Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash met at a skating tournament in 1951. The two dated for a few weeks before Johnny was sent to Germany with the US Air Force, but they wrote letters back and forth and got married when he returned in 1954.
Unfortunately, their marriage ended 12 years later in 1966, when Vivian filed for divorce, citing her husband's infidelity and drug use as the reasons why.
Vivian Cash faced a lot of obstacles before, during, and after her marriage to Johnny Cash. When a photo of her was published in 1965, her husband's fans perceived her as Black and were outraged. The pair were struggling with their marriage at the time, and Johnny canceled a series of concerts following the public outcry.
Vivian began receiving death threats from racist terrorist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan.
Vivian and Johnny had four daughters together: Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, and Tara.
Vivian later cited the family's 1961 move to Casitas Springs as the dark turning point in their marriage. As she wrote in her book, I Walked the Line: My Life With Johnny, Johnny began to get more involved in drugs and Hollywood life while she was home with their four children. She often told friends things might have gone differently if she had been able to travel with him when he was on the road.
Johnny met June Carter in 1956 when the two were both performing at the Grand Ole Opry. They were both married to other people at the time, a fact that June later described as "inconvenient."
Vivian wrote her book with her ex-husband's blessing. She visited Johnny Cash following June's death and told him she planned to write her book. He responded with his approval, saying, "Of all the people on the planet that should tell their story, I think it should be you."
Vivian also wanted it to be clear that she believes June relentlessly pursued her husband, writing that June once told her, "Vivian, he will be mine."
Vivian's daughter Cindy agrees, telling the VC Star, "Once June came along, she relentlessly — well, she wanted Dad and she was going to get him. And she did. She made herself very available, to where he pursued her back."
Vivian was excommunicated from the Catholic Church after her divorce was finalized. Johnny later wrote the archdiocese and detailed how he failed as a husband, and the church eventually welcomed Vivian back. In 1968 she married police officer Dick Distin, who helped her raise her four daughters in Ventura, California.
