Two years after he first filed for divorce, formerRascal Flattsguitarist Joe Don Rooney remains locked in legal limbo with estranged wife Tiffany Fallon Rooney, as the two hurtle toward a settlement conference set for March.
Rooney, 47, and model and actress Tiffany, 48, tied the knot in 2006, and share son Jagger, 14, and daughters Raquel, 12, and Devon, 8.
Rooney first filed for divorce in January 2021, citing irreconcilable differences. Tiffany responded in court in April 2021, accusing the star of “inappropriate marital conduct.”
Tiffany Fallon and Joe Don Rooney.Steve Granitz/WireImage
In the two years since, the pair have filed hundreds of documents in Davidson County, Tennessee, including subpoenas of Rooney’s former bandmates Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus, and complaints that each accuses the other of infidelity.
In October, Rooney filed a second amended and supplemental complaint for divorce that accused Tiffany of cheating on him with her personal trainer while they were still together.
Joe Don Rooney and Tiffany Fallon.Rick Diamond/Getty
Tiffany responded in documents of her own five days later, and said that while she admitted to cheating, her affair was not the reason their marriage ended, as she only began seeing someone else “once [Rooney] had fully withdrawn from their marital relationship due, [among other things], to habitual alcoholism and drug use.”
“[Tiffany] has always been totally honest about her adultery in this matter, as opposed to [Rooney] who has repeatedly lied under oath about his own adultery and drug abuse,” the documents state.
Tiffany also said Rooney’s alleged “habitual drunkenness and abuse of narcotic drugs” was the reason they split, and that his struggles culminated in his2021 DUI arrest. (The musician was arrested and charged in September 2021 after he crashed his vehicle into a tree line in Franklin, Tennessee. He pleaded guilty in June 2022, and was later sentenced to two days in jail).
According to the documents, Rooney spent $315,800 on a four-month stay at a luxury alcohol and drug rehab center in Utah, but did not tell Tiffany where he was going or give her the chance to suggest a more affordable option. Tiffany also accused Rooney of having an ongoing affair with another patient at the facility.
“[Rooney] has admitted to engaging in an ongoing sexual affair with another facility patient while he was there for his incredibly expensive therapy, calling into question his dedication to the program,” the documents state.
In an answer of his own filed two days after Tiffany’s response, Rooney denied her accusation of his “habitual drunkenness and abuse of narcotic drugs,” but admitted he’s used cocaine “on a few occasions.”
Rascal Flatts.Jason Merritt/Getty Images
The musician also claimed that while he “suffers from alcohol use disorder for which he has received treatment,” he does not believe his substance abuse is the reason their marriage ended, and claims he stopped drinking from May to September of 2020 at Tiffany’s request.
Just as Tiffany did, Rooney also admitted to adultery, but hit back at the criticism of his choice in rehab facility, claiming that his business management team picked it for him and that there were not any other affordable options “that would have benefitted [his] recovery in the same manner.”
Tiffany said in her filing that she wants alimony in futuro from Rooney because there’s a chance he tours once more with Rascal Flatts; the documents say DeMarcus and LeVox have testified that “they would be open to touring as a band if [Rooney] would agree.”
In his filing, though, Rooney insisted the door was closed on the “now defunct” band, and said he “vehemently denies that the band has any plans to reunite.”
Tiffany Fallon and Joe Don Rooney.Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Rooney and Tiffany are each attempting to get the other’s counter-complaint dismissed, and the costs taxed to the other.
Documents filed in November indicate that the two will meet for a divorce settlement conference on March 28.
Rooney and his Rascal Flatts bandmates canceled their farewell tour in 2020, and said they had no plans to reschedule it “for the foreseeable future.”
LeVox previously told PEOPLE that he’s “never been OK with the way that it ended,“adding in October 2021: “I wasn’t happy that Joe Don quit.”
“It kind of came out of nowhere,” LeVox added. “It was like, ‘Let me try to wrap my head around this.’ And then I certainly wasn’t OK with the pandemic, which canceled everything. I hate the way that it ended. I hate that we didn’t get to do this farewell tour. I can’t stand the fact that it just feels there’s no closure with something that we’ve been so blessed with. That will always be in my heart.”
source: people.com
