Who is Tricia Lucus? All about Toby Keith's wife and children as country music singer dies at 62

American country music singer and songwriter Toby Keith died at the age of 62 on February 5, 2024, after battling cancer since 2021. The news of his death was announced on social media with a statement that read:

“Toby Keith passed peacefully last night on February 5th, surrounded by his family. He fought his fight with grace and courage. Please respect the privacy of his family at this time."

The I Love This Bar singer had taken a break from performing in the wake of his cancer diagnosis but made a special comeback at the 2023 People's Choice Country Awards, where he received the Country Icon Award.

Toby Keith and his wife Tricia Lucus have been married since 1984, three years after they met at a bar in Oklahoma. They have three children - Shelley, Krystal and Stelen. Toby Keith is survived by his wife, three children and four grandchildren.

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Toby Keith met his wife before he became famous

According to People magazine, Toby Keith and his wife were in a relationship years before the country singer savored the taste of fame. After graduating from high school in 1979, Keith was employed as an oil field worker and moonlighted as a singer at local bars with his band Easy Money Band.

It was at one such bar where he met his future wife Tricia Lucus, who was an oil company secretary at that time. In an interview with People magazine in 2001, she said:

“I was 19 and he was 20. He was just one of those larger-than-life guys, full of confidence.”

They dated for three years and tied the knot in 1984. Lucus had a daughter, four-year-old Shelley Covel Rowland, from a previous relationship, and Keith adopted her the year the couple married. Shelley is said to have two children, but not much is known about her because she is said to avoid the spotlight.

Born in 1985, their second child, Krystal LaDawn Covel Sandubrae, followed in her father's footsteps and became a successful country music artist. In 2013, she released her debut album, Whisky & Lace. She and her husband Drew have two daughters, Kirby and Hensley.

Keith and Lucus' youngest child, Stelen Keith Covel, was born in 1997. As per People Magazine, he flourished as an entrepreneur and businessman, involved with numerous businesses such as Sellout Crowd, 405 Burger Bar, Tequila Chulos, and Hollywood Corners. He and his wife Haley, a travel advisor, own a Siberian Huskey named Dodger.

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Toby Keith was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2021

In June 2022, Toby Keith announced to his social media followers that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021.

According to BBC News, he underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery for his cancer. In a December 2022 press release, he described his cancer as "pretty debilitating."

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Hailing from Oklahoma, the country singer shot to fame in 1993 as his debut single Should've Been a Cowboy became a number-one hit. Penning over 19 studio albums, Keith was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Donald Trump in 2021.