Teenage Love
Lynn was at the tender age of 15 when she met and married 21-year-old moonshiner Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn (also Doo and Mooney), from Butcher Holler. The couple only dated for a month before tying the knot. Things moved quickly, and Loretta already had three of her six children by the time she was 17.
Country singer Loretta Lynn’s father Melvin “Ted” Webb poses for a portrait with her brother Herman Webb and sister Peggy Sue Webb (Wright) circa 1944 in Butcher Holler, Kentucky. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
As you can imagine, their relationship wasn’t picture-perfect. Doolittle drank excessively, and his playboy attitude gave Lynn plenty of material for her songs. Despite the toxicity of their relationship, the duo made it work. They stayed together until Doolittle passed away in 1996.