Brandi Carlile and Catherine Shepherd Have the Most Adorable Relationship Timeline…Maybe Ever
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Once upon a time, Brandi Carlile and Catherine Shepherd first crossed paths via the telephone while they were in different countries and kept in touch FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR before they met IRL and fell in love. ❤️ They’ve been going strong ever since and have (blessedly) not been shy about posting their adorable ’ship on social. Prepare to laugh, cry, and see tons of endearing Facebook life update posts as we walk through their decades-long ’ship!
2009
Truly still can’t get over how iconic the beginning of this love story was. Way back when, Catherine—who is originally from the United Kingdom—was working for former Beatles singer Paul McCartney’s charity. During one fated day while she was reaching out to donate Beatles memorabilia to Brandi’s Fight the Fear campaign, she actually wound up speaking to the singer herself. And the rest is history! Well…kind of.
2010
The pair ended up speaking for an entire year (!!) before they finally met IRL in New York City in 2010. “It was shocking, to say the least,” Brandi confessed to People more than a decade later in April 2021. “Every time I talked to her over the phone, I thought I was talking to somebody who was, like, 65 years old. I don’t know why. I think because of her wisdom and her demeanor. Or maybe I thought she was Paul’s age or something. So we met backstage in New York and we were both, like, 27.”
Obsessed with them. Obsessed with this pic. Obsessed with everything!
May 16, 2012
Brandi and Catherine walked their first red carpet at the 2012 Donor of the Day Celebration at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. 😭❤️
September 15, 2012
Only a few months after their red carpet ~debut~, the duo tied the knot in Boston during a ceremony in front of family and friends. At the time, Brandi took to Facebook to share everything that went down, including some truly wow moments you couldn’t make up if you tried.
“See, I’m sure all weddings have an insane week preceding the event but me and Catherine might have won that contest,” the singer wrote on Facebook. “Bailey (the dog) had to be rushed to the vet on our wedding day, and the day before the wedding we had to put down one of our goats (RIP, Tim). To top it all off, our priest didn’t show up! Ha ha! (Not her fault but it’ll be one of those funny stories we’ll be telling for years.) My church friends Jason and Mandy were there and Jason performed the perfect ceremony with 15 minutes’ notice!” she continued.
Even with all this happening, Brandi maintained, “It was truly one of our best days, completely awkward and human and beautiful. I’m married to my best friend and nothing has ever brought me more joy than that.” Obsessed!
February 2013
“The more the merrier” was clearly the wedding theme for Brandi and Catherine, because they wound up following their Boston wedding with a ceremony in Brandi’s home state of Washington before heading to England for a civil ceremony in front of Catherine’s friends and family.
In another Facebook post, the Grammy winner mused the following alongside an image of herself and Catherine at their wedding venue: “We had our London ceremony at the famous Chelsea Old Town Hall. It was one of our best days and when the officiant asked if anyone could think of a reason we should not be married, a 4-year-old guest wisely shouted NO!”
June 15, 2014
Congrats were in order for the stunning couple, who welcomed their first child, daughter Evangeline Ruth, in 2014. Brandi shared an adorbs photo of the bb with the caption, “Please allow me to introduce Evangeline Ruth Carlile, born June 15th. Welcome to the world, kid! xobc.”
The couple opened up about having IVF treatments to get pregnant, and Brandi was super honest about the process.
“I made peace with knowing that there was some pioneering involved in what we were doing, to the point where there wasn’t even a two-mother template on a birth certificate yet,” she confessed to People. “There is now, but psychologically, all these things are really hard. And the high dive into parenting is a complicated leap to take anyway.…I’m hoping people see through my story that there’s no right or wrong way to evolve into a parenting role in either heterosexual or same-sex relationships.”
February 15, 2016
Brandi and Catherine looked amaze during their appearance at the 58th annual Grammy Awards. The night was especially meaningful, as it also marked Brandi’s first year being nominated for Best Americana Album, for The Firewatcher’s Daughter.
January 6, 2017
The duo realized a bucket list goal after attending a farewell party at the White House for former President Barack Obama. Always a Facebook girly, Brandi took to the platform to reflect on the evening: “We had the unbelievable privilege of spending the evening at the White House with the first family and friends in what will no doubt go down in history as a legendary party! It was so diverse and beautiful, full of all walks of life and an amazing sense of strength and community.”
March 18, 2018
Brandi and Catherine welcomed baby number two, a daughter named Elijah.
On Instagram, the singer noted that the newest addition to their family was 9 pounds, making Catherine “a beast.” Truly loving the sense of humor these two have. 😂
February 10, 2019
The couple stepped out to attend the 61st Grammy Awards, where Brandi delivered a legendary performance of her song “The Joke.”
Oh, and she also happened to be the most nominated female artist of the night, NBD. (But actually, Very Big Deal.)
April 6, 2021
Brandi released her memoir, Broken Horses, which topped the New York Times bestseller list shortly after its release. I mean, what can’t she do?!?!?
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AmazonJune 1, 2021
Although Catherine doesn’t have an Instagram, she cheekily did a takeover on her wife’s account to celebrate her 40th birthday, and it could not be any cuter. “Happy 40th birthday to my beautiful, brilliant, and fearless wife Brandi. I woke up this morning thinking about us falling in love on the eve of your 30th birthday 10 years ago in New York City. We were both tortured poets, too thin and unaware of the remarkable life that we were about to build together.”
P.S. Should you choose to read the whole post (you’re doing yourself a serious disservice if you don’t), you’re gonna wanna break out a box or two of Kleenex.
May 8, 2022
Brandi posts a sweet Mother’s Day vid to Instagram. Cue the waterworks again!
August 10, 2022
Brandi and Catherine decide to launch their monthly radio show, Somewhere Over the Radio.
A few months later, the singer posts a clip of herself and Catherine goofing off in the studio alongside the caption, “My wife Catherine took me to work with her today. I took it very seriously because I’m a professional, she on the other hand…🤪. For those of you who’ve been living under a rock these past few months, my wife and I have a radio show! Celebrating queer brilliance in music!”
October 14, 2022
The couple beautifully sang Brandi’s song “You and Me on the Rock” for a live IMAX event.
Literally no words, just seconding *the* Mandy Moore’s comment: “Damn! Of course you both sound like magic together. So beautiful!!!!”
And that’s about it! This timeline will be updated with the next sweet installment of Brandi and Catherine’s relationship.
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