News of the Tammy Wynette kidnapping flooded headlines in 1978. As bizarre of a story as it was, it was all anyone could talk about. The country music singer was quite famous. Therefore, news of her kidnapping spread like wildlife, as did the rumors about it. While Tammy Wynette stood by her statement that the kidnapping was true and one of the most terrifying moments of her life, not everyone agreed. Additionally, years later one of her daughters wrote a book. The book claimed that Tammy Wynette faked the kidnapping to cover up abuse happening in her life.
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The Tammy Wynette Kidnapping Back Story
For those who don't know, the supposed kidnapping happened on October 4, 1978. According to the Boot, "Tammy Wynette was reportedly abducted from the parking lot of the Cain-Sloan Department Store in the Nashville neighborhood of Green Hills." She had been picking up a present for her then 8-year-old daughter when the assailant climbed into the back seat of her vehicle.
When speaking with People weeks after the incident Wynette had a lot to say. She stated, "I felt a poke in my side and heard a man's voice say, 'Drive!'." As she was driving the vehicle the kidnapper strangled her with a pair of pantyhose. Additionally, he struck her across the face. Once they were far enough out from the original kidnapping location, the man fled to another vehicle, leaving Wynette in front of a random woman's home.
That woman was Junette Young, and she corroborated the story. Young spoke with the Tennessean. She stated that Wynette's neck showed signs of trauma. She said, "Her neck wasn't cut but was swollen and red from whatever had been tied around her neck." Additionally she mentioned how Wynette complained about her mouth hurting where the kidnapper had struck her.
Despite being in the same vehicle with the man, Tammy Wynette claimed she never saw him. Instead she stated, "All I could see was a brown glove, a lot of hair on his arm and two inches of gun barrel." This made the case even more puzzling and would allow people to later believe that she faked the kidnapping.
Did Tammy Wynette Fake Her Kidnapping To Cover Up Abuse?
Naturally, with the lack of a suspect many people drew their own conclusions about the case. While Wynette's broken cheekbone and bruising on her face proved she had been injured, many found it interesting that she was not further assaulted or robbed. Particularly given the fact that she had valuables in her possession. The Boot shared she had "30 credit cards, and $40 in cash on her" at the time of her kidnapping.
This lead many to speculate that the whole ordeal was a publicity stunt. Others argued that it was a way for the country singer to cover up a cheating scandal. Some even suggested that it was just a way for her then husband, George Jones, to get back at her. Of course, Wynette denied all of these claims. She also shared how hurt she was that people thought she would have done this to herself.
The Truth Comes Out
It seemed like the public was never going to get their answers. That was until one of Wynette's daughters released a book in 2000. The Boot shares, "Jackie Daly, claimed in her book Tammy Wynette: A Daughter Recalls Her Mother's Tragic Life and Death that the abduction was made up to cover up Richey beating Wynette." This was further expanded upon in 2011 when another of her daughters, Tammy Georgette shared further details in her memoir.
She confirmed her sister's story when she wrote about her mother suffering from abuse. Tammy shared, "She did admit to my sister that when all that stuff came out about her being kidnapped in 1978 that she and Richey had had a fight and he had beaten her. He threatened to destroy her life and write a tell-all book so she decided to stay with him ... so he concocted the kidnapping story for PR."
While George Jones denies these claims, it seems that the public is finally getting their answers. The facts are stacking up against Jones. Now it seems like Tammy Wynette may have faked her kidnapping to cover up abuse.
