Hank married Billie Jean Jones just months later on October 18, 1952. He died soon after on January 1, 1953. Following his death, Audrey paid Billie Jean $30,000 to stop referring to herself as “Hank Williams’ Widow” and she complied. Billie Jean later married country singer Johnny Horton and became Billie Jean Horton.
The marriage of Audrey and Hank was brought to the big screen in the 2015 film I Saw the Light, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Tom Hiddleston as the iconic country music couple. The actors did an incredible job showing the pain and difficulties the couple endured as a result of Williams’ addiction issues.
It seems Hank and Audrey Williams never got over one another.
“After Daddy passed away, Mother blamed herself,” Lycrecia Williams Hoover said. “She loved him and felt like she should have been able to keep him from drinking. Later, little by little, she began to drink, until she became an alcoholic too.”
Audrey Williams passed away from heart failure on November 4, 1975, in her home of Nashville. Her son Hank Jr. went on to follow in his parents’ footsteps and became a successful singer, as did Hank Jr.’s children, including Hank Williams III and Holly Williams.
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