When a country star gets married, it's front page news. Not only do their friends and family members want to know every detail--so do their many fans. One of country's most famous band members--Rascal Flatts' guitarist Joe Don Rooney--recently married his sweetheart, Tiffany Fallon. Joe Don spoke to GACTV.com just before he and Tiffany tied the knot. Understandably, he was mum on the details of the ceremony, preferring to keep their special day as exclusive as possible.
"All I can say is, it's not in the United States and it's pretty small," he said. "We're going to have just family and friends. It's a small get-together. But I can tell you, it's definitely on the beach!"
And it was. Joe Don and Tiffany--2005's Playboy Playmate of the Year--were married on Sunday, April 23, 2006 in a romantic beach ceremony at The One & Only Palmilla Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Tiffany was radiant in her strapless Monique L'Huiller gown. It was an intimate ceremony attended by family and friends, who gathered on the beach located on the Baja Peninsula. Joe Don and the other two members of Rascal Flatts--Gary LeVox (lead singer) and Jay DeMarcus (bassist) performed songs during the post-wedding evening celebrations.
Yet even though Joe Don kept mum about wedding details, he did share a few tidbits with GACTV.com pre-wedding about why he fell for Tiffany, as well as gave insight on marriage and how he and his fellow bandmates make their respective unions work in perfect harmony.
"God bless the cell phone!" exclaims Joe Don when asked for the secret to making his often long-distance relationship work. "If we didn't have cell phones or e-mail or text messages, I don't know what we'd do. It's changed so much from the way it used to be, when bands used to have to jump into RVs and rough it all the way across the United States. They'd have to wait until they got to a pay phone to call home. I can't believe communication has gotten so good through the years.
"Tiffany and I try to talk to each other as much as we can," he adds. "It might only be for 10 seconds, because I might only have time that moment to say, 'Hi, bye, I love you, I'll call you later.' But as long as that connection is there throughout the day, three or four times, it's okay. Sometimes we've gone a couple of days without talking to each other. It's difficult. But we both know what we're doing away from each other. We've got that commitment to each other and we trust each other. I think it's very important to have that built up in your relationship. That's what gets us through. And we know the times we are going to get to spend together are that much sweeter, when we haven't seen each other in so long."
Time apart is unfortunately the norm for this newlywed, as Rascal Flatts prepares to continue the second leg of their tour in support of their multi-platinum album, Me And My Gang. Joe Don credits the wives of Rascal Flatts with being the glue that holds everyone together.
"It takes a special woman to put up with a dumb musician, you know?" he jokes. "It's been amazing to see, especially Gary, who has two kids now. He's basically had kids the whole time we've been touring the last six years. He's gone through a lot, and for he and his wife Tara to balance it all out—I think it's hats off to the women. They're the ones who've kept things working. Tara and Jay's wife Allison have been the reason why it does work."
And now add Tiffany to the Rascal Flatts' wives club. The aspiring actress is equally as busy with her burgeoning career. She's frequently in Los Angeles auditioning for television pilots--and country fans have already seen her star turn in the Toby Keith video, "Who's Your Daddy."
"She's a wonderful woman, and she's a hard worker," says Joe Don of his bride. "She does a lot, a tremendous amount of stuff. That's one of the things I love about her—her work ethic. She's not afraid to dig in and do some work."
With Rascal Flatts tour going through the end of 2006, Joe Don's work continues. "We love music and we love to be on the road and play shows," he says. "We love what we do for a living and we want to wrap ourselves up in it as much as possible. This is the time of our lives right now. We're young, we’re prosperous, we’re happy. We're willing to work hard. This is the time of our lives to get it right now. These are the days we're going to look back on and have wonderful memories from. And at the same time, our wives are right there behind us, pushing us along the way to go get what we want. That's special to have that. We're blessed guys, for sure."