Country music singer Sara Evans filed for divorce from ex-Alabama quarterback Jay Barker months before he was arrested Saturday on a felony domestic violence charge.
Barker, 49, was booked into a Nashville county jail early Saturday morning, according to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office website. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and placed on a $10,000 bond with a 12-hour hold because it was a domestic violence case. He was released Saturday night after posting bond.
According to court records obtained by Scoop Nashville, Evans filed a complaint seeking divorce on Aug. 23, 2021, citing irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct.
Former Alabama quarterback Jay Barker, left, and his wife, country music singer Sara Evans, arrive at the 46th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas on April 3, 2011. Barker was arrested Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, on a felony domestic violence charge, Tennessee authorities said. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
As Evans and another person pulled into the driveway of a nearby home, Barker allegedly reversed his vehicle “at a high rate of speed attempting to hit them, but missed,” according to the arrest affidavit.
The passengers of the car and witnesses told police that Barker “intentionally” tried to hit them with the car, the Tennessean reported.
The couple has been married for 12 years, though Barker has been living in Homewood, Alabama, for the past three months, court records show. They have no children together.
This booking photo released by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department shows Harry Jerome Barker, also known as Jay Barker, on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department via AP)
The 50-year-old “Born to Fly” singer released her latest album, “Copy That,” in May 2020.
Barker led Alabama to the college football national championship in 1992, defeating the Miami Hurricanes 34–13 in the 1993 Sugar Bowl. The Green Bay Packers drafted him in the fifth round of the 1995 NFL Draft, though he never played in an NFL game.
Barker is now a sports radio talk show host in Alabama.
On Sunday, Barker released a statement on the Instagram account of his radio show asking for privacy “for the sake of my family and especially for our kids.”
“Unfortunately, headlines and quick-to-publish news stories do not adequately capture the full context and complex fabric of our lives,” the post added.