie: God & Country." "I told him ... we needed to have a baby or not, ever, because I couldn't keep going down that road anymore."
Underwood struggled emotionally with the loss of three pregnancies, and she was frustrated with her body. "For my body to not be doing something it was 'supposed to do' was a tough pill to swallow. It reminded me I'm not in control of everything," Underwood said to Women's Health. In the end, Underwood was able to carry a second child to term, and she welcomed her second son in 2019. "Our hearts are full, our eyes are tired and our lives are forever changed. Life is good," Underwood said on Instagram of her son's birth.
She had a horrific tripping accident
Carrie Underwood is known for her incredible musicianship and powerhouse vocals, but she's also known for her looks. The country crooner has been named on People's Most Beautiful list, and she was once voted the World's Sexiest Vegetarian, according to PETA supporters. But in 2017, Underwood's physical appearance was at risk of changing after she seriously injured herself in an accident. "I was taking the dogs out and just tripped. I went to catch myself and just missed a step. If I had fallen anywhere else, I would be perfectly fine, but it was one step that messed everything up," Underwood said on the "Bobby Bones Show" of her accident.
In the accident, Underwood broke her wrist and cut her face. To heal, the singer underwent surgery on her wrist, and she had to have 40 to 50 stitches in her face. Not only did the facial stitches threaten to change how she looked, but they also affected her singing career. "I had wanted to be in the studio sooner than I was, actually recording these songs, but I had stitches inside my mouth, outside my mouth. It was physically impossible," Underwood told Vulture of the aftermath of her accident. Underwood added that she worried about aspects of singing like sound and diction, but ultimately she was able to perform to the same caliber as before her fall.
It took a while for Carrie Underwood to heal after her accident
Healing from any surgery is not a quick process, especially when your appearance is involved. After Carrie Underwood fell and injured herself, the singer had to let her wrist and face recover, and it took some time. As for her wrist, after the initial surgery, which left the singer with a metal piece inside her arm, Underwood had to follow up with physical therapy and X-rays to ensure her body healed properly. Underwood's facial injuries, however, had her a little more concerned. The Grammy winner took to her fan club to share a letter with more details about the fall, as well as a warning. "I honestly don't know how things are going to end up ... When I am ready to get in front of a camera, I want you all to understand why I might look a bit different," Underwood said, as reported by Entertainment Tonight.
The aftermath of the injury also affected Underwood's work schedule. The singer had to cancel an appearance at the Country Rising Festival because of the fall. But Underwood saw the bright side, and as she shared on the "Bobby Bones Show," the timing of the fall worked to her benefit in the healing process. "I was lucky that when it happened, everything was kind of shutting down in the music world, and we had the holidays and stuff like that," she said.
She's gone through marital struggles
Marriage can be difficult, but it's far more difficult when both parties are in the public eye. Despite being committed to one another, Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher had some bumps in the road in the past. "They had their share of struggles behind closed doors, specifically when Mike was still playing hockey, and they were having a hard time balancing their careers and home life. But there were still rough patches after his [2018] retirement, too," a source said of the couple to Life & Style.
The struggles reportedly returned in late 2023 after Underwood agreed to extend her Las Vegas residency into 2024. "He's very traditional, and while he loves that Carrie has a career, he believes her role as a wife and a mother should be a priority. Mike just wants Carrie to come home ... Carrie did consult with Mike about committing to more residency dates," a source told Ok! Magazine about the riff. To make things more pressing, Fisher and Underwood have reportedly been at odds over whether to have another child. According to sources, Fisher would like to have a third child, but Underwood is happy with two, especially after losing multiple pregnancies. The singer has also apparently stated that she does not want to have a child through alternative routes, like IVF or surrogacy, leaving the couple at a standstill in the issue.
