LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Kenny Rogers’ twin sons, whom he shared with his fifth wife Wanda Miller, recently graduated from high school. The news of their academic achievement was shared on Rogers’ Instagram account. “Kenny always said ‘Friendships come and go, but families are forever.’ Indeed. Kenny & Wanda's twin sons, Justin and Jordan, graduated from high school this past Friday,” the post read.
“Please join us in congratulating them on this landmark achievement! Way to go, guys! Have fun and enjoy the ride…and may all your dreams in life come true!” it added. Rogers had his youngest children with Miller, who was younger to him by nearly two decades. The country singer once shared that even Miller’s parents were two years younger than him and hence not happy to see them together. However, they eventually mended their relationship and became friends. The twins were only 15 years old when Rogers died.
Kenny Rogers’ children
During his lifetime, Rogers married five times and had five children. He welcomed his first child, daughter Carole Lynne, with his first wife Janice Gordon. The singer’s second child, son Kenny Rogers Jr, was with his third wife, Margo Anderson. Then, he welcomed another son, Christopher Cody Rogers, with his fourth wife, Marianne Gordon. His youngest children, twin sons Justin and Jordan, were born to his fifth and final wife, Wanda.
While not much is known about Rogers’ daughter, his son Kenny Jr has reportedly worked as a composer on movie soundtracks such as ‘Shenanigans', ‘Get Him to the Greek’ and ‘Pacino is Missing'. He has also appeared in TV shows and films like ‘About a Bum and a Boy’ and a short film in 2014 titled ‘Up All Night'. His third child, Christopher, is also a director and actor. Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, his youngest sons recently graduated from high school.
Kenny Rogers' relationships with his children
Rogers married his first wife, Janice, in 1958 after she became pregnant with his first child and only daughter, Carole, who was born on September 15, 1958. In his autobiography ‘Luck or Something Like It', Rogers mentioned he was ready to embrace fatherhood when Janice became pregnant, even though he was still young. “When my Janice got pregnant, I was fully prepared to take the step into married life. It never occurred to me to walk away from the responsibility,” the musician wrote.
However, Janice’s parents were not happy with Rogers’ career choice, which ultimately turned their relationship sour. Following their divorce in 1960, Rogers was only allowed to visit his daughter once per week. As he rose to fame, he drifted away from his daughter and allegedly visited her only once in 15 years. When Janice remarried, her husband adopted Carole as a child.
Rogers said both he and Janice agreed that he would limit his role in his daughter’s life. The singer reportedly attempted to mend his relationship with Carole later in life, when she was 22 years old. He flew his daughter and Janice in for a visit and went on a Hawaiian vacation. However, their reconciliation failed to sustain. In a 2012 interview with Fox News, Rogers revealed he does not have any contact with his only daughter.
“That was my promise to them, that I would be her father but he (his ex-wife’s second husband) would be her Dad, and I don’t want to disrupt that. He stepped in at a time that was really awkward for all of us and he became her Dad, and I love him for that. He was a good guy,” Rogers wrote.
Rogers’ second child was born in the late 1960s but their relationship didn't last long either following his divorce from Margo. In a 1980 interview with People, Rogers said he had hardly seen Kenny Jr since 1975. “I would wish desperately that my relationship with Kenny Jr were better,” the musician said. He also mentioned that Kenny Jr had a genius-level IQ.
Rogers’s third child, Christopher, was born on December 4, 1981, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He reportedly suffered from hyaline membrane disease, a respiratory disorder, at birth but eventually battled the condition. Unlike his previous two children, Rogers was more involved in Christopher’s life. He also attended Lamaze natural childbirth classes with his fourth wife, Marianne.
“As you try to get ahead, it’s too easy to think that these kids are still going to be kids tomorrow and that once you get your current project done, you’ll spend some time with them. Then you say, ‘Well, he’s still a child, after all, so I’ll go ahead and get one more project done.’ The next thing you know the child is grown up and you can’t relate to him at all,” Rogers told People in his 1982 interview.
He also shared that Christopher had a tough time dealing with his parents’ divorce. “I remember when I told him – we were out in a golf cart together – I said, ‘Chris, your mom and I are going to get a divorce,’ and he started screaming,” Rogers recalled. “I said, ‘It’s going to be OK, I won’t spend as much time with you but the time I spend will be quality time,’ and he said, ‘But will you still be my dad?’ So I told him, ‘Of course’, and he said, ‘I thought Mom was going to remarry and somebody else was going to be my dad and I could never tell people you were my daddy and you wouldn’t look at me like I’m your son.’ It was just a 12-year-old sorting out those things in his head, but then he was fine,” the musician explained.
Before Rogers married his fifth wife, Wanda, he told her he does not want any more children. He said he was happy with his three children and did not want to become a father again. Wanda was also in agreement initially, but when she turned 31, she expressed her desire for motherhood. Rogers complied as he didn't want his wife to regret their marriage or lose out on the experience of becoming a mother.
Rogers later admitted that he did not want to repeat the mistake he made with his older children. “In my autobiography I talk about, there’s a fine line between being driven and being selfish, and I think I may have crossed that line a couple of times when I was younger. And I don’t wanna do that with the boys. I’m determined to be there and be a dad to them at all costs,” the singer told The Boot in 2013. While he was concerned about old age and not being able to see his twin sons go to college, he admitted, “I think being a father is what I'm best at.”
