Published by
The Tennessean
Thursday, 12/31/98

BRAD ABOUT YOU Amy Grant, Gary Chapman separating By Brad Schmitt / Tennessean Staff Writer One of Nashville's most prominent couples is separating. Amy Grant and Gary Chapman officially announced their separation yesterday in a short statement. "Gary Chapman and Amy Grant regretfully announce their separation after sixteen years of marriage," they said in a two-sentence press release on letterhead from their management company, Blanton/Harrell Entertainment. "They both ask for your prayers during this sad time and hope that you would respect their privacy." The couple first met at a music industry party held in Grant's honor. Chapman was invited because he wrote My Father's Eyes, which became a major Christian release for her. "I was really taken with her, but so was every other male," he told The Nashville Banner in 1986. "I fell in love pretty much immediately. It was more of a gradual process for her." The couple has not filed for divorce, though music industry insiders have long speculated the parting was imminent. Grant became one of Christian music's biggest performers in the early 1980s, before expanding into pop music with hits such as Baby, Baby and The Lucky One. Through her humanitarian efforts and her annual Christmas concerts, she has become one of Nashville's best-loved public figures. Chapman, also one of the city's most visible personalities, has been host of TNN's Prime Time Country since 1996. He wrote T.G. Sheppard's 1982 country hit Finally and co-wrote Tennessee Christmas with Grant. He achieved prominence as a Christian songwriter while developing as an artist. The couple has three children: Matthew, 11; Millie, 9; and Sarah, 6, named for Sarah Cannon, a.k.a. Minnie Pearl. -- ASSOCIATED PRESS