Carrie Underwood was broken up with via text
Though Carrie Underwood is in a loving and committed relationship now and has been for over 10 years, it took some trial and error before Underwood found the right man. The singer dated multiple men in Hollywood before meeting her husband, and the relationships didn't always end well. For example, Underwood dated "Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford in the mid-to-late '00s. As she shared with Extra, "We broke up over text, so ... it's like 'peace out'" (via People). Despite the unsavory way they separated, Underwood didn't hold any negativity toward Crawford. "It just didn't work. We both knew it didn't work and [had] no hard feelings at all whatsoever ... I don't dislike him, so it's no big deal," she said.
Crawford wasn't Underwood's only public breakup. The singer also dated former football star Tony Romo, but Underwood didn't have quite as good things to say about Romo as she did Crawford when all was said and done. Although she's never been specific about what went wrong between them, when asked whether she wrote her song "Cowboy Casanova" about Romo, Underwood told Esquire, "No. I would never immortalize a guy that did me wrong. I would never give him that much credit." But all's well that ends well, and Underwood completed her fairytale with a lavish wedding to Mike Fisher.
Her beloved dog died
Carrie Underwood loves animals. The country star has abstained from eating meat since she was 13 years old after seeing cows on her family farm be neutered, and she's advocated for animal rights for much of her career. "I don't think enough people stand up for animals. My heart goes out to them because, to me, every single animal has a heart and a mind and a soul," Underwood once said in an interview with Reader's Digest (via Shark Online).
Given her affinity for animals and care for animal rights, Underwood has unsurprisingly cared for many pets of her own. In 2022, tragedy struck when her pet dog Ace died. "He was there for me when I was on my own trying to figure out life when it was at its craziest! He was with me through 3 houses, 6 tours and 2 kids...always ready to snuggle and play...through all the highs and lows. He was a true friend and a good boy till the very end," Underwood said of her dog on Instagram. Underwood wasn't left without any animals when Ace died, but she added another pet to her brood not too long afterward. Not even a year later, Underwood adopted a dog named Charlie from the Pawsitive Impact NC Dog Rescue, noting that she and her family had been actively searching for a new furry friend.
Carrie Underwood has lost multiple industry friends
The country music world isn't too big, and most stars get to know each other well. Whether from listening to each other's music, collaborating on projects, or just running in the same circles, country musicians form close bonds, and the community takes it hard when they lose someone. Carrie Underwood is one of country music's biggest stars, and she's lost multiple friends in the industry since starting her career. The year 2020 did not get off to a good start for anyone, but it was especially tough for Underwood as she lost one of her musical inspirations, Kenny Rogers. "Country music has lost one of its pillars...sing with the angels and talk to God, Kenny. Bless you for being a part of so many lives," Underwood wrote on Instagram after his death. Later that year, Underwood also mourned the death of Charlie Daniels.
Just a couple years later, Underwood marked the loss of gospel singer Deborah McCrary. Then, in 2024, Underwood joined the entire country music community in grieving Toby Keith. "Saddle up the horses, Jesus, 'cause a true blue COWBOY just made his ride up to heaven!!! Introduce him to all the Okies and sign that boy up for the choir! We're gonna miss you, Toby, but my heart has no doubt that you are standing in the presence of our King right now!!! See you again someday, friend," Underwood shared online.
She also lost her childhood friend
Carrie Underwood is clearly no stranger to death, and she's lost people she's met as an adult, as well as people she knew when she was a kid. In 2018, Underwood lost a childhood friend, police officer Justin Durrett, after he was injured in a car accident. Durrett did not die upon impact, and a GoFundMe was created in the wake of his accident to help his family pay for subsequent medical expenses. Underwood donated $10,000 to the cause, but sadly, Durrett died about two weeks after the accident from the injuries sustained. Aside from contributing to the fund, Underwood did not publicly acknowledge Durrett's passing.
The following year, Underwood lost another friend, Michael James Ryan Busbee. Underwood met Busbee, an illustrious country music producer, through the industry, and she worked with him on her and Keith Urban's song "The Fighter." "I was lucky enough to get to write and work with @busbee. So talented...always kind...taken from this earth far, far too soon. Some things just don't make sense. Please keep his family in your prayers," Underwood posted after his death. Busbee died at just 43 years old, months after being diagnosed with a fatal form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.