Who is BJ Thomas' wife Gloria? A look at their 53-year love story amid singer's Stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis
UPDATE: BJ Thomas died due to complications from lung cancer on May 29, 2021. He was 78. Read more here.
Grammy Award-winning singer BJ Thomas announced that he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, in a statement on Wednesday, March 23, through his representatives. Thomas is best known for his Hot 100 hit 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head' from 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. Thomas is receiving treatment at a Texas healthcare facility and hopes to make a complete recovery. He also thanked his wife, Gloria in the statement posted on his official Twitter account.
The singer said, "I just wanted to take this unique opportunity to share my gratitude to Gloria, my wonderful wife and my rock for over 53 years, my family, friends, and fans. I’m so blessed to have had the opportunity to record and perform beautiful songs in pop, country, and gospel music, and to share those wonderful songs and memories around the world with millions of you. I ask all of you for your prayers during this time and that my music can live on with you."
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Thomas is best known for hit songs of the 1960s and 1970s which appeared on the pop, country, and Christian music charts. The Oklahoma native was raised in Texas and first achieved fame with his cover of the 1949 song by Hank Williams, 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry'. His second hit came with 'Hooked on a Feeling', which was released in 1968.
Thomas has been married to singer-songwriter Gloria Richardson Thomas since December 1968 and has three daughters with her, Paige, born in 1970, Nora, adopted from North Korea in 1978, and Erin, born in 1979.
In an interview with Closer Weekly, Thomas said, "I met Gloria in a club. I saw this girl across the table and it turned out to be Gloria. [She was with] a friend of mine, who was a drummer. I went and found him and said, 'Hey, man, I’m taking Gloria home'."
He continued, "When we got outside, she said, 'If you change your mind, I’ll understand.' I had no idea what she was talking about. But when we walked out, it was [very bright]. Gloria had gone through a windshield and she had just had 400 stitches from her face removed. She had terrible scars, but I just fell so in love with her. We got married in ’68 and we’ve had 52 good years."
However, shortly after Thomas' career took off, the singer became dependent on drugs and alcohol, which almost led to their marriage ending. In an interview with Rick Coates, Thomas said, "I started performing at 15 and started drinking and doing drugs at the same time. As my success grew so did the drug and alcohol abuse; it seemed I popped a pill at every turn of the day to keep going.”
It was then that Gloria, who he had been married to for seven years, asked him to leave in 1975. However, their separation was short-lived after Thomas nearly overdosed when he took nearly 80 pills on his way to perform in Hawaii and was rushed to a hospital.
"When I came to, I wished I was dead. I remember asking the nurse why I was still alive and she responded ‘God must want you to accomplish more here in this world.’ I guess that was the start of recovery,” said Thomas of the incident.
He then said that he eventually called his wife when he "completely hit bottom," and that she asked him to "come home." Thomas said, "During our separation, she strengthened her faith and helped me to strengthen mine. I was fortunate she and my friends and family stuck by my side through the darkest days of my life.”
To Closer Weekly, Thomas spoke of the secret to their long marriage, saying, "We did separate a time or two. I just got to be too much to live with, but we were still in love. I love her and because we are in love we never really gave up on each other. We knew that as soon as somebody said something sweet, we’d go right back. We just cherish each other. We’ve always had that, and it’s a great thing."