Rory Feek Just Celebrated First Anniversary Without Wife Joey in the Most Heartbreaking Way

Joey and Rory Feek

Photo: Getty Images

How does one possibly mark the anniversary of the day they said “I do” after their spouse has passed? While most wouldn’t even want to think about a time when their loved one is no longer by the side, it’s a reality for country star Rory Feek who tragically lost his wife Joey to cancer just three months ago. Feek’s first anniversary without his partner in life and in country crooning duets just passed and the grieving groom opened up about how he celebrated the day. Grab your tissues, guys. This one’s a doozy…

Joey Feek, one half of the country duo Joey+Rory, passed away back in March of this year, after an almost two-year-long battle with cervical cancer, leaving behind her two-year-old daughter and loving hubby. This month marked what would’ve been 14 years together for the country couple and Rory celebrated their anniversary in the sweetest, most heartbreakingly beautiful way, which he detailed on his blog. “In the early morning, I carried a thermos and our two favorite mugs across the back field and shared a cup of coffee with my bride as the sun came up over the wooden cross with her name on it,” he wrote. “I talked and she listened. Or at least, I hoped that somewhere, somehow, she could hear me.”

“This was my gift to her,” he said referencing the upcoming film documenting their lives together, To Joey, With Love. Sharing the trailer on his site, he continued, “I have not cried beside Joey’s grave. I have talked and prayed and sat still beside her cross for hours, but not really cried. Not until yesterday when I shared this trailer with her, or at least tried to. For our anniversary. And I wept like a baby.” Ugh, now so are we…

“I just want to lift my bride up and continue to tell her beautiful story,” Feek finished. “Happy Anniversary, my love.”

Didn’t we warn you’d need tissues?

See More: How to Honor a Deceased Relative at Your Wedding