Garth Brooks is always proud of his wife, Trisha Yearwood, but even more so now. The singer-songwriter praised Yearwood, whom he wed in 2005, after she received the ACM Icon Award at the recent ACM Honors ceremony.

“I was just so proud,” Brooks boasted in an essay about Yearwood, shared on his website. “I’m always proud of her, but to see and hear her recognized like that – and to hear people use the word ‘icon’ in the same breath as her name – just took me someplace new. She is an icon. I know what a world-class talent and force she is…and we all know what an incredible vocalist she is…but I love it when others really take notice, too.”

Brooks continued his praise by commenting on how Yearwood made history with her debut single, “She’s in Love With the Boy,” out in 1991.

“When she released ‘She’s In Love With the Boy’ – and they said this last night – it was the first time in history a female artist had a debut single go to number-one on the country charts for multiple weeks,” Brooks praised. “She became the first country music female in history whose debut album sold over a million copies. The single turned out to be the most-played song on radio for the decade of the ’90s and continues to be one of the most-played songs. And it should be.”

The 62-year-old went on to comment on the numerous times other artists asked her to sing with them, including opera great Luciano Pavarotti, along with Yearwood being invited to sing at the Olympics, the Oscars and more. He also cited a time when he, a global superstar, needed her, and she stepped up for him, in a big way.

“I will be forever in debt to that woman for the courage she had at a time when Garth Brooks’ career really needed it,” he recalled. “My music was tied up…there was no way to release it…and she gave us a way to share new music with people when she decided to include ‘In Another’s Eyes’ on her Songbook: A Collection of Hits album. That’s not just what an icon does – it’s what a leader who has a passion for music does!”

Brooks lauded Yearwood for how she makes family a priority, both her own and the family she inherited when she married Brooks almost 19 years ago.

“I’ve often shared that when Miss Yearwood married me, she also married my girls,” the Country Music Hall of Fame member said. “The impact she has had on our daughters by showing them by example that women can not only become whatever they can dream, but also be the best at it. That’s iconic.”

Brooks closed his heartfelt tribute by hinting that Yearwood still had a lot of music to make, and a lot to share in country music and beyond.

“I think Trisha’s next iconic moments are yet to come,” Brooks concluded. “And they may be her most iconic yet. I’m watching her tap into a songwriting talent that I’ve always known is in her. And everyone is going to be blown away – trust me. I am. And I just know there’s a moment in her future that’s going to make me even more proud – if that’s even possible – than I am right now. I can see it. There’s a brass plaque…a rotunda…I really can see it. Especially after what I saw this week. And if I’m lucky, I’ll be at her side and I will be the proudest person in the room – I promise you.”

Read Brooks’ entire essay here.