Sara Evans Primed for Hitchin'

Country star engaged to radio host beau Jay Barker; divorce from hubby of 13 years was finalized in September

By Natalie Finn Mar 24, 2008 11:15 PMTags

After taking a tumble the first time, Sara Evans is ready to get right back on that marital horse.  

The country singer is engaged to radio host Jay Barker, Evans' rep, Lori Genes, told People on Monday. 

"The couple are enjoying their engagement and look forward to their upcoming nuptials," Genes said. 

The betrothed duo, who started seeing each other sometime before Thanksgiving, have not yet set a date. This will be the second trip down the aisle for both. 

Evans, 37, has three children from her first marriage, and Barker, who went through a divorce last summer, has four. 

Barker, a former star quarterback at the University of Alabama who helped lead his team to a national championship in 1992, presides over the morning show The Opening Drive on WJOX-AM in Birmingham.  

Evans' 13-year marriage to erstwhile politico Craig Schelske officially ended in September after one of the uglier he-said, she-said battles in recent memory. Their union came to a grinding halt in October 2006 while Evans was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars

And at least in part because the "Suds in the Bucket" songstress opted to quit the show midseason, her pending divorce became home-page news. 

The miscellaneous mudslinging included allegations of infidelity from both sides, including a since-retracted accusation from Evans that Schelske had an affair with their nanny. Meanwhile, Schelske at one point filed court documents demanding his spouse cop to at least 11 extramarital affairs, claiming she messed around with, among others, her Dancing partner Tony Dovolani. 

When a judge signed off on their divorce on Sept. 28, the warring pair agreed to drop their respective accusations and wipe the slate clean. Evans, who got to keep the family's abode in Nashville, was ordered to pay $600,000 in alimony. Schelske was given the deeds to their two residences in Oregon.