Randy Travis and his wife, Mary, celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in March of this year, with a lifetime of love ahead of them. The couple, who wed two years after Randy’s debilitating stroke, which took away some of his mobility and his speech, has weathered plenty of storms since they tied the knot, but remain as in love and committed to each other as ever. While their relationship certainly has its challenges, Mary says the secret to their success is largely in their outlook on life.

“With someone like this beside you, it’s very easy,” Mary said on the Today Show, with Randy sitting beside her. “You have a lot of faith, you have a lot of friends. You surround yourself with happiness, with positive people. You try to shine a light wherever you go. You’re silent when it’s noisy, and you sing a song when it’s quiet. You try to leave a blessing everywhere you go, and that’s what this man has done all of his life.

“To get to walk beside him is just one of the greatest joys I’ve ever had,” she added. “Every day’s a new day, and there’s always something to smile about. It’s important to find something to laugh about and smile about these days.”

Mary was with Randy while he was still in the hospital seven years ago, and knew that his prognosis wasn’t good, but refused to believe all that the doctors told her.

“When we left the hospital in November 2013, they said, ‘Well, you know, he’s going to be bedridden the rest of his life. And you will be in and out of hospitals the rest of his life. So this is a huge task that you’re taking on,’” Mary recalled to Rolling Stone. “I said, ‘I don’t mind that… and I don’t believe it.’ He got to the point where he pretty much shut down as far as going through the rehab because it does get tedious.

“When there’s that much damage done, you take tiny baby steps,” she continued. “There are plateaus — you’ll see a spurt of improvement, then it’ll flatline for a while and you’re just kind of at a plateau, and then you’ll see another improvement and every little thing is such a huge thing.”

Randy just released a brand-new single, “Fool’s Love Affair,” recorded decades ago but never heard until the demo was discovered in an office on Music Row last year. The song is available for download on iTunes.

Randy opened up about his illness and recovery, in his 2019 memoir, Forever and Ever, Amen, which was recently named the Best Country Music Book of All Time. The book is is available for purchase at Amazon.