Betty "McMom" Trimble Interview
Tim McGraw's Mother Talks!

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be the parent of a famous child?

Betty Trimble knows.

She's the mother of country superstar Tim McGraw.

Affectionately known as "McMom" by a growing circle of fans and admirers, Betty Trimble has written her autobiography—"A Mother's Story" .

We talked with Betty "McMom" Trimble about her life and her son Tim McGraw.

Q. How does it feel to be the mother of a famous singer? How has life changed for you?
A. I tell you it's really great to hear my son on the radio! It hasn't changed a whole lot other than I do to have an unlisted phone number now. As far as we go because we came from a very modest income, our gifts are more expensive. (Laughs). We get to travel more. It really hasn't changed a whole lot. Tim is still down to earth. I'm really disappointed that I don't get to see him anymore. I have to go out and catch a show if I want to see him. But, I'm lovin' it, especially with my book out. I get to talk about my children which every mother likes to do.

Q. Did you know that one day Tim would be famous?
A. I didn't know it, but early on because of the circumstances, Tug McGraw is Tim's father; Tug and I had a brief summer fling. This was my first time with sex. My luck I got pregnant. He didn't want to get married. He went his way, and I went mine. The whole time I was pregnant, I would pray at night and talk to my baby. I was a singer. I liked singing and dancing. I thought I was gonna be Shirley Maclaine when I was a teenager. I would pray that this baby would be someone special and everyone would love him. I wanted him to be somebody where his Dad would sit up and take notice and regret not having him in his life. So, I keep telling everybody, God does answer prayers, because he's answered almost every one of mine.

Q. Do people believe it when you tell them Tim McGraw is your son?
A. You still have those skeptics. I don't just go out and say, 'Hey, I'm Tim McGraw's mom.' We'll be in a conversation and it will come up. When I open my billfold I have a big picture of Tim right there. (Laughs). They'll go, 'No, you're not.' I'll say, 'Yes I am.' They'll say, "really, what's it like to have Tim McGraw for a son?' It's just so incredible. I can't hide because my son gave me a van. My license plate says ‘McMom.’

Q. A dead give-away.
A. We call it the 'McMom mobile.'

Q. What does Tim think about the book? Has he been supportive of it?
A. I was approached by several people that said you should really write a book. In fact, the girl that manages me now used to work publicity in Tim's management co. that he first signed with. I was doing so many interviews with the newspaper here ( Jacksonville, Florida). They asked if they could do a series on Tug and me meeting here. I called her and checked if I could do those interviews and she said, 'No. You should really write a book.' So, that's what got me started. But, I set the kids down and Tim naturally first, because he was the one in the public eye, and asked him what he thought. He goes 'Mom, I think it's great. I think you could write a good book.' The girls were really supportive, because this was our life being on paper. I didn't hold anything back. I put the truth, 'cause there was no point in saying you were going to write a biography and not put everything. The kids all read it as I went along and when I was completely finished, I sent each one a copy. I said read it and get back to me. Tim was the first one to get back to me and said, 'Mom, I think you did a great job. I think you were very fair to everybody in the book. You told the truth without really coming down hard on anybody. But, you told what happened.' The only thing they didn't proof were the pictures. I did all that on my own. (Laughs). I got a little bit of flack from the kids when they saw the pictures.

Q. Betty, do you believe the public really has the right to know everything about a celebrity? Were you worried about the tabloids getting a hold of some of this information?
A. No. That's not really why I wrote the book. I wrote the book because the things that happened to me, a lot of tragic things, and with each thing that came up, I jumped over it. I kept going with my faith in God and the faith in myself, I just kept going, kept moving and made things hotter. Everybody has something happen to them and they got down. I've been at the lowest anybody can possibly be, and I managed without having a nervous breakdown, without taking drugs, everything that people use as excuses, I just pushed forward, and did what I had to do. I didn't get child support, so I worked three jobs.

Q. Have you been going around the country doing these books signings?
A. Yeah. In fact, I've got three this weekend.

Q. The book must be doing pretty well then.
A. It's doing real good. We've already sold out our first run and we're in our second printing now. I only printed 10,000 first. We're doing 15,000 now. Books don't sell like records. I was kind of disappointed at first. I went to the Book Convention in Chicago and got to meet Ross Perot and Jane Fonda, and all these people that wrote books. Everybody's congratulating me because I had a big order turned in for books by bookstores. It was only for 5,000 books. I'm going, 'Is that all?' (Laughs). I'm used to Tim and these millions of records. But, they said that's good for books.

Q. And maybe there's a made for t.v. movie in your future.
A. That's what my kids keep saying. They said this would be a movie, and Sally Field needs to play you. (Laughs). So they've got it all figured out.

Q. How long did it take you to write this book?
A. Actually, about a year and a half altogether.

Q. Is Tim the only one in show business?
A. Yeah. Both my girls do sing very well. But Tim just had, you know, it's a complete package. You can have a good voice, but you've gotta have that something, charisma I guess people call it, from the stage, and Tim does have it. He showed that at a young age. He was singing in church when he was three years old. He's a very shy person. People don't realize that, because of his stage show. He gets mad at me for saying that to people. Tim's always been a nice looking boy. When he was in high school, all the girls were crazy about him. I had two daughters and there were girls at the house all the time. Tim would never ask anybody out. He'd get his sister to get him a date for the prom, like the night before the prom. I'd say, 'Tim, do you think these girls are hanging around this house for your sisters?' He was just that shy that he wouldn't ask anybody out. All the girls were dying to go with him. He gets mad when I tell that story.

Q. I realize that your son is famous, but he's really just starting to break. Should you have waited to write this book? When he's more famous?
A. But you know, if I did that, that's when Tim should really come out with his own book, his own biography. This is my story. I figure, in a few years he'll be ready to come out with his own story. Naturally, it's not gonna be like mine. It's gonna be his point of view. I can tell you how he was born, but I can't tell how he feels, what he thinks of the music business. And some day, maybe I'll be good enough at writing that I can write his biography for him.

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