EXCLUSIVE: Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks 'Fighting For Their 20-Year Marriage' as Sexual Assault Lawsuit 'Tears Them Apart'

He didn't speak during the March 24 ceremony – country singers Reba McEntire and Carly Pearce did the honors – but an emotional Garth Brooks was seen wiping away tears as his wife, Trisha Yearwood, was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

When it was her turn to talk, Yearwood praised her husband for being her "cheerleader," telling the crowd that: "As many accolades and awards as he's won, I never see him get more excited than he does when I receive something."

The 60-year-old then addressed the Friends in Low Places hitmaker directly, telling him: "For all the people that want this for me, nobody wants it more than you. I appreciate you for being my support."

It was a significant show of loyalty in a tumultuous time. Six months ago, music fans were stunned when a woman who worked as a hairstylist and makeup artist for the couple filed a sexual assault and battery lawsuit against Brooks – a beloved Nashville star known for his philanthropy and reputation as one of the good guys.

Among the allegations, the suit accused the Grammy winner of raping the woman in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2019. He's vehemently denied the accusations, but a source told RadarOnline.com they continue to rock the couple's marriage.

"Trisha was shocked that anyone would accuse Garth of such heinous things," said the source. "It's put a strain on their relationship. They've been living with this legal mess for months now. It's the elephant in the room."

Publicly, the She's in Love With the Boy singer hasn't wavered. In February, Yearwood paid tribute to her husband of nearly 20 years in a loving Instagram post marking his 63rd birthday, calling him her "forever duet partner."

The singer and bestselling cookbook author may be dealing with some major trust issues, with the source adding: "But she thinks she knows Garth well enough by now to know he could never do such a thing, so she believes him when he says he didn't do this."

The situation is complicated for Yearwood, who wed Brooks, her third husband, in 2005, after years of friendship. "Even if Trisha had doubts, she's built her life around Garth, and it would be hard to leave," admitted the source.

Not only are they one of the biggest power couples in country music, "but it would look bad for Garth and might hurt his case."

Tellingly, in the past, the former host of the Food Network's Trisha's Southern Kitchen admitted that ending relationships is hard for her.

"Since I do hang on to the past with my fingernails, divorce was difficult," she said of her 1999 split from her second husband, Mavericks bassist Robert Reynolds, 62, adding: "It's easy to drag things out so you don't have to face people talking about you."

Gossiping friends and fans would hardly be the only fallout. When Brooks divorced first wife, Sandy Mahl, 60, in 2001 after 15 years of marriage and three kids, he paid her a reported $125 million. His and Yearwood's finances – their combined net worth is an estimated $400 million – have become intertwined over the past two decades.

"Word is, there's no prenup, because they believed their union would last," said the source. "If this is the case and they did split, things could get messy very fast."

They already raised eyebrows when one of their homes sold for $3.3 million one day before news of the ex-employee's allegations broke.

"Many wealthy couples liquidate some assets before a split just to make things simpler and avoid potential issues," explained the source. "Some have wondered if unloading that house wasn't a coincidence.'

Back in October, Brooks came out swinging when "Jane Doe" – who first worked with Yearwood in 1999 and was hired by Garth in 2017 – filed suit in California seeking unspecified monetary and punitive damages.

"For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars," he said. "It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face."

The 23-time Academy of Country Music Awards winner vowed he would not pay the woman off. "Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money," he ranted. "In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of – ugly acts no human should ever do to another."

According to his accuser, the Thunder Rolls singer didn't just subject her to "painful and traumatic" nonconsensual sex in his hotel suite during a Hollywood awards show business trip five years ago.

He also, she alleged, repeatedly changed his clothing in her presence, once placed her hand on his erect penis, groped her breasts while she did his hair and makeup, sent her sexually explicit texts he allegedly later deleted from her phone and spoke to her about having a "threesome" with her and his wife.

Brooks first denied the allegations in a preemptive complaint filed as "John Doe" last September in Mississippi, where "Jane" moved in 2021.

In court papers, he sought to block the claims of a "lying extortionist" set on "destroying his professional reputation" if she "made good on her threat to 'publicly file' her fabricated lawsuit" after first sending him “a 'confidential' demand letter" last July.

In December, a judge denied his request to have his accuser's California lawsuit, which has since been moved from state to federal court, thrown out pending the outcome of the Mississippi-filed defamation and extortion case. Brooks’ attorneys have been working to consolidate the two cases.

The legal battle is just beginning. Last fall, Brooks said during a livestream with fans that "people are telling me it could be up to two years" before his legal woes are resolved. As he and Trisha wait, said the source, "there's no denying it's made things tense at home."

Perhaps that's why Yearwood has been looking to relocate abroad. In a late-October episode of his Inside Studio G Facebook Live show, Brooks revealed his wife was urging him to buy a place in Ireland after visiting the country on tour.

"She just fell head-over-heels in love with the country," he said.

It could mean a fresh start for the couple away from Nashville gossip.

"Trisha hates having this hanging over them and wishes it would go away so they could go back to living their lives," said the source. "Ireland would be a welcome respite from the stress this scandal has brought them."

"I do not fear the truth," Brooks said last fall.

The source said, "He's confident he will prevail and means to fight till the end."

Meanwhile, Yearwood is "digging in," added the source. "Friends say she's refusing to give up on her marriage to Garth no matter what lies ahead."