Who Is Hopie Feek? New Details About Rory Feek's Gay Daughter Who Just Got Married
She just got married!
Instagram It's been two years since country singer Joey Feek passed away from cervical cancer. One half of the duo Joey+Rory, the couple became household names after their shared the birth of their daughter, Indiana, who has Down Syndrome, and Joey's cancer diagnosis. Rory made his fame not just as one half of Joey+Rory, but also as a songwriter. He has written songs for Blake Shelton, Kenney Chesney, Randy Travis, and others. He is a conservative Christian who places great importance on his faith. Rory Feek has two older daughters from his first marriage, Heidi and Hopie. On October 27, two years after the death of Joey, the Feek family celebrated love and unity when Hopie married her long time girlfriend Wendy. The couple tied the knot on the Feek family farm in Tennessee with Heidi as a bridesmaid, Indiana as flower girl, and Rory wearing his signature denim overalls. How did her dad deal with her coming out? Who is Hopie Feek?
1. How she came out
It is rarely easy to come out, but Hopie had some added levels of difficulty when she told her dad that she is a lesbian. Earlier this year, Rory revealed to CBS Sunday Morning that just days after Joey Feek lost her battle with cancer at 40 in March 2016, he could tell Hopie had something on her mind. “I said, ‘Just tell me, Hopie.' And she went on to tell me that her friend Wendy was more than her friend, that Wendy and [she] had been dating for almost a year. And that she was in love.” Hopie could see the panic register on her father's face when she told him. Feek said that he asked himself, “Am I supposed to shun my child now and say, ‘No, you can’t be in my life until you come around to thinking like I’m thinking?’" During the interview on CBS, Rory admitted to struggling with accepting his daughter's sexuality at first. Eventually, he understood that his only job was to love her. "The only thing I try to keep in mind is it’s her life, it’s her choice, it’s her faith,” he explained. “And my job is to love her even when it’s hard.”
2. The wedding
The wedding took place on the Feek family farm in Pottsville, Tennessee. Hopie's sister Heidi took to Instagram to mark the occasion, writing: “What a beautiful and perfect day that was. I’m SO HAPPY for Hopie and Wendy!” Hopie’s sister Heidi wrote on Instagram earlier this month. Hopie wore a floor-length wedding gown embroidered with colorful flowers that she made herself, while Wendy wore a suit. Hopie's bridal party wore burnt orange dresses and carried bouquets of sunflowers. Wendy's bridal party wore white shirts with red ties, suspenders, and dark pants. Rory wore denim overalls. Indiana, 4, wore a white dress and pigtails for her walk down the aisle as flower girl.
3. Joey was there in spirit
In an August 2016 interview with People, Hopie reflected on her step-mother's death six months later. She remarked that Joey had a big impact on her life and was the first woman she could look up to. Per her dying wish, Joey is buried in a wooden box underneath a grove of trees on the Feek family farm. In that same People interview, Rory said: "I feel my wife’s presence here all the time. “I’d like to think that Joey is proud of how I’m doing — how we’re all doing, especially Indiana. She took so much pride in the work of being a mama to Indy, and I find myself thinking of her every day, all day long in the time that Indy and I spend together and the things we do, wondering how she would handle this, or do that.” He also said: "I remember how present Joey was and am trying to be that way, too.”
4. How is Rory handling it?
Rory wrote a book called This Is The Life I Live. In it, he opened up about his daughter's sexuality. He wrote that Hopie's coming out was a difficult time for him. "My conservative Christian faith was the first part of me to judge Hopie. To want to push her away. To want to withhold love from her. And she could feel it. See it in my eyes. And that is the moment we had a conversation without any words." With time, however, Rory has come around. Regarding the wedding, he wrote: "It will be a special day for someone who is special to me and her special someone. That is all I need to know. I choose to love her. To love them. Period. End of story."
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.