Cody Johnson has been married to his wife, Brandi, since 2008. The Texan reveals the surprising way he and Brandi met, and how quickly they both fell head over heels in love.

“We met in a bar,” Johnson reveals on Audacy‘s Superstar Power Hour. “I was like the king of that bar. I was super local famous, and I had my local famous cocky going. She came in the bar with somebody else, and I saw her. I knew the guy she was with, so I went over to talk to him, and basically talk to her. And I said, ‘Do you mind if I dance with her?’ And he’s like, ‘Oh no, man. It’s cool. Dance with Cody Johnson.'”

As soon as Johnson got Brandi alone, he laid out his plans for the two of them, even though they had just met.

“I was like, ‘Hey, you’re not gonna be with that guy. That’s not gonna work,'” Johnson remembers with a laugh. “She’s like, ‘Who do you think you are?’ I was like, ‘Well, here’s the deal: I’m gonna go to work, and I’m gonna get big in country music, no matter how long it takes. I wanna be George Strait and you can be Norma.’ She’s like, ‘So you’re saying we’re getting married?’ I was like, ‘Yes. We need to get married.’

“After that dance, I walked back over to my friends, with her, in front of him,” he continues. “I said, ‘Hey everybody, I want to introduce you to my wife. This is Brandi Johnson.’ She said, ‘Hi, how do you do?’ We were joking, but that night I got her phone number.’ A week later she moved in and a year later we were engaged, and a year later we got married.”

Johnson’s love story with Brand became the inspiration for his video for “The Painter,” his second No. 1 single.

“If you watch the video for ‘The Painter,’ that’s kind of what it is,” Johnson says. “They tried to tell the story. I basically said, ‘She’s not with you, buddy.'”

Johnson may be the one making hit records and touring the country, but according to Johnson, the credit for his success belongs to his wife.

“If it wasn’t for Brandi, I wouldn’t be here,” Johnson said backstage after accepting the CMA Award trophy for Album of the Year, (for his 2023 Leather record). “I’m being dead serious when I say that. If it weren’t for Brandi, I would probably be dead or in jail. She’s the woman that encouraged me to be the man I am as a husband, as a father, as a CEO of a company, as a leader, and outlaw. Everything, I owe that woman sitting right there.”

Johnson is currently headlining his Leather Deluxe Tour. He currently has the No. 1 single in the country, with “I’m Gonna Love You,” his duet with Carrie Underwood.