Fiona Whelan Prine: Facts About John Prine’s Wife

The music community is mourning the loss of another iconic artist to the COVID-19 pandemic. John Prine, the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter, passed away on April 7, 2020 from complications of the coronavirus. He was 73. Besides a legion of fans and an unforgettable lyrical legacy, he also leaves behind his wife and children. Prine’s wife of 26 years, Fiona Whelan, had  been a major presence in his life both personally and professionally. Our Fiona Whelan Prine wiki details their loving relationship.

Fiona Whelan Prine Is from Ireland

Fiona Whelan was born on August 4, 1947 in Ireland. She came from a large family, with a businessman father and a homemaker mother.

When Fiona Whelan was only 13 years old, her father passed away. Being the oldest and with no other income source for the family, the young lady became the breadwinner.

That’s how Whelan found a job as a business manager at a recording studio in Dublin. That was also how she met her future husband.

Seeking better opportunities for her family, Whelan moved from Ireland to Nashville in the U.S. in 1993.

Though she wanted to support her family while working in America, Whelan struggled with keeping in contact with her mother and siblings back in Ireland.

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Whelan and Prine Met in 1988

John Prine composed one of his best songs, “Bruised Orange,” in 1978, fresh off his first divorce from high-school sweetheart, Ann Carole. He would move on to his second wife, Rachel Peer, the bass player of his band. But that marriage also ended, inspiring his song  “All the Best.” Around that time, he met Fiona Whelan.

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While touring in 1988, Prine was at an after-party in a Dublin hotel, when cupid struck.

“I had my guitar with me. I couldn’t get to the front, so I went around to the other side. And there was this Irish actress at the end—she said to me, ‘C’mere, John Prine, there’s someone I want you to meet.’ It was Fiona. Fiona said, ‘I saw you play when I was 17. When will I hear you next?’ And I said, ‘Right now,’ and walked up on stage with her and just started playing. And oh yeah, it was love at first sight,” recalled the songwriter.

They connected at that party and remained in touch while Whelan remained in Ireland and Prine toured around the world. She reunited with the twice-divorced Prine in 1993 when she moved to Nashville with her son.

“I used to work in the music business in Ireland, I have a son who came with me here that John subsequently adopted. I became connected to who I was in America. I’ve uncovered myself more than recovered,” Whelan said.

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Fiona and John Have Three Children

After Fiona Whelan came to the U.S., the couple welcomed Jack, their first son together, in 1994. Their second son, Tommy, was born the following year. Prine even adopted Whelan’s son Jody from her previous relationship.

After the birth of their sons, the couple tied the knot on April 6, 1996 at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Nashville. Prine serenaded his bride with “Paradise” and “Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody” at the ceremony.

The newlywed parents of three little boys faced their first major hurdle in married life when John Prine was diagnosed with cancer in his neck in 1998. But he battled, and survived the disease.

However, the songwriter’s illness made it difficult for him to keep up with their little boys. When his sons were growing up, Prine was also away most of the time touring, so most of their upbringing was undertaken by his wife. But, even though he wasn’t an ever-present father, Prine did everything he could for his three sons.

Whelan Prine Managed Prine’s Record Label

With the dream of composing music without restrictions, John Prine founded his record label Oh Boy Records in 1983 in collaboration with his manager, Al Bunetta. However, Prine lost his friend and partner when Bunetta passed away in 2015.

It was Fiona Whelan Prine, with her experience managing a recording studio in Dublin, who stepped into Bunetta’s shoes. She took up the management of Oh Boy Records and also supported her husband in his career.

The couple’s oldest son, Jody Whelan, had experience running a company, although it was in a non-music sector. So, Whelan Prine recruited him as operations manager; together they structured the label with the help of people John Prine trusted. Jody Whelan also brought about the modernization of the label and signed younger artists who idolized John Prine.

As co-managers to John Prine, Fiona Whelan Prine and Jody Whelan oversaw the final phase of his career, which was the most commercially successful.

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Whelan Prine Contracted Coronavirus, Too

On March 17, Fiona Whelan Prine revealed that she had tested positive for coronavirus after they had returned from a European tour. She was quarantined away from her husband.

John Prine would later test positive for the virus. He was hospitalized on March 26 after experiencing some symptoms. The severity of his condition fluctuated in the days that followed.

Whelan Prine announced that she had recovered through a March 30 social media post.

She provided an update on April 3 that it was Prine’s eighth day in the ICU and he was relying on the ventilator. The songwriter suffered other complications related to the virus.

Sadly, the loving couple couldn’t be together throughout their illness or at the time of Prine’s passing.

John Prine died on April 7, 2020. He is survived by Fiona Whelan Prine and their sons, Jody Whelan, Jack Prine, and Tommy Prine.

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