Rascal Flatts member Jay DeMarcus reveals he placed daughter for adoption

Sharing his truth. Jay DeMarcus revealed that he and his then-girlfriend, Maggie, placed their daughter for adoption while in his early 20s.

“[We] discussed many options, including getting married and raising the child ourselves, but we quickly determined we’d be making that decision for the wrong reason,” the Rascal Flatts member, 48, wrote in Shotgun Angels: My Story of Broken Roads and Unshakeable Hope, out Tuesday, April 30. “Abortion was never an option, so we began to discuss adoption.”

While the singer’s mom offered to adopt the little one, Maggie went with an outside adoption.

“From the very beginning, I wanted to be in [my baby’s] life,” DeMarcus wrote. “But her mother, Maggie, didn’t want either one of us in her life. That was a hard pill to swallow. I understand that sometimes life sends us reeling because of unexpected situations. But my heart in that moment, though scared, still desired to be in this beautiful child’s life.”

The author added: “My heart finds satisfaction in knowing that she ended up with a wonderful family, but I’ve had to live with this my entire life. The adoptive family was supposed to give her a letter when she turned 14, explaining that I loved her, did not abandon her and have tried several ways to make it possible to be in her life.”

This all took place while the Ohio native was in a Christian band East to West with Neal Coomer, but their connections in the industry “virtually vanished” after news of the pregnancy.

“I understand, I guess, but it does seem that many Christians all too often kill their wounded instead of taking time to be there to help pick someone up,” DeMarcus wrote.

The pianist went on to form Rascal Flatts with Joe Don Rooney and Gary LeVox. In 2004, DeMarcus married Allison Alderson and they now share daughter Madeline, 8, and son Dylan, 6.