Darius Rucker Says Divorce ‘Hurts’ but He and Ex Beth Are ‘Still a Family’: ‘She’s a Great Human Being’ (Exclusive)

When Darius Rucker and his spouse Beth break up in 2020 after 20 years of marriage, he turned to songwriting to assist course of his emotions.

“You attempt to categorical these emotions, and it’s laborious to say and it’s laborious to place that on paper,” Rucker, 57, tells PEOPLE on this week’s concern. “You attempt to do it as actual as you may. I’m not a giant talk-to-you man, however I can sit down and write a music about it.”

Rucker — who discovered a house for a few of these private songs on Carolyn’s Boy, his first album in six years — and Beth, 56, introduced their break up in July 2020, saying on the time that they’d stay “shut buddies and parenting companions.” The 2 share daughter Daniela, 22, and son Jack, 18 (Rucker can be dad to daughter Carolyn, 28, from a earlier relationship).

Three-and-a-half years on, the musician, who says he’s “not formally divorced but,” maintains that he and his ex stay a household unit, irrespective of their relationship standing.

“That stuff hurts and you’re feeling like a failure,” Rucker says of divorce. “However we’re nonetheless a household—a chunk of paper is just not going to alter that. We’re nonetheless a household, and that’s all as a result of Beth is superior. She is aware of it’s the perfect for the youngsters, and she or he’s an awesome human being.”

The Hootie & the Blowfish frontman provides that courting is the furthest factor from his thoughts in the meanwhile, and he stays targeted on his three kids.

“I’m not occupied with that proper now,” he says. “I’m simply making an attempt to be the perfect dad I could be for these grown children.”

For Rucker, being a very good dad has all the time been his prime precedence, as his personal father wasn’t current. Rucker was raised by his late mother Carolyn, and although his dad lived down the road from him and his siblings, was by no means round.

“It was powerful rising up with no dad. I hated it,” he says. “I had loads of nice father figures in my life, however not having him there was s—ty, and I don’t ever need my children to not know the place their dad is or how they’ll get in contact with him, as a result of I by no means knew easy methods to get in contact with mine.”

He continues: “With a job like mine, you journey so much, however the one factor is, [my children] all the time know the place I’m. I believe that’s immediately from the truth that I by no means knew the place [my father] was.”

The three-time Grammy winner says all three of his children can sing, however Jack and Daniela need to observe in dad’s musical footsteps — regardless of Rucker’s finest intentions.

“My two youngest need to be within the enterprise, however they’re all gifted,” he says. “I needed them to be medical doctors and legal professionals!”

He provides that his children do an awesome job of maintaining him grounded, and although they get pleasure from his music, don’t pay any particular thoughts to the gig.

“They really don’t give a s— what I do for a dwelling. I’m nothing particular. I’m their dad,” he says. “They love my music, they usually assume it’s cool, however they’ll nonetheless be at a present, and I’ll stroll out of the again of my bus, they usually’ll go, ‘Dad, are you going to put on that?’ They love letting me know that I’m a dork, and I like them for it.”

For extra on Darius Rucker, decide up the most recent concern of PEOPLE, on newsstands in all places Friday.