Johnny and his first wife seemed really happy together. But then everything came crashing down around them when Johnny did something really bad to her, and you’ll never believe what happened to her.
Everyone loves the story of Johnny Cash and June Carter. But before they met, Johnny was actually married to someone else. It was during the summer of 1951. Johnny was an Air Force recruit stationed in San Antonio. He went to a roller rink one night and met Vivian Liberto.
How Did Johnny Cash Meet His First Wife, Vivian?
But exactly HOW they met is up in the air, because Johnny and Vivian told their kids different versions of how they met. Vivian and Johnny’s first daughter, Roseanne, heard it this way from her dad: After Johnny caught a glimpse of Vivian, it seemed like she roller-skated right into his heart.
According to Roseanne, Johnny made a bet with his friends at the rink. He said that he’d be walking Vivian home that night. That’s super cute… until you hear the OTHER version. Because Johnny told Roseanne’s three younger sisters something completely different.
Johnny told the other kids that he knocked Vivian down on purpose when he roller-skated by her. Before you think worse of Johnny, he also told his younger kids that he only bumped into Vivian so that he could help her up and get talking to her.
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For three weeks after that, Johnny and Vivian kept going on dates. But then, reality hit — Johnny got shipped off to Germany with the Air Force. No one thought that their three-week-long romance could possibly survive, but despite that, Johnny and Vivian’s love story continued.
They actually sent each other over ONE THOUSAND letters, which their kids still have. Those letters are priceless… and they also reveal some unbelievable things. Like how Johnny started signing off his letters to Vivian: He would write to her: from your husband-to-be. At that point, it was really sweet, but those were just words.
Johnny Proposed to Ex-Wife Vivian Through a Letter
But that all changed one day when Vivian got another letter from Johnny that shocked the life out of her. I can only imagine Vivian opening up that letter and seeing what was there. It contained a diamond engagement ring. That ring had traveled from Germany across the ocean for Vivian to put on her finger.
July 1954 was a happy time for Vivian. Johnny’s military service in Germany ended, and he flew back to West Memphis. Vivian was waiting at the airport. She hadn’t seen Johnny in three years. When Vivian looked at Johnny, she said she was speechless. They ran into each other’s arms.
Johnny scooped her up and they kissed passionately. By August 1954, Johnny and Vivian were husband and wife. Their happily ever after didn’t exactly last very long though.
Johnny took a boring salesman’s job, but the 9-to-5 grind wouldn’t last for him. Shortly after their wedding, Johnny auditioned for Sam Philips at the famous Sun Records in Memphis. You won’t believe what Vivian called that moment afterward.
Whether or not it was just a gut feeling she had, Vivian called Johnny’s audition the “one hour that would change everything.” And when Vivian said everything, she meant it.
Their first child Roseanne was born. Then, Johnny released his first single on Sun Records. It got crazy busy for Johnny, going out on the road. Vivian got left home with Roseanne, while Johnny let early success go to his head. Johnny’s new life included other women, too much to drink, and other substances that were just really bad for him.
Johnny’s star was rising, and he started to ignore that his marriage was crumbling. When Johnny did make it home, he and Vivian didn’t waste any time. Eventually, they had three more daughters. Johnny moved his young family to California in 1958.
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But he didn’t stick around too long at home. He left again to sing hit songs and star in movies. Vivian got left home in California with four kids to take care of by herself yet again. Roseanne said later that her dad was absent most of the time.
Every time Johnny did make it home, he and Vivian threw big parties and BBQs. Roseanne didn’t know any of them when she was a kid, but many country music stars came over to party back then — and Roseanne did get a weird feeling about one lady who was good friends with her dad.
Roseanne Cash Has Spoken Out About Her Childhood
Her name was June Carter. Roseanne has said that she sensed something was wrong at home. Vivian was terribly sad. Sometimes she got furious and acted out. Roseanne was a young child, and she was frightened. It’s honestly pretty shocking to hear what Roseanne has said about her childhood.
She apparently figured that her mother would hurt herself badly enough to end it all. And with her dad barely ever around, it’s unbelievable for a kid to grow up feeling that way. 1965 was a bad year for Johnny, but nothing compared to what happened to Vivian.
Johnny got arrested in Texas. The newspapers were all over his awful news. A photo got published with the story of Johnny’s arrest, but it was just one little photo that shocked the world. The rumor mill went crazy. The photo had nothing to do with Johnny’s arrest or any real crime.
All it was was a picture of Johnny and Vivian — and all the hate groups had a meltdown. By the way, there is one important detail you should know about Vivian: She grew up thinking her family was a mix of Italian-American, Irish, and German.
Unfortunately, the bigots who saw Vivian in the photo thought that was a lie, because they thought that Vivian looked Black, and they went crazy. Johnny had a huge Southern fanbase. There was such an uproar among the bigots that Johnny had to cancel concerts across the south.
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But that’s nothing like what Vivian had to go through. Back home, alone in California with four innocent young girls, Vivian was receiving threats to her life. She was afraid for herself and her kids. I don’t know how Vivian managed to do this, but somehow, she waited until things got quieter again.
Vivian Filed for Divorce and Johnny Didn’t Even React
And then Vivian did something unbelievable She filed for divorce from Johnny — and her reason for the divorce was shocking and so sad. She’d hoped that the divorce would make Johnny come home and try to save their marriage. But what Johnny did was more shocking…
He didn’t reach out to Vivian. He didn’t even say anything about the divorce. Johnny didn’t even come back to California to see Vivian or his kids. He moved north of Nashville to an apartment with his buddy, Waylon Jennings, and if the rumors are true, Johnny and Waylon got up to no good for a while.
Finally, Johnny wised up. He moved into a lakefront property in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Johnny only had one concern in mind: He wanted his girls to visit him, so he stayed in that lakefront house and waited.
Eventually, Johnny got clean, and everything became clear to him about Vivian. Johnny realized that the divorce was meant to save his reputation with his fanbase, and Vivian was really putting herself on the chopping block to save Johnny.
Because Vivian was raised in the Catholic church, and in the 1960s, a broken marriage was like a dirty mark on Vivian’s soul. The church EXCOMMUNICATED Vivian as if she’d committed some mortal sin. Even worse was how Vivian’s family treated her.
Her dad was strictly religious and didn’t pity Vivian or believe her reasons for getting a divorce. If anything good came out of that, it made Johnny start acting like a real man. Because Johnny felt terrible about how he’d treated Vivian, he wrote a painful letter to the head of the Catholic church who knew about the divorce.
Johnny took all the blame for the breakup of his marriage. I mean, he put it ALL out there. He admitted to everything that he’d done wrong to his wife, how he’d gotten hooked on substances, his infidelities, and how he was never at home for his kids.
Vivian’s Church Took Her Back In and She Ended Up Remarrying
Maybe it wasn’t a happy ending for Vivian, but the church took her back in, and her dad finally came around. After their marriage ended, Vivian got her own house and lived with her daughters. She actually became very private, but helped out in her community and enjoyed gardening.
Eventually, something surprising happened to Vivian. It involved a police officer His name was Dick Distin, and he married Vivian. She maintained a quiet life until she passed away in 2005. Life wasn’t easy for Vivian, but I think she did her best for her family and Johnny.
