Wanda Rogers, the widow of late singer Kenny Rogers, revealed he wanted to find love after his passing.
In an exclusive interview with People, Wanda Rogers, 56, shared the country legend, whom she married in 1997, faced mortality.
“He said, ‘I’m not going to be here forever. I want you to be happy,'” she said.
Wanda Rogers added he told her, “‘You’re young. I want you to have a full life past me.'”
“And of course I was like, ‘What? I don’t want to talk about that. Turn the TV back on,'” she continued.
She also revealed she is currently “dating someone very special” and spoke about the importance of showing the couple’s sons “that life goes on.”
Kenny Rogers died in 2020. He was 81.
Following his passing, Wanda Rogers admitted it did take her “a minute to move on.”
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She told People she met her current partner through a friend of Kenny Rogers.
“He introduced me to a friend of his and he said, ‘Look, if you don’t date each other, you’ll be friends forever. He is going to be in your friend arsenal forever,'” she recalled, adding they “became friends at first.”
As their friendship began to flourish, Wanda Rogers noticed certain traits that reminded her of her late husband like his “leadership and his positive energy.”
She shared:
“It’s funny because a few of my friends said, ‘I just really feel like Kenny’s a part of this somehow.’ And I know that sounds weird. [But] he tells our kids, ‘I’m not your dad. No one will ever take the place of your dad, but I’m here as your friend forever.'”
She continued, “It’s been big shoes to step into after I was with this icon for all these years in a very special relationship. But it’s really been an easy relationship.”